Religious History Coloring Book - a Surprise Castle exclusive

24 hand-illustrated scenes from the long arc of faiths, from a bearded man in a cave with scrolls to a Buddha under a flowering tree.

Open the book. Pick up the pencil.

A hand-drawn adult coloring book, 24 scenes that run from cathedral halls and forest meditations to Reformation church doors and Sinai mountainsides. The pace is set by the slow ring of a temple bell and the steady inscribing of a sacred text, not the next notification.

Step into a cathedral hall where four robed figures sit beneath a great cross. Walk to a bearded man in a cave with scroll among clay jars. Pull up to a woman in ornate sari before a tower with three-headed lion. Then to a man preaching outdoors to a crowd among palm trees.

The pages keep moving. A Buddhist monk in lotus pose with four students in a forest. Two religious figures in vestments in a stone archway. A bishop in mitre with scholar at a candlelit scriptorium. A woman entering an official chamber by oil lamp.

Wander through the centuries. A scholar at a printing press among manuscripts. A monk nailing parchment to a cathedral door — Reformation. A warrior holding a scroll before an altar with two angels. A monk approaching fortified castle gates.

Keep going. A monk meditating under a flowering tree with four students. A Buddha sitting on a lotus pedestal under a great tree. A man writing at a candlelit desk with quill. Merchants with camels in a desert caravan. A bishop reading at a table with two monks. Pilgrims gathering at the Kaaba. A man holding an empty scroll before columns. A man receiving stone tablets on a mountainside under lightning. A religious teacher preaching to seated followers in a valley. Mary with infant in a stable manger under a star. A bearded prophet with stone tablets under a stormy sky. And to close, four soldiers lifting a great wooden cross before Greek temple columns.

There's a reason coloring sticks around. It gives a busy mind somewhere to land, and in this case that somewhere is the gold leaf of an illuminated Bible or the lotus base of a meditation Buddha. Some pages are bold and forgiving. Others will eat a whole afternoon. Works fine with colored pencils, fine-tip markers, or gel pens.

If you know someone with a stack of Karen Armstrong on the desk, a friend writing a thesis on the early church, or a parent who teaches Sunday school, this is for them. It's also for the person who'd quietly rather shade a manger scene on a Saturday than scroll.

Open the chronicle.

Inside you'll find 24 scenes: a cathedral hall with robed figures under a great cross, a bearded man in a cave with scroll, a woman with scroll before a three-headed lion tower, a man preaching to a crowd among palm trees, a Buddhist monk with four students in a forest, two religious figures in a stone archway, a bishop with scholar in a scriptorium, a woman entering a chamber by oil lamp, a scholar at a printing press, a monk nailing parchment to a cathedral door, a warrior with scroll before two angels, a monk approaching fortified castle gates, a monk meditating under a flowering tree, a Buddha on a lotus pedestal, a candlelit man writing with quill, merchants with camels in a desert caravan, a bishop reading with two monks, pilgrims gathering at the Kaaba, a man with empty scroll before columns, a man receiving stone tablets on a mountainside, a teacher preaching in a valley, Mary with infant in a stable manger, a bearded prophet with stone tablets, and soldiers lifting a great wooden cross before Greek columns.