What Color Is a Polar Bear?

A printable coloring book of 30 real animals, for children of about 4 to 8, that answers the question children always ask: why is it that color?

Every animal gets two pages. First a page to meet it: a real photograph of the actual animal, its true colors named in swatches, a "color clue" that explains something surprising about its colors, a small world map showing where it lives, and two facts to read aloud. Then a full page picture to color, with thick black lines and big shapes, and four "my colors" circles for trying colors first. Your child can color it the real way, or any way they like.

Who it is for

• Children of about 4 to 8. Younger children color the big shapes while a grown-up reads the short meet page aloud; many 6 to 8 year olds can read it themselves with a little help.
• Parents, grandparents and teachers who want screen-free time that also teaches something true.
• Families with more than one child: print the same animal twice and color side by side.

What makes it different

• Real photographs. A child coloring a toucan can see what a real toucan looks like. Every photo is credited to its photographer.
• The truth about colors. A polar bear's skin is black. Hippos make their own red sunscreen. A sloth can turn green. Each animal comes with the true reason for its colors, short enough to read in a minute.
• Printed on your own paper, one side only. Bound coloring books put another picture on the back of every page, so markers soak through. Here each picture prints on its own sheet, on whatever paper suits your pens, and if a page goes wrong you print it again.
• Clean black lines. Every picture was cleaned so the lines are solid black, with no grey, no specks and no gaps, so colors stay inside the shapes.

The 30 animals, by where they live

• The Savanna: Lion, African Elephant, Giraffe, Zebra, Hippopotamus.
• Rainforests and Tropical Forests: Three-toed Sloth, Toucan, Red-eyed Tree Frog, Orangutan, Panther Chameleon.
• Forests of Asia: Bengal Tiger, Giant Panda.
• The Ocean: Octopus, Green Sea Turtle, Bottlenose Dolphin, Humpback Whale, Clownfish, Seahorse.
• Ice and Snow: Emperor Penguin, Polar Bear, Arctic Fox.
• Woods and Meadows: Red Fox, Hedgehog, Mallard Duck, Northern Cardinal, Monarch Butterfly.
• Australia's Bush: Red Kangaroo, Koala.
• Deserts: Camel, Fennec Fox.

Also inside

• How to use the book and a page on printing: which file to open, print one side only at actual size, and which paper suits crayons, pencils, felt-tips or markers, with a pen test strip.
• Contents with a small picture of every animal (click one on a screen to jump to it).
• A world map with every animal's home.
• Why are animals the colors they are? Four big reasons (hiding, warning, protecting the body, sending messages) with the animals that show each one.
• Eight habitat pages with a real photo of each place: savanna, rainforest, Asian forest, ocean, ice and snow, woods and meadows, Australia's bush, desert.
• Who am I? A color-clue quiz with the answers printed upside down.
• Draw your own animal, a page to invent one and choose its colors.

What you download (4 PDF files)

• The book, 80 pages, in US Letter (8.5 x 11 in) and in A4. The meet pages are full color and look good on a tablet or computer, so you can read them on screen and print only the pictures.
• Pictures only, 31 pages, in US Letter and in A4: the 30 pictures in book order (picture 12 is page 12), then the draw-your-own page. Black lines only, so they print well in black and white.

Good to know

• This is a digital download: nothing is posted, and you need a printer.
• For use in your home or your own class: print as many copies as you like. Please do not share or resell the files.