Tea Party Kids' Coloring Book Prompts Threats for Publisher

(NewsCore) - The publisher behind a coloring book for children that espouses the beliefs of the Tea Party says he has received death threats over its publication, CBS reported Tuesday.

St. Louis-based Really Big Coloring Books Inc.'s Wayne Bell said the book -- which he wrote himself -- is not political.

Thousands of copies of the book have already been sold and demand is so high that new books are printed each day, but Bell said the Tea Party is not behind the book and will not benefit from any sales.

"We're not really making a political statement," he said.

Bell, whose site also publishes a Barack Obama coloring book, said some people are not happy about the hit publication.

He said he has received death threats in writing and over the phone.

Critics have questioned whether the books should be aimed at children, according to KSDK, with passages in the book labeled as over-political.

"When taxes are too high, the high tax takes away jobs and freedom," one passage reads.

"In 1773 we had a Tea Party and this led to freedom from high taxes. Today we are having another Tea Party and this will lead to freedom from high taxes again!"

The Tea Party movement emerged in 2009 through a series of locally and nationally-coordinated protests and the name "Tea Party" is a reference to the Boston Tea Party of 1773 -- a protest by American colonists against various acts by the British Government.

The purpose of the movement has been to stop what it views as wasteful government spending, excessive taxation, and strangulation of the economy through regulatory bureaucracies.