Song “Alouette, gentille alouette” · the coloring pages on this refrain
The winged unicorn and the lark
The lark, wings spread wide, and a winged unicorn fly side by side among the clouds and stars.
- Recommended age
- Ages 4 and up · 20 to 40 minutes
- Themes
- Storybook scenes, Unicorns
Two friends in flight
The lark and the unicorn fly toward each other in the middle of the sky. On the left, the bird has its wings spread wide, every feather drawn, its feet stretched forward, claws open. On the right, a small unicorn has real wings on its back: it speeds along with its legs stretched out, its mane dotted with stars, its tail curled. Two clouds float at the top, a third one between them; at the bottom, two big banks of clouds close off the page left and right, and stars twinkle here and there.
The bird that sings as it climbs
The lark is the bird that sings as it rises straight up into the sky, above the fields: it is the bird of “Alouette, gentille alouette”, the French song children sing about a lark. This page shows it in full flight, and gives it an unexpected companion: a winged unicorn, which only exists in stories. At four, children tell the difference very well, and that is what amuses them: a real bird, an invented animal, and the two of them playing together among the clouds.
The feathers, one by one
The lark’s wings are the fine part of the page: each feather is a long, narrow area, and there are many of them. It is a good precision exercise at four, as long as you use a pencil rather than a marker. The unicorn, the clouds and the sky, by contrast, offer big calm areas where the hand can rest. You can alternate: one wing, then the unicorn, then the other wing.
A colored sky
The sky is the biggest area: it can stay white, or take a light blue while the clouds stay white so they stand out. The lark’s feathers look lovely shaded: dark brown at the wing tips, lighter toward the body. For the unicorn, a single pale color on the body, and bright shades in the mane and on the wings.
A word for the grown-up: suggest coloring the feathers in two alternating colors, every other one. It is a small challenge children of this age like to take on, and it makes them look at where each feather ends before moving to the next.
Coloring pages that go with this one
More pages from the same theme, age or season — the ones you print right after.
