Coloring book trends: October 2026 Amazon report

Seasonal list appearances

Christmas is already showing up in October’s new releases

For creators planning holiday books, Christmas is a theme worth examining now. Christmas titles occupy 42 of the 360 sampled new-release positions, compared with 16 bestseller positions. Half of those new-release appearances come from Religious & Inspirational, making that category a useful starting point for studying seasonal concepts.

That is 11.7% of sampled new-release positions and 4.4% of bestseller positions. By distinct products, Christmas appears on 31 of 288 Hot New Releases titles and 15 of 289 Best Sellers titles.

Source: ColorBliss analysis of displayed titles containing Christmas in Amazon US Best Sellers and Hot New Releases, captured October 23, 2026; each list type has 360 top-30 positions across 12 categories. Position counts include repeated products across categories. See all 24 live source lists and counting notes.

For a seasonal book, inspect which categories and list types feature Christmas titles, then compare their subjects, formats, and displayed prices with similar books. These positions do not measure sales or future demand.

Adult coloring books

Adult coloring books offer more than cozy scenes

The adult examples range from seasonal scenes to relaxation patterns and specialist subjects such as anatomy. Match your concept to similar books in its subject and format, then check the lists: Halloween or spooky title words appear in 6 of 30 adult Best Sellers positions and 8 of 30 adult Hot New Releases positions.

Source: ColorBliss analysis of Amazon US Coloring Books for Grown-Ups, top 30 positions on each list captured October 23, 2026. Adult Best Sellers and Adult Hot New Releases. Halloween and spooky counts are title matches.

Children’s coloring books

For children’s books, start with age and activity

Age and activity give children’s books a clearer identity: animal coloring for ages 4+, preschool cutting practice, and sticker pictures all appear in the top ten. The category also includes books for both adults and kids, so those are worth separating when choosing comparable titles.

9 of 30 children’s Best Sellers titles explicitly say “Adults and Kids.” Check that title language alongside age and activity cues when choosing comparable books.

• Rank 6 · Best Sellers

  Animal coloring for ages 4+

  Big Book of Colouring: Animals: For Children Ages 4+ (Big Books of Colouring (Ages 4+))

• Rank 9 · Best Sellers

  Preschool scissor skills

  Scissor Skills Preschool Activity Book: Learn to Cut Lines, Shapes, Fruits, Animals | Fun Cutting & Coloring Book for Kids | Preschool Learning Activities for 3-5 Year Olds

• Rank 5 · Best Sellers

  Paint by Sticker Kids: Rainbows Everywhere!

  Paint by Sticker Kids (Official): Rainbows Everywhere!: Create 10 Pictures One Sticker at a Time!

Seasonal subjects appear too: Bluey: Hooray, It's Halloween! ranks 10 on Children’s Best Sellers. Compare books with a similar age range and activity before choosing a direction.

Source: ColorBliss analysis of Amazon US Children’s Coloring Books, top 30 positions on each list captured October 23, 2026. “Adults and Kids” counts use those exact words in Best Sellers titles. Children’s Best Sellers and Children’s Hot New Releases. Category placement and title language do not establish who bought a book.

Displayed prices

Price your book against similar subjects and formats

A useful price benchmark starts with books that match your subject and format. Compare children’s activity books with similar children’s titles, and specialist anatomy books with educational titles, before deciding whether $9.99 fits your book.

Source: ColorBliss analysis of Amazon US Best Sellers top-30 positions in Children’s Coloring Books, Coloring Books for Grown-Ups, and Science & Anatomy, captured October 23, 2026. Medians use displayed prices when present and are rounded to cents; Science & Anatomy includes educational books. See the pricing source lists.

Across the selected lists, $9.99 is displayed for 191 of 545 distinct priced products (35.0%). 1 of 546 distinct products has no displayed price.

Source: ColorBliss analysis of distinct products across all 24 Amazon US lists captured October 23, 2026; products are deduplicated by ASIN, and categories can overlap. Paperback comparisons use Amazon’s displayed format. See all live source lists.

