African American Coloring Books for Adults: The Brown Sugar Collection Guide

For a long time the adult coloring aisle had almost nothing for Black women: mandalas, castles, fairies and a lot of very pale faces. The Brown Sugar Collection is four books that set out to change that, about the kitchens, families, rituals and music many of us grew up with. Here is what is in each one and who it suits.

The four books at a glance

All four are 8.5 inches square and large print, and no design is printed on the back of another.

Brown Sugar & Cast Iron: the kitchen that fed you

Forty-seven pages of the things on every Southern kitchen counter: the cast iron skillet, a sack of cornmeal, the tin of good lard, hot sauce, jars of peach honey, a pound cake on its stand, deviled eggs, mac and cheese, a pan of rolls, cobbler, the family recipe book and Grandma’s apron. Each page is one big object, decorated with hearts and swirls. A good gift for the cook in the family. See Brown Sugar & Cast Iron.

Brown Sugar & Kin: family

Forty-five scenes of Black family life: a grandmother and granddaughter on the porch swing, quilting, a piano lesson, jump rope, fishing with Granddad, reading in the big chair, a family dinner. Every design comes with an affirmation about family and belonging. Made for mothers, grandmothers and aunts, and for coloring together. See Brown Sugar & Kin.

Brown Sugar & Bloom: self-care

Fifty pages of Black women taking their time: morning stretches, a head wrap and a cup of tea, a long soak in the tub, cooking for themselves, painting, dancing, resting among flowers. Five chapters, with fifty-one affirmations running through the book. See Brown Sugar & Bloom.

Brown Sugar & Soul: music

Fifty pages of Black women and the music that moves them, in five chapters including Gospel, Soul and R&B: a record held close, hands raised in praise, a woman at the piano, a cassette wrapped in flowers. Every design has an affirmation. The women are original figures, not portraits of real singers. See Brown Sugar & Soul.

How detailed are they?

We label every book on this site as bold and easy, detailed, or an activity book, and the Brown Sugar books are detailed: fuller scenes and more line work than our bold and easy shelf, so a page takes longer and gives you more to work with. They are still large print, with clear outlines and no tiny mandala-style patterns. If you want something very quick and simple, start with a bold and easy book; if you want an evening’s project, these are for you. What bold and easy means.

A book where you choose the skin and hair

Many coloring books for Black women fill the hair in solid black and shade the skin gray before you open them. Mara at Home, the first book in our Afrohemian Collection, leaves both open: forty pages of one Black woman at home in adire and mudcloth patterns, with every coil, loc and braid drawn as an open shape for you to color.

Paperback or printable?

Every book is sold as a paperback on Amazon and as a printable PDF here, and the Brown Sugar bundle has all four PDFs in one download. The PDF suits anyone who wants to print a favorite page again, or print on cardstock for alcohol markers. Not sure yet? There is a free sample page from every book.