Dinosaurs are the one subject children come back to over and over, and the reason is not just that they are big. A dinosaur is a puzzle: it existed, nobody has ever seen one, and every child gets to decide what colour it was. That last part is what makes them so good to colour.
Nobody knows what colour they were
This is worth telling a child before they start. Fossils preserve bone, not skin, so for most dinosaurs the colour is genuinely unknown. A purple Triceratops is not a mistake. It is as defensible as a grey one, and it takes the pressure off getting it right.
Which ones suit which age
Triceratops, Stegosaurus, Brachiosaurus and Diplodocus have big, bold shapes and few internal lines, which suits children who are still learning to stay inside them. Tyrannosaurus Rex, Ankylosaurus and Spinosaurus have more going on. Archaeopteryx and Therizinosaurus are the most detailed of the set and are better for older children and adults.
Not all of them are dinosaurs
Two of the animals here are commonly called dinosaurs but technically are not. Pteranodon was a flying reptile and Plesiosaurus and Mosasaurus were marine reptiles. They lived alongside the dinosaurs rather than being them. Children of about seven upwards tend to enjoy knowing this a great deal.
Printing them
Each page comes as an A4 PDF for printing and a high-resolution PNG for colouring on a tablet. There is no account to make and nothing to pay, and you can print as many copies as a class or a party needs.