Treat these as comparison points, not target prices. Compare similar age ranges, subjects, trim sizes, page counts, and formats, then check print cost and margin before choosing a retail price.

Displayed format

Spiral-bound books deserve a closer look on the bestseller charts

The format is listed for 26 of 289 distinct Best Sellers products and 1 of 288 distinct Hot New Releases products.

Source: ColorBliss analysis of Amazon US Best Sellers and Hot New Releases across 12 selected categories, captured October 23, 2026. Spiral-bound is Amazon’s displayed format; products are deduplicated by ASIN within each list type. See all 24 live source lists.

If considering spiral binding, compare how similar books describe the format and check how it fits your page layout, production options, and intended use. These counts do not show that binding causes a book to rank.

Category Hot New Releases

Names to watch in specific categories

These three Amazon-displayed author or creator credits have a book in a category Hot New Releases top ten and are absent from the tracked Best Sellers lists in this snapshot. That does not establish that the creators are new or that their books are gaining sales.

• By Nichole Throndsen

  Fantasy & Science Fiction · rank 5

  Cozy Witchy Vibes

  Bold, easy spooky designs for adults and teens, framed around relaxation.

• By Mira Bellford

  Flowers & Landscapes · rank 3

  Girl Therapy: A Self-Love Coloring Book

  A self-care coloring book about confidence, relaxation, and stress relief.

• By Malie Kokoro

  Mandalas & Patterns · rank 3

  Spooky Cute Color by Number Mystery Mosaics

  A Halloween color-by-number mystery mosaic with black backgrounds and pixel art.

Source: ColorBliss analysis of Amazon US category Hot New Releases top-ten positions captured October 23, 2026; listed author or creator credits do not appear on any of the 12 tracked Best Sellers lists in this snapshot. Current Hot New Releases lists: Fantasy & Science Fiction, Flowers & Landscapes, Mandalas & Patterns. Counting notes.

For your next book

Three ideas to test for your next book

1. 01 · Adult seasonal scenes

   Compare the Halloween, spooky, and Christmas books in adult lists. Develop an original seasonal setting with a clear coloring activity, then compare its format and price with similar paperbacks.

2. 02 · Children’s age and activity

   Choose a specific age range and activity, such as preschool scissor practice or sticker pictures. Review books aimed at the same ages before outlining pages and activity instructions.

3. 03 · A different way to color

   Study how category releases use formats such as color-by-number mosaics. Make a small sample around an original subject, then compare its presentation with books in that subcategory.

These are research prompts based on visible titles, list placement, and displayed prices. The snapshot does not establish future demand.

Source: ColorBliss interpretation of title, list-placement, and displayed-price observations from the top 30 positions on 24 Amazon US Best Sellers and Hot New Releases lists captured October 23, 2026. The ideas are interpretations for further research. See the live Amazon source lists.

Reading the report

Sources and notes

ColorBliss compared the top 30 positions in 24 Amazon US Best Sellers and Hot New Releases lists across 12 categories, captured October 23, 2026. The links below open live Amazon lists and may differ from the October 23 capture used for this report.

Cozy title comparison

Cozy, cosy, and hygge are whole-word title matches. The comparison deduplicates products by ASIN across each category’s paired Best Sellers and Hot New Releases lists; each category has 56 distinct products. Displayed author and creator credits are not verified ownership.

Prices and formats

Prices are Amazon’s displayed USD prices. The pricing medians exclude products without a displayed price. Product counts deduplicate by ASIN within the indicated list group. “Spiral-bound” is the displayed format label, not a count of every edition available.

Children's Coloring Books Best Sellers · Coloring Books for Grown-Ups Best Sellers · Science & Anatomy Best Sellers

Audience and titles

The children’s crossover count looks for the exact title phrase “Adults and Kids.” Category placement and title language do not identify a book’s actual buyers. Christmas, Halloween, and spooky counts are title matches in the named report sections.

Names to watch

The three featured author or creator credits appear in selected category Hot New Releases top tens and are absent from all tracked Best Sellers lists in this snapshot. This does not verify a creator’s start date or sales trajectory.

Live Amazon source lists