Smiling Squid Colouring Page

This squid takes up most of the page with one large, rounded body that tapers to a point at the top, a bit like a closed umbrella. Two big round eyes with pupils and a tiny highlight dot sit low on the body, above a small curved smile. Underneath, eight wavy arms fan out and curl at the tips. Around the squid float three bubbles of different sizes, a big one at top left, a medium one on the right, and a small one lower down, giving the page an underwater feel without any seaweed, fish or background to fuss over.

The body is the standout shape here: one big, closed area a child can fill in with a single colour in a few confident strokes, which makes for an easy early win. The eight arms are the real task, since each one is thin and wavy rather than straight, so staying inside them takes a steadier hand than the body does. The three bubbles are small, round and separate from everything else, a good place for a child who wants to try a second or third colour without much risk of going over a line. It is an easy page to talk about too, counting the bubbles, counting the arms, and asking which colour the squid would pick for its smile.

Next to other ocean sheets in this set, this one sits on the easier side overall, because the body is so large and simple, but the wavy arms nudge the difficulty up slightly for the very youngest colourers. It suits a three or four year old colouring mostly on their own, and works for a two year old too if an adult takes over the fiddlier arm tips while the child handles the body and the bubbles.