Pairings: Coloring Books & Women In Music

Celebrating National Coloring Book Day

Pairings: Coloring Books & Women In Music

Today is National Coloring Book Day! Who out there besides me loves zoning out with a good coloring book? 🙋🏻‍♀️

Herizon Music is the public face of my mission to succeed where other media has failed in spotlighting women’s contributions to music. Behind the scenes, I’m also working on a coloring book featuring the stories of women who have contributed to modern music on stage, on air, and behind the scenes. It’s called First Ladies of Music: A Rockin’ Activity & Coloring Book, written for music lovers of all ages.

With school music programs getting cut from budgets, we have to find other fun ways to teach the next generation about music history and remember the giants whose shoulders music makers stand on today. While my book is currently in the hands of a number of publishers for consideration (send me some good vibes, please!), there are a number of coloring books out there that I personally recommend as an avid coloring book fan.

Of course, one has to listen to music while coloring, so I paired the book recommendations with listening recommendations featuring (you guessed it) women in music.

In celebration of National Coloring Book Day, take a look at these recommendations and buy one or two or all of them for yourself or a loved one. I’ve included (orange) links to music and merch of music makers paired with the books as well. Your purchase helps Herizon Music support women in music.

Thea Wood Productions, LLC is an Amazon Associate that earns from qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you.

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SHAKE IT OFF

Calling all Swifties! SHAKE IT OFF by Melody Makers Press is the perfect Swift Gift. With 50 mandalas based on Taylor’s various Eras (butterflies, crescent moons, guitars, and more) accompanied by your favorite song lyrics, you’ll slip dreamily into a lavender haze.

PAIRINGS

1989 (Taylor’s Version, Deluxe) by Taylor Swift
Midnights (The Til Dawn Edition) by Taylor Swift
Red (Taylor’s Version) by Taylor Swift

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Divas Of Pop Coloring Book For Adults

Looking for a more challenging and unique coloring experience? Try Divas Of Pop Coloring Book For Adults by Crackerjack Books. These spiroglyphic designs transform into portraits of your 50 favorite divas from Adele to Whitney. And you only need one color to bring them to life!

PAIRINGS

30 Greatest Hits by Aretha Franklin
Half Breed by Cher
Like A Prayer by Madonna
The Pinkprint (Deluxe) by Nicki Minaj

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Mix Tape Coloring Book

Musicstacker

Kevin Alexander

invited me to contribute a story about mixed tapes for his “mixed stack” titled We Made You A Mixtape! How surprised I was to see a Mix Tape Coloring Book of ‘80s music by Raggity Val.

PAIRINGS

Greatest by The Go-Go’s
Whitney by Whitney Houston
Cosmic Thing (30th Anniversary Expanded Edition) The B-52’s
Autoamerican (Remastered 2001) by Blondie
Eurythmics: Ultimate Collection by Eurythmics

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Metal Mayhem

How could I leave out all you metal heads? J.M. Richter’s illustrations in Metal Mayhem put the HEAVY in heavy metal. Another genre that takes it to 11 in the testosterone department, let’s throw some fuel on the fire with these hardcore acts.

PAIRINGS

FIRE by Kittie
Macro by Jinjer
Spineless/Shadows by Terminal Sleep
The Strange Case of… by Halestorm

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Color The Culture: Hip-Hops Greatest Artists

I’m pleasantly surprised with the female representation on this coloring book cover (hopefully a sign of a shift from the genre’s male-centric past). ArtsForPeace authored a book that’s perfect for celebrating 50 years of Hip-Hop.

PAIRINGS

MEGAN (Amazon Exclusive) by Megan Thee Stallion
The Miseducation of Lauren Hill by Lauren Hill
The Best of Salt-N-Pepa by Salt-N-Pepa
Invasion of Privacy Cardi B

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Great Composers Coloring Book

Celebrating the classical greats, John Green provides brief biographical summaries of classical composers from Bach to Wagner. Even the historic fashion detailing is on point. Such a shame that women were excluded from the classical music scene for so many centuries. Let’s right the ship in the pairings with deserving female classical composers.

PAIRINGS

Fête Galante by Ethel Smyth
Evergreen by Caroline Shaw/Attacca Quartet
Missy Mazzoli: Dark with Excessive Bright by Missy Mazzoli, Peter Herresthal, Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra, James Gaffigan, Arctic Philharmonic & Tim Weiss

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The Coloring Book for Music Lovers

The Coloring Book for Music Lovers by delivers unexpected artistic experiences with each page’s artwork reflecting a unique era or genre. I’m leaning toward the jazz, blues, and R&B genres for these pairings.

PAIRINGS

The Essential Nina Simone by Nina Simone
Baduism by Erykah Badu
Visionary Jones (curated by Don Was) by Norah Jones
Back To Black by Amy Winehouse
Joy Comes Back by Ruthie Foster
30 by Adele

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Texas Musicians Coloring Book Volume 2

This is a new addition to the original list of books. It’s not listed on Amazon, which is my source was for other books, so it was left out. Shame on me. Thanks to a nudge from musician Heather Miller, I added it in. Author, artist Sara Hickman is also a musician and an inspiration to me and so other multi-creative women. Volume 1 is sold out (love my copy ❤️), but the new volume is still in stock so get it while you can! Part of the proceeds go toward Rescue One More.

PAIRINGS

Roadside Attractions by Marcia Ball
Evolution of Love by Jackie Venson
Motherlode by Sara Hickman
Rare by Selena Gomez

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If you made it this far, you get a bonus recommendation! This is for all you cat ladies out there (IYKYK). 🐈‍⬛

DJ Cat! A Coloring Book for DJ & Cat Lovers:

Pull out your turntables and headphones for this one from Lynne Tillman and Artistic Meow Creations. While Germany claims itself as the birthplace of techno, we know Detroit deserves that title where women had a major influence on its origins yet receive so little credit. So, I’m featuring Detroit-based DJ’s for the pairings. Meow!!

PAIRINGS

A Walk In The Park by DJ Minx
Stop by Magda
Detroit Love Vol. 5 by DJ Holographic