iiiiReader Book Reviews

Myth & Magic: An Enchanted Fantasy Coloring Book by Kinuko Y. Craft

By: Kinuko Y. Craft

Rating: 5 of 5

I have long been a fan of Kinuko Y. Craft’s artwork, especially in puzzles and calendars over the years. I was very happy to see that she had translated her artwork into line drawings for a coloring book. The designs are all very detailed and intricate with many small spots to color. I am using a combination of ultra-fine point alcohol-based markers and sharp pointed colored pencils to be able to color the details in this book.

The designs are elegant and richly detailed. I find them to be an excellent translation of her work into a coloring book. I would be hesitant to recommend this book to anyone who has fine motor control or vision issues but otherwise, I think it is a fantastic coloring book and one that can provide many hours of fun and challenging coloring.

This is what I experienced while coloring in this book and testing the paper with my coloring medium.

40 Hand-drawn intricate Fantasy Designs by Kinuko Y. Craft

Printed on one side of the page

Paper is heavyweight, white, slightly rough, and perforated

Glue Binding

Designs do not merge past the perforations and most have a frame of sorts around the outer edge of the design.

Alcohol-based markers bleed through the page

Water-based markers and India ink pens bleed through the page in spots.

I use a blotter page below my working page when using these wet mediums. It keeps the ink from seeping through. You can also remove pages before coloring to keep the rest of the book from being damaged.

Gel pens leave a slight shadow on the back of the page but do not bleed through. Some pens require additional drying time.

Colored pencils work well with this slightly rough paper. I was able to layer and blend easily with both oil and wax based pencils.

In addition to the copy of this coloring book that I purchased on Amazon, the publisher sent me a sample advanced reader copy of this book

Everything Beautiful: A Coloring Book for Reflection and Inspiration

By: WaterBrook Press

Rating: 5 of 5

This is a really well made and beautiful Christian-based coloring book filled with inspiring Scripture, quotes, and excerpts from songs. The designs in the book are by nine different artists: Holly Camp, Terra Cypher, Ann-Margret Hovespian, Katherine Howe, Cari Logston, Laura Elizabeth Marshall, Lisa Shirk, Jenny Stewart, and Jennifer Tucker. The publishers of the book provided the artists with the text to inspire the design and each artist came up with their interpretation.

This is the second in a series of compilation Christian coloring books. The first one, Whatever Is Lovely is a favorite of mine and one that I have purchased not only for myself but as gifts for others as well. It is one of the best Christian-based coloring books that I own. Because of the high standard of the first book, I was hoping that the second one would be similar. It absolutely is and will be an item that I include in my holiday gift shopping this year.

There are 45 designs in this coloring book. Some of the designs are based on Scripture while others are based on quotes by famous individuals and still others from hymns, songs, and poems. The inspiration for each design is printed on the back of the design. What is nice about this is that if you remove a page from the book (perhaps as a gift), that information will stay with the page it applies to.

The translations used in this book are: the Holy Bible New International Version (NIV), ESV the Holy Bible English Standard Version, and the Message. While designs may focus on a few key words from Scripture, the entire quote with cite is printed on the back of the page.

I color in many different styles and types of coloring books but the ones that mean the most to me are Christian-based. When times are tough or I’m feeling down, coloring in these books help to focus my attention on the right path. Between the Scripture and the words of others, my mind is reset properly and I have the wonderful refreshed feeling that comes with hearing the Word.

This is what I experienced while coloring in this book and testing the paper with my coloring medium. I will list, in the comments section below, the coloring medium I use for my tests and for coloring my projects.

45 Inspiring Christian Designs by nine different artists

Printed one side of the page

Paper is white, heavyweight, slightly rough and perforated

Glue Binding

Some designs are printed past the perforations and merge into the binding area. These areas do not include any essential element of the design

Alcohol-based markers bleed through the paper.

Water-based markers, India ink pens and gel pens leave indistinct shadows on the back of the page but do not bleed through the paper.

Colored pencils work especially well with this paper. Its slightly rough texture has good tooth to grab the pigment well. I was able to layer the same color, different colors and to blend easily (using a blender stick) with both oil and wax based pencils.

tokidoki Coloring Book

By: tokidoki

Rating: 5 of 5

Tokidoki is a cute Japanese-inspired set of characters that have popular for more than a decade. I have a few items which have these characters and was really happy to find a coloring book with many of them in it.

