The history of Coloring Concepts

Fifty years of learning by coloring

It started in 1977 with one book and a simple idea: you learn what you color. The Anatomy Coloring Book went on to set the standard for all other science-based coloring books for the past 50 years. Here is how it grew into a series used in classrooms around the world.

  1. 1977

    The Anatomy Coloring Book by Wynn Kapit and Lawrence M. Elson is published.

  2. 1980

    Sales top 250,000. Marine Biology, Human Evolution, Zoology and Botany follow.

  3. 1982

    Over 500,000 copies, and a spot on the Waldenbooks national bestseller list.

  4. Today

    Twelve titles, a 4th Edition, 14 languages and millions of copies.

  5. 2027

    The 50th anniversary of The Anatomy Coloring Book.

The #1 best-selling Anatomy Coloring Book · 1977 – 2027

The book that set the standard

For half a century, The Anatomy Coloring Book has changed the way people learn anatomy. Now in its 4th Edition, it has reached millions of learners around the world and is still the #1 best-selling human anatomy coloring book.

Join the celebration
Lawrence M. Elson, PhD
Lawrence M. Elson, PhD Taught anatomy in medical schools; co-author of The Anatomy Coloring Book with Wynn Kapit “It's for everybody.”
As featured in Los Angeles Times USA Today Science Times The Sunday Bulletin Waldenbooks
The prize adult coloring book of all.
Joe Saltzman, Los Angeles Times · February 17, 1980
“It's a fantastic voyage no coloring book addict will want to miss. If you pick up enough information to pass a basic course in anatomy, that's a bonus.”
Los Angeles Times · “Coloring Books for Grown-Ups,” 1980

From the archive · 1980–1982

Coloring books for grown-ups? The press took notice.

Within a few years of 1977, The Anatomy Coloring Book was on bestseller lists and had started a whole series.

Los Angeles Times clipping, Spectrum of Adult Coloring Books, February 17, 1980
Feb 17, 1980 Los Angeles Times “The prize adult coloring book of all,” from a feature on the boom in coloring books for adults, by Joe Saltzman.
Los Angeles Times clipping, Coloring Books for Grown-Ups, 1980
Feb 17, 1980 Los Angeles Times “Coloring Books for Grown-Ups” puts The Anatomy Coloring Book at the top of its list of the most unusual and rewarding.
Clipping from The Sunday Bulletin, Philadelphia, November 9, 1980
Nov 9, 1980 The Sunday Bulletin, Philadelphia Sales of The Anatomy Coloring Book top 250,000, and four new titles follow: Marine Biology, Human Evolution, Zoology and Botany.
Science Notes article, Are You Ready for the Human Evolution Coloring Book?
Winter 1982 Science Notes, UC Santa Cruz “Over 500,000 copies since it appeared in 1977,” and a first look at The Human Evolution Coloring Book.
Clipping from the Democrat and Chronicle, Rochester, June 27, 1982
June 27, 1982 Democrat and Chronicle, Rochester “Coloring books from anatomy to zoology.” It all started with The Anatomy Coloring Book.
Waldenbooks Trade Paperback Bestsellers list for the week ending September 18, 1982
Week ending Sept 18, 1982 Waldenbooks Trade Paperback Bestsellers The Anatomy Coloring Book makes the national bestseller list at #27.

Letters from professors

Recommended by professors for nearly 50 years

Since 1977, professors have written to tell us they use The Anatomy Coloring Book in their courses and ask their students to buy it. Here are a few of their letters.

[#] letters from professors

c. 1982 · Letter to the authors

“A really important point about this book is that it taps an approach to learning presently poorly exploited: the active process of learning by visual mode (coloring).”
An anatomy instructor
As quoted in Science Notes, UC Santa Cruz, Winter 1982

[Year] · [University letterhead]

“[Short excerpt from the professor's letter recommending the book to students.]”
[Professor name]
[Department, University]

[Year] · [University letterhead]

“[Short excerpt from the professor's letter recommending the book to students.]”
[Professor name]
[Department, University]
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