The set of twelve Rainbow Markers are just wonderful! They have fine points with water-based ink in vibrant colors, yet they have long sides, making it easy for the user to color fine details with the tip or use the side to fill in larger spaces. The ink goes on the paper silky smoothly so there aren't unwanted visible lines where you've colored in an open space. This set is available for just $17.99 and comes in a barrel-shaped clear tube with a lid, which makes them easily accessible and easy to put away, even for young children. If they dry out, you can dip the nibs in water for five seconds and then recap to rehydrate them. That's a great feature when giving these to young children who so often forget to put the caps back on when they get side-tracked by other things! It's great to know your markers won't be ruined in that way.

The Small Coloring Book is a handy five inches by five inches in size that makes it easy to tote around for coloring on-the-go. The pages have an almost slick feeling to them that makes the marker ink glide on so smoothly. The pages are sturdy, and the geometric images are drawn with well-defined black lines. This gives a nice contrast between the vibrant colors you are using on the pages, and it also makes it more forgiving for users who have a tendency to color outside the lines a bit. The paper is treated with an emulsion that allows it to accept the marker ink smoothly and evenly. This feature sets this coloring book apart from others we've tried in the past. This small sized coloring book is available for just $6.99. It has twelve unique designs, and each is repeated three times for a total of thirty-six coloring pages.

These products are intended for both adults and children. They are touted as being useful for those with ADHD, autism, Alzheimer's, dementia, stress-relief, depression, anxiety, and more. While that might sound like a bold statement, I can personally attest to how useful this has been for my nine-year old who has significant ADHD. He is a child who can't sit still for very long.  He's extremely distractible, and his mind wanders constantly to other things. He's never enjoyed arts and crafts, and he only recently expressed an interest in coloring. I noticed that coloring has a calming effect on him, so I was anxious to give these items a try to see if they would help him calm down enough to concentrate on something other than video games for more than a few minutes at a time! 

I gave him the markers and coloring book as a special activity to keep him occupied only at church during the adult worship services when he has to sit still for a period of about an hour and a half. Remarkably, he asked for me to bring out the set again and again each Sunday, and it did indeed keep him occupied each week! He loved how easily the ink flowed on the paper, and he really took his time with the coloring and wanted to do his best on each design. He would proudly hold it up at the end of services to show me how well he had done! He was clearly pleased with his creations and felt a sense of accomplishment as he completed each new picture. He put a lot of thought into arranging the bright colors into patterns, and he raved to me about how much he absolutely loves the whole set! 

I was really impressed with the quality of the materials and how appealing they were to my son. I tried coloring with them myself, and it really was very relaxing! The designs are not so intricate that young children or someone with aging eyes would find them frustrating, yet there's enough of a design to make it fun to color. I've never colored on such silky-smooth paper that also didn't smear when used with markers. These products are clearly well-made and well-designed, and I would highly recommend them!

-Product review by Kelly Burgess, The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine, LLC, November, 2017