A leuco dye pastel marking device for use with a substrate treated with an activator of the leuco dye, such that drawing upon the substrate will reveal a color, but drawing on a normal surface will have no visible effect. A solvent such as dimethyl adipate is used to store the leuco dye in a longer-lived, more stable, solid form, and varying hardnesses and consistencies may be achieved by the addition of 12 hydroxystearic acid and ethyl cellulose. The substrate may be treated selectively with the activator such that a texture, image, or hidden message is revealed by the application of the leuco dye pastel to the substrate. One or more substrates and one or more leuco dye pastel marking devices may be presented to a child as a coloring book with pastels that only visibly mark the coloring book and no other surface.