There are 32 designs in this book. The designs range from easy to more detailed but are all fun and easy to color. The antics of the characters puts a big smile on my face as I am coloring.

The book is in a smaller format and works well for a travel size coloring book. The pages are perforated, so I will plan on keeping the book intact.

This is what I found while coloring in the book and testing the paper with my coloring medium:

32 Tokidoki designs in a 7 x 9 inch format coloring book

Designs are printed on one side of the page

Paper is medium weight, white, slightly rough and non-perforated

Glue Binding

Designs merge into the binding area

Alcohol-based markers bleed through the paper

Water-based markers leave colorful shadows and can spot through the paper if applied heavily

India ink and gel pens do not bleed through. Some gel pens require additional drying time.

Colored pencils work well with this paper. I used both oil and wax based pencils and got good pigment, layered different colors and blending easily using a blending stick.

Epic Journeys (Other Worlds Icons of Fantasy)

By: Larry Elmore

Rating: 5 of 5

This is a really great fantasy coloring book which combines the art of four artists: Jeff Easley, Larry Elmore, Danta Knutson, and Mark A. Nelson. The design groupings all have a distinctive look and feel which gives me a wide variety of artwork in a single book. The designs are detailed and some have intricate and small areas to color.

Each grouping has a story to go along with it. The story is told on the back of the design pages with the applicable story blurb being opposite the page you color. I don’t plan to remove pages from my book (though you can as the pages are perforated) because that would disconnect the stories. The stories, or Epic Journeys are: Aurora’s Fairyland Odyssey by Jeff Easley, Happy Trails by Mark A. Nelson, Evonna the Enchantress by Larry Elmore, and Return of the Queen by Danta Knutson.

This is what I found while coloring in this book and testing the paper with my coloring medium.

24 Fantasy Designs 6 by each artist

Printed on one side of the page

Paper is white, heavyweight, somewhat smooth, and perforated

Glue Binding

Designs do not merge past the perforations and the designs have framing lines around the outer edges

Alcohol-based markers bleed through this paper. I used a blotter page of card stock with this type of medium to keep the ink from seeping through and damaging the pages below.

Water-based markers, India ink pens and gel pens do not bleed through the page. Some gel pens require additional drying time.

Colored pencils worked well with this paper. I used both oil and wax based and was able to get good pigment, layer and blend using a blender stick.

Santa’s Furry Helpers Coloring Book

By: Kayomi Harai

Rating: 4 of 5

This is the second of two coloring books I have purchased by Kayomi Harai. She is a self-taught artist who does beautiful paintings of kittens. The designs in this book are line drawing interpretations of some of those paintings. I really like the whimsical styling of the cats their poses and expressions are adorable. They also seem to get into some silly hi-jinks along the way (just as my cats did over the years.)

Unfortunately, once again, the publisher Designs Originals has reduced the size of ten of the designs in this book. It has been done in order to include the coloring information that was used to color the sample of the design. While I like that information, it could easily have been included on the page that showed the sample design and then the coloring page could have been left full size. Because of of this issue, some of the elements in the reduced designs are more difficult to color. Also because of this issue, I have dropped what would have been a five star rating on this book to a four star rating.

There are many pages, at the front of the book, with coloring hints and colored samples of designs as well.

This is what I experienced while coloring in this book and testing the paper with my coloring mediums.

32 Santa Helper Kitten designs 22 full size and 10 reduced size designs

Designs are printed on one side of the page with cute quotes and journal lines on the back of the page.

Paper is medium weight, white, slightly rough and perforated. It is also noted as acid-free archival quality.

Glue Binding

Designs stop before the perforations. Most of the designs have framing lines at the outer edges.

Alcohol and water-based markers bleed through the page

Gel pens and India ink pens leave shadows on the back of the page. India ink pens can spot through as well depending on how heavily they are applied.

Colored pencils work well with the paper. Both oil and wax based pencils provide good color, layer the same or multiple colors well, and blend easily using a blending stick. Hard lead pencils can dent through the page.

I like to use a blotter page below my working page to keep seeping ink and dents from marring the pages below. I use card stock but two sheets of heavyweight paper work well, too. You can also simply remove pages before coloring to keep the rest of the book in good condition as well.

tokidoki Postcard Book

By: tokidoki

Rating: 5 of 5

This is a wonderful set of postcards to enjoy and to color. Most sets of coloring postcards I have purchased have 20 postcards. In this set, you receive 40 postcards to color and 40 of the same designs already colored. That makes for a huge set comparatively. The designs are detailed and somewhat intricate as the characters have been reduced to a smaller size. I found that my smaller nib gel pens, ultra-fine nib markers and sharp pointed pencils could get into the small areas well.

