Inkpot Lane

Choose a Coloring Book by Age and Festival

Compare our bold and easy coloring books by age and festival, from Diwali and Ganesh Chaturthi to Christmas, and see what to color with.

Cover of The Night Before Christmas

The Night Before Christmas

The classic poem in big, easy lines, with a mouse hidden in every picture.

Cover of Diwali Coloring Book

Diwali Coloring Book

Diyas, rangoli, kites and lanterns, with the story of Rama and Sita.

Cover of Ganesha Coloring Book, Ages 4-8

Ganesha Coloring Book, Ages 4-8

Bappa's story and his many looks, with a little lesson on every page.

Cover of Ganesha Coloring Book, Ages 8-12

Ganesha Coloring Book, Ages 8-12

32 Ganpati murti styles from across India, each one named.

Compare them

BookAgesPagesPicturesWhat makes it different
The Night Before Christmas4 to 810450The 1823 poem, one couplet under each of 27 pictures, then 23 Christmas scenes; a mouse hidden in every picture
Diwali Coloring Book4 to 88640The story of Rama and Sita, then the festival: diyas, rangoli, kites, lanterns
Ganesha Coloring Book, Ages 4-84 to 89445The Ganesh Chaturthi story in 12 pictures, bold looks, a lesson line on every page, three art pages
Ganesha Coloring Book, Ages 8-128 to 1210048The same story, then 32 named murti styles from across India, in finer detail

Every book on this shelf is built the same way: one picture per sheet, thick outlines a small hand can finish, and a short story underneath so the coloring means something. Where they differ is age and occasion, and this page is here to help you pick the right one for the child in front of you.

How to choose by age

For ages 4 to 8, look for bold and easy: big shapes, thick outlines, and nothing so fiddly that a picture ends in tears halfway through. That's The Night Before Christmas, the Diwali book, and the Ganesha book for ages 4 to 8, all built to be finished in one sitting.

For ages 8 to 12, the lines get finer and the pictures ask for more patience: shading, small detail, and pages that reward coming back to them over an afternoon. Our one book at this level is the Ganesha coloring book for ages 8 to 12.

The two Ganesha editions make the age difference easiest to see side by side, because they share the same twelve-picture opening story. After that, the younger edition moves on to bold, simple looks of Bappa with a short lesson under each one, while the older edition turns the rest of the book into a tour of 32 named murti styles from across India, drawn in finer detail for a child who has outgrown thick-line coloring. Read them together and it's really one story told at two different paces.

Why every picture has its own sheet

All four books print one picture per sheet, with nothing on the back. That matters more than it sounds. A marker that soaks through lands on a blank page instead of ruining tomorrow's picture, and a finished page can be torn out and put up on the fridge, the window or the door without taking the next one with it. For festival books especially, that means the picture your child likes best can go up on display while the book keeps going.

What to color with

Crayons and colored pencils never bleed through, and washable water-based markers are close behind them, especially in light strokes. Heavier, wetter markers can still soak through any paper, so it's worth slipping a piece of card behind the page. The full breakdown, by age and by marker type, is in our guide to markers that don't bleed through.

Diwali

Diwali's main night falls on 8 November 2026. Our Diwali coloring book opens with Rama and Sita riding home to a lit-up Ayodhya, then 40 pictures of the story and the festival, including five rangoli designs. Read the Diwali story for kids together before you color, and see rangoli for kids if the rangoli pages are the ones you reach for first.

Ganesha

Ganesh Chaturthi falls on 14 September 2026 (3 September 2027). Both Ganesha books open with the same twelve-picture story of Parvati's clay boy, and then split by age as described above: bold looks of Bappa for ages 4 to 8, or 32 named murti styles for ages 8 to 12. The Ganesh Chaturthi story for kids answers the questions children ask most, and our guide to murti styles is the deeper read for the older edition.

Christmas

The Night Before Christmas pairs each of its first 27 pictures with one couplet of the 1823 poem. Read one couplet a night starting 28 November, and the 27th lands on Christmas Eve. After the poem come 23 more Christmas scenes, with a small mouse hidden in every picture. See the book and the full poem, with its 1823 mystery.

Articles

The Night Before Christmas

The Night Before Christmas Poem: Full Text and Its 1823 Mystery

The night before Christmas poem appeared in 1823 with no author's name. Read the full text and the story of who wrote it: Clement Clarke Moore or Henry Livingston?

Diwali Coloring Book

Rangoli for Kids: 7 First-Rangoli Mistakes and How to Fix Them

Rangoli for kids tends to go wrong in the same seven ways, from powder that blows away to skipping the dots. Why each one happens, and the easy fix.

Coloring

Markers That Don't Bleed Through: Save the Next Picture

Looking for markers that don't bleed through? Why ink soaks through coloring pages, which markers are safest, and the simple fixes that save the next picture.

Ganesha Coloring Book, Ages 8-12

Ganpati Murti Styles: The 1892 Pune Story Behind Them

Ganpati murti styles multiplied after 1892, when Pune set Bappa up in public. Here is that story, then the styles, from the Maratha pagdi to Pillaiyar.

Ganesha Coloring Book, Ages 4-8

Ganesh Chaturthi Story for Kids, Told Through Their Questions

The Ganesh Chaturthi story for kids, told the way children ask for it: why Bappa has an elephant head, why he rides a mouse, and why he has to leave.

Diwali Coloring Book

Diwali Story for Kids: Rama's Return, Told by Lamplight

A Diwali story for kids told by lamplight: Rama's journey home in six short chapters, why we celebrate Diwali, the five days and the 2026 date.

Coloring

Benefits of Coloring for Kids: The Myth and the Evidence

The benefits of coloring for kids get lost under a 1947 myth about busywork. What the evidence shows, and a better way to color.