Author Archives: Iiiireader

This is a super cute book with lots of fun and pretty coloring designs by the designers of Toc De Groc. There are beautiful flowers and gardens throughout the book. There are also a lot of animals in the book (cats, birds, elephants, owls, peacock, and more) but the focus is on a cute little kitty who appears in the most unusual of places it is almost a treasure hunt for where is the kitty. There are a few pages where the cat doesn’t appear. While there are some issues with the way the book has been published, I really like this book and will buy a second copy, if need be, in order to color all the pages I would like to do with the types of materials I choose.

The book is printed on both sides of non-perforated heavyweight and really good grade white paper. There are 100 pages of coloring designs with most of the designs fitting on one page. There are 12 designs that span across two pages and those designs do merge into the binding somewhat. About half of these designs line up really well on my copy while the others are slightly misaligned. The binding is glued rather than sewn, so removing these few pages without losing some of the design will be difficult. I will be keeping my designs in the book as the two page designs are just so pretty, I don’t want to ruin them.

The book has a removable dustcover and you can color on the outside of it. The publisher missed some opportunities by not printing a design on the inside of the dustcover and by making the actual cover too glossy to color on.

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This is a beautifully compiled coloring book which focuses on that God has for each of us. It is a wonderful reminder to have at all times but especially at those times when we are feeling low and perhaps rather unloved. The verses are taken from a variety of translations but regardless of which one used, the meaning comes through very clear we are deeply loved just as we are. The author gives background on how she came up with the verses and how we might use the book apart from merely coloring it.

The focus of each design is the scripture. The words are surrounded by various elements to color but you will be looking first and foremost at the words. I noticed that the wording is in cursive writing which is very elegant but it reminded me that in most school curriculum these days, cursive writing is not being taught. Sadly, there will soon come a day when young people would not be able to read this book.

In any case, the designs are very elegant and are printed on one side of very nice heavyweight white paper. The author has provided a journal page opposite each picture (on the backside of the preceding design.) The page is not perforated and some of the designs merge into the binding which might make it problematic to remove pages. I will not with this book as I want to be able to leaf through it and read all of the verses whether or not I am coloring that day.

The paper is a really nice grade. I found that my permanent markers (Ultra-Fine Sharpies, Copics, and other alcohol-based) bled through easily but my water-based markers did a much better job. I had some shadowing with my Stabilo 88 but my Staedler triplus fineliners and the brush end of my Tombows dual brush did not bleed through at all (though again, with the marker end of the Tombow, there was some shadowing.) My gel pens did not bleed through but they did require extra drying time so that they wouldn’t smear on the paper. I find that is true with most really nice grades of paper the gel pen sits on the surface rather than soaks in and needs to dry well. My coloring pencils went on thick and creamy. If I decide to use markers, I will put a heavy sheet of paper or chipboard under my work to keep the sink from seeping through to the next page.

I own a lot of coloring books, but the Christian ones mean something different to me. I enjoy coloring in them but they also give me something to meditate on, to ponder, or to rejoice in. I am really thankful that Christian publishers are beginning to publish these books.