Foster your child’s love of reading with these adorable hand-drawn bookmarks that you can print at home and colour in with pencils, markers or crayons! These PDF bookmarks are perfect for kids, students and adults—or even as a handmade gift for a book-loving friend or relative!
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Did anyone else get really excited when their kids became old enough to read chapter books?!
It’s not that I don’t enjoy reading picture books and short stories with them. But there are only so many times you can sound out the names of fruits and vegetables, or recount the adventures of the PAW Patrol, without longing for something a little more intellectually stimulating.
So now that we have two preschoolers at home, I’ve been having a great time diving back into some of the books I read as a child!
We’ve been reading a few of Roald Dahl’s novels lately and my five-year-old has been completely entranced. Every night, she asks, “Please Mommy, just one more chapter?” and I absolutely love it.
And because we can’t possibly read an entire novel every night, we’ve started using bookmarks to mark the page. So my kids were thrilled when I decided to create a set of bookmarks that they could colour in themselves!
Like this freebie? Grab the whole bundle!
Foster your child’s love of reading with these gorgeous hand-drawn colouring bookmarks. This large bundle includes:
- Spring-themed bookmarks (set of 6)
- Summer-themed bookmarks (set of 6)
- Fall-themed bookmarks (set of 6)
- Winter-themed bookmarks (set of 6)
Great for teachers, homeschoolers, parents, or even for adults who use colouring as a way to unwind!
Use the coupon code MOREBOOKMARKS to get 15% off the regular price!
Download Your Free Colour-In Bookmarks
You can download the printable colouring bookmark PDF by clicking the download link below (no sign-up required):
{DOWNLOAD LINK}
COLOURING BOOKMARKS
(Please note that these bookmarks are for personal or school use only and cannot be redistributed. You can read our full printables terms of use here.)
Each bookmark measures 2” x 6”, which is a pretty standard size for bookmarks. We laminated them to make them more durable—if that’s something you would like to do, keep scrolling after you download the bookmarks in order to find out how.
These bookmarks were all hand-drawn by yours truly, and I’m so thrilled to share them with you so that you can get your kids excited about reading chapter books too!
(Or so you can have a relaxing time colouring them in yourself—which I certainly did when I was getting ready to write this article.)
The designs are suitable for children, but also intricate enough for adults to enjoy.
How to Use & Preserve the Bookmarks
1. Print on Paper or Cardstock
Once you have downloaded the file, open it on your phone or computer and print it on Letter-sized paper or cardstock.
If you are planning on laminating your bookmarks like we did (see below for more details), choose whichever option works best for you.
Cardstock is thicker and won’t let the ink bleed through to the other side, but we printed ours on regular printer paper and the plastic was enough to protect our designs.
If you aren’t planning on laminating your bookmarks, you should use cardstock. Regular printer paper is too flimsy to be used on its own, and it would be a shame to spend all that time colouring in the images only to have the bookmarks ruined after one use.
(Note: If you’re planning on using markers to colour in the bookmarks, you would be better off using cardstock either way since the marker ink is likely to bleed through regular printer paper.)
2. Colour Bookmarks
Break out the art supplies your have on hand and colour your own bookmarks. Use your imagination and don’t be afraid to leave white space or experiment with colours!
3. Laminate Bookmarks (Optional)
This next step is optional, but I highly recommend it for two reasons:
- It will protect the bookmarks and make them last much longer
- It will protect your books because the pages won’t come directly into contact with marker ink, pencil lead or whatever else you used to colour in the bookmarks
I personally LOVE our thermal laminator and use it for everything. I thought it would be expensive, but it really wasn’t, and it’s so great for protecting children’s artwork or making educational printables durable and reusable!
It’s also great, as it turns out, for making homemade bookmarks—which is why we used it to make our Bleeding Tissue Paper Bookmarks and DIY Alcohol Ink Bookmarks as well!
To laminate the bookmarks, simply place four of them in a laminating pouch and laminate them according to your machine’s instructions. Make sure you leave enough room in between each bookmark to give yourself a good margin for cutting!
I used a paper trimmer to cut off the excess plastic because I love how easy it is and how clean the cuts are. But if you don’t have one at home, you can simply use scissors.
