The History of Coloring Books

my coloring books

Coloring books are slowly disappearing off store shelves or priced right out of the average American family’s budget. It’s a shame the art of the coloring book is being phased out.

Sure they’ve gotten so expensive, but only because they are tied in with so many other products. Movies, TV, Toys.

At there conception they were used as tools to enhance education. A British artist and two Swiss educators created the concept, they hypothesized that an arts education strengthened cognitive abilities and conceptual idea’s of the tangible.

The first coloring books were created to be painted, it wasn’t until the 1930’s that crayons became popular. The first coloring book was “The Little Folks’ Painting Book”

The brothers who created it produced it with Kate Greenway.

It was in 1907 that Coloring Books became the tool for advertising that they are today. For that, you can thank the Milton Bradley Company, as well as, the Stokes Company.

No matter the purpose of creation, Coloring Books mean more and have had more impact on our society other than to sell the latest kids movie. (though I did own four Finding Nemo coloring books and I’m itching to turn EVE purple)

The education uses have moved beyond kindergarten right up to the graduate level in the 1980’s. Grad students took a cue from the younger generation to teach themselves anatomy and physiology.

This idea may have stemmed from the political uses of the 1970’s. The FBI used coloring pages secretly as propaganda against the Black Panther Party.

Also feminist artist, Tee Corinne, used them to promote female exploration.

Today, coloring books might be disappearing of book shelves but there are now computer coloring programs and also, more adults are using them for stress relief.

I do. Right now, I own 10 coloring books and with the research of this blog, I have found a handful of websites that offer free coloring pages for print.

For me, coloring allows my mind to switch off in a good way, not a reality TV way.

It’s a return to a time when the only thing that mattered was completing something that was pleasing to me.

Also in a strange way, it reminds me what matters and what doesn’t.

So next time you’re stressed, take 20 minutes, print out a coloring page, grab whatever is handy to color with and unleash your creative spirit.

And if anyone says anything about it, tell ‘em it’s therapy.

Nothing shuts people up faster than therapy!

My Video tie-in

Watch Yourself

On Fridays the “Entertainment Weekly” arrives in the mailbox, last Friday’s was the “Watchmen Exclusive” issue. On the cover, The Comedian, played by the fantastic Jeffery Dean Morgan, but that’s not important.

The important thing is, if the “Watchmen” doesn’t ring any bells, go get yourself educated, this story isn’t going anywhere (pun not intended, but it stays).
Graphic Novel
Movie Info
Movie Site

Now that we all know that “Watchmen” is a celebrated comic, er, graphic novel, that has been placed on both Time Magazine’s “The 100 best English-language novels from 1923 to the present”, also, that “Entertainment Weekly” named it in their list of the New Classics. Lets hope you read enough to know that the heralded un-filmable graphic-novel, was filmed after bouncing from Hollywood studio to Hollywood studio.

However, no one’s favorite studio, money hungry Twentieth Century-Fox (home of the most canceled and shelved movies and T.V shows of all time), sued Warner Brothers, claiming that the studio did not properly gain the rights to the film from them. Thus, effectively putting a halt to a release date and causing a ripple of disappointment spanning the likes of fan boys, to the curious pop cultured, right down to the average movie goer who knows a good movie when they see one.

With teaser released, a major display unveiled at July’s Comic-Con, it came as a shock when Fox sued, and further more when in January, the courts sided with them. Yet, it shouldn’t have to fans of the series, as the story of these “superheroes” is politically charged and parallels today’s issues and of course, stands to make a boatload at the box office.

The W.B. smartly folds and readies for release, which brings that shiny new “Entertainment Weekly” to the mailbox on Friday, February 20.

This is the cause of the tragic event of last Saturday, February 21, that leads to major embarrassment and disappointment.

We all have sources of information we trust, my source is none other than my reliable mother. She mentions over breakfast Saturday morning, while devouring the very shiny, new “entertainment Weekly” that she noticed there was one showing for “Watchmen” that night, in Lake Wales. Excitement over takes logic, plans are set thinking a gift of the rare sneak peek had been bestowed upon Lake Wales of all places.

This was the only topic discussed, “Watchmen” this “Watchmen” that Jeffery Dean Morgan, Billy Crudup, superhero costumes, you get the gist.

It’s a rarity these days when our household does a night on the town, the economy and all, but we got dressy and decided to do dinner out too! On the ten minute drive to the mall, it suddenly dawns on me that maybe I should have checked. That something this good couldn’t be right. I start quizzing my mother, but you can guess how well that went over.

It wasn’t until standing inline at the box office, which was free of any fan boys, or tell-tale marketing that I knew that I wasn’t seeing the movie. It was a flashback to the dread of seeing the trailer, procuring the novel, and then the very next day hearing about the lawsuit.

Again, the movie died, only this time till the sixth of march.
However, the wonderful, stubborn woman I call mother, marched right up to the box office and demanded tickets to a movie she swore they were advertising; they were, just in the form of advance sales.

fog: 12.5