Coloring book featuring Cruz selling fast

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AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — He’s known for coloring outside the lines in the staid U.S. Senate. Now, children large and small can color in U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz.

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — He’s known for coloring outside the lines in the staid U.S. Senate. Now, children large and small can color in U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz.

Just in time for the holidays, St. Louis publisher Really Big Coloring Books Inc. is offering a coloring and activity book featuring the Texas tea party darling.

Company founder Wayne Bell said Thursday the book is already in its third printing after just six days. The first run of around 10,000 sold out in barely 24 hours, and the second went nearly as fast.

“At this point, I would almost call it a phenomenon,” Bell said. “It’s beyond us. We’re just trying to catch up with the printing.”

“U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz to the Future” is intended for “all ages.” Cruz did not cooperate in its production.

The cover features the beaming senator pointing at a flourishing tea plant whose stalks are stenciled with “Ten Commandments” and “U.S. Constitution.” It has leaves that include “Gun rights,” ”Free Enterprise,” and “Lower Taxes.”

At the top is a leaf reading “White House,” and the plant is growing on a lawn and root system that spell out “Grass Roots,” a reference to Cruz’s wild popularity with conservative activist groups.

Cruz only took office in January but is already frequently mentioned as a possible 2016 presidential contender.