Picture this

Photograph by Jeff Gurwin

Photograph by Jeff Gurwin

 After moving to Hoboken, New Jersey, with his family four years ago, Seth Jarrett noticed that the city famous for its heavy concentration of post-college grads had become more kid-friendly. Jarrett, a father of two who runs a TV production company, had always dreamed of opening a children’s shop, and he felt that his new burg was the perfect spot. Inspired by his son, Jacob, 5, a huge coloring-book fan, he launched an ultra-niche store, Creative Little Monsters.

Here, deep bins hold about 4,000 crayons, which kids dive for as soon as they walk in. The staff keeps free coloring sheets on hand, and children scribble away while sitting at whimsical red and blue mini tables. Local teachers lead storytimes and art classes, but the big draw is the comprehensive catalog of coloring books for sale: Yellow pegboard walls hold more than 600 titles in a wide variety of genres—licensed properties like Dora the Explorer and The Backyardigans, plus more sophisticated fare, such as Color Your Own Van Gogh Paintings. High up, a pricier stash of vintage collectors’ volumes ranges from the nostalgic (The Goonies, $20) to the kitschy (Donny and Marie, $50). 

The store’s biggest sellers are the six-by-two-foot coloring posters of U.S. states; their decidedly educational bent doesn’t deter young creative types from snapping them up. But a title like the Kaplan Medical Anatomy Coloring Book is probably of limited interest to your kid, unless he has an unusual hankering to find just the right hues to shade in, say, the gastrointestinal system. — Carolyn Juris

1200 Park Ave at 12th St, Hoboken, NJ (201-217-1774, creativelittlemonsters.com).