Color Counts: Animals Paperback – September 1, 2010

As a 20 year old college student who loved color-by-numbers as a kid, I was intrigued by the idea of a color-by-number book that was maybe a little more on the complicated side. I decided to give this a try, and boy, am I glad I did! The pictures are whimsical, yet detailed, colors aren't crazy-specific (the most specific you'll get is a "light" or "dark" shade of something), and it is very rewarding to see your finished product!After a long night at work, it is so relaxing to come home and start coloring away. Great stress relief for anyone! :) I would reccomend these books to children ages 8 and up. Most younger kids wouldn't really have the motor skills or patience, as some of the numbers are printed quite small (so wear your reading glasses!)I use Pentel Color Pens fine-tip markers ($20 for a 36-pack here [...]), and they work great as long as you are gentle enough. I imagine colored pencils would work well, too, though I'm not sure about crayons. Just make sure to place something under the picture you are working on as markers can bleed through!

We bought this for our tween daughter for her birthday. She loves to paint and color by number but isn't quite ready for adult color-by-number yet. This was a perfect go-between for her! This would also be fun for adults who don't want intense or super-small spaces to color. She enjoyed using this to create artwork for herself and for her friends. It was also great on road trips to keep her occupied.

This was purchased for me, an adult. Complicated coloring books are really good for clearing my mind, almost like a meditation. With the regular complicated coloring books, I often end up abandoning the page because I can't get the colors right. With these books you don't need to plan anything - just find the numbers and color them according to the legend. I choose different colors than the legend but it is a good guide. Because the spaces are pretty small, you will need ultra-fine markers like Sharpie or Bic, and the ink will bleed through so put something underneath it when you color. Regular Crayola-type kid markers will not work here, the spaces are too small. Hunting for the numbers, finding them, and coloring them, is just so relaxing.

This book is a lot of fun and I enjoy doing the pictures, however I am not so happy about the color chart. The color chart descriptions for the colors to be used in the book do not coincide with my color pencil pack. When needing a color that is not listed in my color pencil choices, it is a pain to have to determine what color to use. For example, I do not have a magenta in my pack, so I have to guess what color to use from my group of colored pencils to simulate magenta. So before starting every picture I have to sit down and "plan or determine" what colors I will be using in the picture. I have the 72 pack of CraZArt pencils. The basic colors are no problem, but when using hot pink, light blue or light orange, etc., it's a pain. So as you can imagine my pictures don't come out as great as I would like them. And it's funny that some of the 'different" colors in my color pack are so close that it's not noticeable when coloring in the number area. I just wish that the color chart was more in tune with my colored pencils. LOL Also as other's have stated in some of the reviews I read, I too would prefer the number count book to have ALL pages be numbered, not just every other one. I like the numbered pages better and did not care too much for the non-numbered ones. But, all in all these are fun and once I get my pencil color choice together, it is a great pastime.

I bought this for my 4 and 6 year-olds. My 6-year-old likes the kind of color by numbers that you can't tell what it is until you color it. So I found this and thought it would work. It is a really cool book! But more for older kids or adults. The problem with my younger kids is not that they can't do it, because they can. It's just that they don't have the focus to finish them because they take a long time. If I sit down and do it with them, that works better. But mostly I've been doing the pages myself because they are fun :). And really pretty! I don't really see the point of the extra pages without numbers, though. Seems like a waste of paper.

This, combined with a set of Crayola markers, was the perfect birthday gift for my six year old. In fact, the day the box arrived her ten, fifteen, and seventeen year old siblings also enjoyed coloring along with the birthday girl. I'd recommend this book to anyone who enjoys coloring. The pictures are creatively done, the pages thick enough for markers not to bleed through, and the mystery of what the picture will turn out to be makes the whole experience very wonderful. Good job, MindWare!

The color by number pages are great, but after coloring those pictures, my girls don't want to color the same picture (without the color guide)

I purchased this color book for my classroom students to use when they finished all their work. My 8th and 9th graders love this coloring book. The book has two sets of each picture, one with number in the spaces and key telling you what to color each number, and one without the numbers. The drawings are very intricate and are best colored using sharp color pencils. Often times you cannot tell what the picture is until you have finished coloring it, adding an air of mystery to the fun. This is a great coloring book for anyone who loves to color but doesn't want to be stuck coloring Disney pictures.

This is a brilliant colour by number book, one page is colour by number and the second page allows you to choose the colour palette for yourself. It is all pictures of animals, had to order from America but it was worth the wait.