Ninja Standing Alert In Bamboo Forest Coloring Page

Bamboo does most of the work here. Stalk after stalk runs floor to ceiling behind the figure, each one broken into segments by a single line, and the clusters of narrow leaves fan out near the top. In the middle of it a young ninja stands with one fist raised and the other resting near a short sword at his hip. His outfit is drawn in thick, simple outlines with very little inside it, so younger children can fill him quickly and then spend as long as they like on the forest. The segments are the fun part. Alternating two greens stalk by stalk turns the background into a stripe pattern, and a third, paler tone on a few stalks pushes them into the distance. Leaves have fallen onto the ground line at his feet, which is a good spot for a warmer color to keep the whole page from going one shade. There is enough repetition to be soothing without any tiny shapes to lose patience over. A child of five or six can finish it alone, and an older sibling can treat the same page as a pattern exercise.