The postcards are printed to two a page. Each page has two of the same design, one is already colored and the other is not. You can use the colored design as a guide or simply enjoy it as you let your own color palette take over (this is what I plan to do.)

The postcards separate via perforations and have an area for stamp and address already defined on the back of the page. The paper is a light weight card stock and is white and smooth to the touch.

Alcohol-based markers seep through the page. If you use these, be sure to put a piece of paper or card stock under your working page to keep ink from seeping through to the next page. Water-based markers, India ink pens and gel pens do not. Gel pens definitely require additional drying time as they seem to sit on top of the smooth page rather than be absorbed rapidly. Colored pencils work well except when blending with a blender stick. In that case, the colors smear more than blend.

Escape to Oz: A Colouring Book Adventure

By: Good Wives and Warriors

Rating: 5 of 5

I own a number of the Escape coloring books by Good Wives and Warriors. Each one has been a fantastic and fun coloring adventure. This one, based on The Wizard of Oz is another great entry. It is the same size as the others (at approximately 7.5 x 7.25 inches) and has fantastic designs that mostly spread across two pages (though there are a few one page designs included as well.)

It is fun to see Dorothy, Toto, the Scarecrow, the Tin Man and the Cowardly Lion. The magic shoes are silver as described in the book rather than the ruby slippers of the movie. In my first project, I did a nod to the movie with the beginning of the tornado down in grayscale and then I moved to color just as the movie moved to color on the other side of the rainbow.

The designs are very detailed and, in many cases, intricate with small elements to color. I am choosing to use colored pencils with sharp points as it will be easier to color the tiny parts and because the designs are printed on both sides of the page.

The attached cover of the book is well made and is done in shades of green with black lines and also has gold foil. You can color the remainder of the cover (front and back) if you wish. The inside of the cover has fold-outs (front and back) and a white lines on green print which you can also color. The rest of the pages (including title and intro) are designs, so every page in the book can be colored.

The binding is sewn rather than glued, so removing pages will require a few snips of threads every few pages. I prefer to leave my together as it tells a whole story as it is but coloring into the binding takes some manipulation of the book.

96 pages of Fantastic Wizard of Oz designs

Designs are printed on both sides of the page

Paper is heavyweight, cream colored, slightly rough and non-perforated

30 Designs are printed across two pages

Sewn Binding

More than half of the designs merge into the binding area

Alcohol-based markers bleed through this paper. If you use these, the ink will mar the design on the back of the page.

Water-based markers left indistinct shadows on the back of the page but did not bleed through. The shadows were enough to be noticeable on the designs on the back of the page.

Gel pens and India ink pens did not bleed through.

Colored pencils work well with this paper both oil based and water based. I was able to layer and blend well using a blender stick and get a nice deep color with both types of pencils.

Create Magic: A Coloring Book by Katie Daisy for Adults and Kids at Heart

By: Katie Daisy

Rating: 5 of 5

This is my first coloring book by artist Katie Daisy. The designs are hand-drawn and have a lovely charming quality to them. There are lots of flowers and other elements from nature (birds, mushrooms, shells, etc.) Additionally, there are a few that are simply fun, such as a grouping of lanterns and another one of a globe. Many of the designs have inspiring sayings on them.

The designs are unique and fun to color. There is a nice level of detail but nothing too intricate or difficult to color. Each page makes for a fairly quick and easy project.

This is what I experienced while coloring in this book and testing the paper with my coloring medium.

40 Hand-drawn designs, some with sayings, and most derived from nature

Printed on one side of the page

Paper is heavyweight, white, slightly rough, and perforated

Glue Binding

Designs do not merge into the binding area and most have a frame of sorts around the outer edge of the design.

Alcohol-based markers bleed through the page

Water-based markers and India ink pens bleed through the page in spots.

Gel pens leave a slight shadow on the back of the page but do not bleed through. Some pens require additional drying time be sure to allow ample time to keep the ink from smudging.

Colored pencils work well with this slightly rough paper. I was able to layer and blend easily with both oil and wax based pencils.

I use a blotter page below my working page when working with wet medium I this book. That keeps the ink from seeping through and marring the page below. I use card stock but a couple of pages of heavyweight paper work well, too. You can always simply remove pages prior to coloring to keep your book from damage.

