A coloring book is powerful. A stack of them can subdue a small crowd of children in a matter of moments. Just ask any teacher!

And the source of that power is the fullness of the experience that the act of coloring in a coloring book brings to the child. When a child receives a coloring book and crayons, she or he will seek out a suitable spot in the room for the activity at hand and then enter into a creative cocoon that I like to call a "Coloring Book Nook." For about 10 or 15 minutes, a child disappears into a private, creative, world and loses him or herself in the feeling of the wax, the soapy smell of the crayons and the brilliant colors that flow from the nibs onto pages of fun characters and stories.

Shortly thereafter, the child emerges with page after page of art that he or she presses loved ones to admire and display. Why? Because just like any other artist, the child feels that a small piece of his or her inner being has been illustrated and captured in the art work.

And so, because coloring books provide such a deep and meaningful event for a child, I could not imagine creating a picture book for children without also creating an accompanying coloring book. This is just the way I am wired: I want the children to fully experience the story!

Honestly when I tell adult people about my coloring books, they are completely underwhelmed. It is not glamorous. It is not impressive. It is not really very captivating. And if you look around, you may notice that most other children's book authors do not create coloring books, either. So I have come to the conclusion that "coloring book creation" is just another quirky thing about me.

Having said that, I need to acknowledge that coloring books are time consuming and expensive to make. Plus they sell for very little money, and they do not lend themselves to the eBook format. So I really do understand why most authors do not do it.

Clearly I do not expect to make any money on my coloring books either. What do I expect? I expect to help children create joyful Coloring Book Nooks where they can have deeper, more fulfilling experiences with my stories and characters. I just couldn't imagine publishing picture books for children any other way.