Laminating the bookmarks makes them perfect to use as thoughtful homemade gifts for the book lovers in your life!
Additional Ways to Decorate Your Bookmarks
Feel like making your homemade bookmarks a little fancier? Here are a few things you can try:
- Use metallic pencils or markers
- Cut some 2” x 6” pieces of coloured cardstock and glue them to the back of the bookmarks before laminating them
- Leave some extra plastic at the top of each bookmark so you can punch a hole and add a tassel or decorative bead
Related Bookmark Crafts
Looking for more DIY bookmark ideas? Check out these articles:
Hello! I am looking for a craft project for 2nd graders. The project will be led by a group of 8th graders who found these bookmarks and loved them! Thank you so much, I look forward to seeing more of what you offer!
I am so glad to hear that!! I hope the kids enjoy the bookmarks!
How do I access the form to request the printable? I cannot find it. I would like to use them for a reading incentive with my students.
Thank you
Hi Carolyn! There are two forms in the article, one near the top after the heading “How to Download Your Free Colour-In Bookmarks” and another at the bottom under the heading “Request the Free Bookmarks Here!” You can use either of the forms to get the bookmarks sent to your inbox.
Would love the bookmarks!
Of course! All you need to do is submit your email address using one of the forms provided in the article, and the bookmarks will be sent straight to your inbox. I hope you enjoy them!
would love for my preschool book club
Is your book club in a school setting? School use is allowed, but commercial use is not (even if you give them away for free). You can find more details about how my printables can be used here: https://thecraftathomefamily.com/printables-terms-of-use/
If ever you don’t find what you’re looking for on that page, please feel free to reach out via the “Contact” page on my site and we can discuss your particular situation!
Would love these for my first graders.
School use is perfectly OK, so you’re more than welcome to use them for your first students!
Using for a craft event to give out free to children to colour in
Will the event be in a school setting? Personal and school use are allowed, but commercial use is not, even if the bookmarks are being given away for free alongside paid offers. Please feel free to contact me for commercial pricing if that’s something you would be interested in!
using these at school thankyou
So glad to hear that!
thanks for the bookmarks
You’re welcome, so glad you’re enjoying them!
I would love to use these with a small group of my Year 1 children.
School use is allowed, so that’s totally fine!
The book marks are lovely.
Thank you so much!
I am not seeing a form to fill out at the end of the article.
Perhaps there was some sort of technical issue going on, but it seems to be resolved now!
I would love to use these with my third grade readers! 🙂
School use is allowed, so you’re more welcome to use them with your students!
Thanks for the bookmarks
You’re so welcome, I’m glad you’re enjoying them!
I would like to use the bookmarks please. Hey look great!
Of course! All you need to do is enter your email address in the form at the bottom of the article and they’ll be sent straight to your inbox!
I would love to use these with my students please.
School use is totally fine!
I would love to use these for my 2 d and 5th graders!
School use is perfectly fine!
Our school Librarian will love these! thank you
You’re welcome, so glad you like them!
would love for my 4th graders!!
School use is totally fine! Simply follow the instructions in the article (under “How to Download”) and you’ll receive the bookmarks right in your inbox!
Thank you for the lovely bookmarks!!
You’re welcome! I’m so glad you like them!!
i would love thse for school class
Personal and school use are perfectly fine! Simply follow the instructions in the article (under “How to Download”) and you’ll receive the bookmarks right in your inbox!
I would love to use these with a small group of my Year 1 children.
Personal and school use are perfectly fine, so I’d be happy for you to use them with your year 1 children! All you need to do is sign up to receive our newsletter using the form at the bottom of the article, and you’ll receive the bookmarks as a free gift for joining. (You can unsubscribe at any time.) Hope they enjoy it!
I am trying to print the bookmarks.
What issue are you having? If you describe it, perhaps I can help!
I would love to use these for my 5th graders!
Personal and school use are perfectly fine, so you can absolutely use them for your 5th graders! All you need to do is sign up to receive our newsletter using the form at the bottom of the article, and you’ll receive the bookmarks as a free gift for joining. (You can unsubscribe at any time.)