In addition to the copy of this coloring book that I purchased on Amazon, the publisher sent me a sample advanced reader copy of this book.

Reflecting on the Names of Jesus: Jesus-Centered Coloring Book for Adults (Jesus-Centered Devotions)

By: Group Publishing

Rating: 5 of 5

This is a wonderful coloring book for the Christian colorist. The book contains 40 designs to color, each with one of the names of Christ as told in Scripture. On the page opposite (back of the preceding page), there is a Scripture reference and cite to the use of the name in the Bible. The Scripture is drawn from 19 different translations. In addition to the quote, there is a suggested question for you to ponder and ask while coloring.

I have another book which is the names of God. I really enjoy that book but wanted one of the names of Jesus and this is an outstanding one. I’m pleased with the hand-drawn designs and the names which were picked for the book. I’m not familiar with all of the translations but I found that each of them made the point of the name very well. It’s wonderful to think of the name that I am coloring and to ask myself how I can see this part of God at work in my life.

My only nit is that I wish the the Scripture for the design had been printed on the back of the same page so that if you remove a page from the book, you had both the design and appropriate Scripture kept together. I don’t plan on removing pages, so it isn’t a problem for me but I do know that many left-handed individuals prefer to remove pages so they are not coloring over the hump of the binding.

This is what I found while coloring in this book and testing the paper with my coloring medium.

40 Design pages with the Names of Jesus from a wide variety of translations

Designs printed black on white on one side of page with Scripture and other information printed on the back as white on gray.

Paper is medium weight, white, slightly smooth and perforated.

Glue Binding

Most designs cross over the perforations and merge into the binding area. The area lost if you remove a page from the book does not contain important elements of the design.

Alcohol-based markers bleed through the paper

Water-based markers leave colorful shadows and can bleed through in spots to the back of the page

India ink pens spot through to the back of the page

Gel pens leave colorful shadows on the back of the page.

Colored pencils work well with this paper. I tested both oil and wax based pencils and got similar good results. I was able to get good pigment with deeper coloring by applying layers, I could layers multiple colors well and also blend easily using a pencil style blender stick.

I protect the pages below by working page with a blotter sheet. I prefer card stock as a blotter but you can use a couple of pages of heavyweight paper as well. You can also remove pages from this book (at the perforations) prior to coloring to keep the rest of the book in good shape.

Teacup Kittens Coloring Book

By: Kayomi Harai

Rating: 4 of 5

I really like the designs in this book. The artist, Kayomi Harai is new to me but I will certainly be looking for her books after purchasing the two that are now available. The kittens in the book are designed in what seems to be a hybrid of line drawing and grayscale as much of the cat fur details are done in shades of gray. The kittens are adorable and range from those in teacups to fairy kittens, a kitten in bath and many other cute poses.

In my first project, I used gray marker which almost completely obscured the shading so I will be careful with my use of gray in the future and use darker colors on the shading prior to using an all-over color to begin with.

My only issue with the book has to do with the publishing. Designs Originals has, this year, begun shrinking a number of the designs to include coloring information on the design page. It’s been disappointing to me as it renders to the designs harder to color by making the details too small. In this book, ten of the designs are reduced. I like the coloring information but think it could be limited to the colored sample pages or to a page of its own rather than reducing the coloring pages. Because of this issue, I dropped my rating a star from a five to a four.

Apart from that, I am really enjoying the book. With these particular designs, shrinking has made the designs a bit more difficult to color but, thankfully, it has not made them intricate or too tiny to deal with. There are many pages, at the front of the book, with coloring hints and colored samples of designs as well.

This is what I experienced while coloring in this book and testing the paper with my coloring mediums.

32 Kitten designs 22 full size and 10 reduced size designs

Designs are printed on one side of the page with cute quotes and journal lines on the back of the page.

Paper is medium weight, white, slightly rough and perforated. It is also noted as acid-free archival quality.

Glue Binding

Designs stop before the perforations

Alcohol and water-based markers bleed through the page

Gel pens and India ink pens leave shadows on the back of the page. India ink pens can spot through as well depending on how heavily they are applied.

Colored pencils work well with the paper. Both oil and wax based pencils provide good color, layer the same or multiple colors well, and blend easily using a blending stick. Hard lead pencils can dent through the page.

I like to use a blotter page below my working page to keep seeping ink and dents from marring the pages below. I use card stock but two sheets of heavyweight paper work well, too. You can also simply remove pages before coloring to keep the rest of the book in good condition as well.