Coloring Books

Party booklets, character books and the nahual books printed here:

the cheapest coloring books are the thin stapled ones, a handful of pages of bond paper, that go into the goody bags at a children’s birthday or get handed out at municipal and church events. A step up are the licensed books, Bluey, Disney or Paw Patrol, often with a sheet of stickers, and early-learning books built around tracing letters and numbers. Guatemala also prints its own: books on the nahuals of the Maya calendar, on the patterns in highland weaving, and on the national symbols, the quetzal, the white nun orchid and the kapok tree. Animal coloring books turn up just as often among the animal books, and guides to keeping a small child busy sit with the parenting books.

Adult coloring books and the paper inside them:

for adults, the names people search for are Johanna Basford, whose Secret Garden started the craze, and Millie Marotta’s animal books, alongside endless mandala collections. What separates a good one from a frustrating one is the paper, not the drawings. Pages printed on one side only can take markers, because ink that soaks through spoils nothing. Double-sided books on thin paper are for colored pencils; an alcohol marker goes straight through and stains the next page. Perforated pages, meant to be torn out and framed, usually mean heavier paper.

Crayons, water pens and color by number for the youngest:

for a preschooler, big outlines and chunky crayons matter more than the theme. Reusable water-reveal books, the Water Wow kind from Melissa & Doug, fill with color when brushed with a water pen and fade again as they dry, so they last for months rather than one afternoon. Color-by-number books suit children who can already read numbers and want a picture that comes out right.

Blank pages are what a used coloring book is worth:

a licensed character book costs around Q60 to Q90 new in a bookshop, and an adult book of mandalas or gardens Q100 to Q200, depending on size and paper. Resale follows the pages that are left. An adult book with a few pages done still suits someone who wants to finish the rest, and a sealed one sells close to what it cost. A children’s book that has been through two brothers and sisters is better given away in a bundle than priced on its own. Water-reveal books are the exception, because every page can be used again.

Turning every page of a second-hand coloring book:

children rarely color in order, so a cover that looks new tells you nothing. Look at the back of each colored page as well, because marker ink that bled through has spoiled the drawing behind it even if nobody touched that one. In a sticker book, check the stickers are still on their sheet. In a water-reveal book, try a page with the pen: if the color comes up patchy, the nib or the page coating is worn out. Pages torn out along the perforation are not damage, just fewer pages for your money.

Leftover piñata booklets, half-done mandalas and who takes them:

say how many pages are untouched and photograph two or three inside pages, including one that has been colored, so a buyer can see the paper and the line work. State whether the printing is single- or double-sided, because anyone who colors with markers looks for exactly that. A box of booklets left over from a birthday suits the next family planning one, and teachers and church catechism groups who need a stack, so give the count and the themes. Group children’s books by age and include any crayons that came with them. Someone throwing a party at the weekend needs the lot before Saturday, so say where in the city you can hand it over, and when.