iiiiReader Book Reviews

This is a coloring book of 40 different fairy designs. The styles range wildly though you can see, from the design, when an artist is probably responsible for two or three designs in the book. There are adult fairies, child fairies, and even anime style fairies. Some of the designs are simple line drawings, others have the look of a blended pencil sketch, while a good number are detailed and intricate with small areas to color throughout. I believe that the publisher has curated (or licensed) the rights to the images through various entities on the internet. When this happens, you might find the same images in a variety of books by different publishers. At this point, these fairy designs are all new to me but I have seen the duplication issue with other books by this publisher.

All of the designs stop well before the binding. The designs are printed on one side of thin white non-perforated paper that is typical for books published by CreateSpace. The binding is glued but there is plenty of room for you to cut a page out if you choose to do so. All of the designs either have finished elements at all sides or have a framing line around the outside. I really like this as it gives me a natural stopping point, saves ink/pencil, and also gives me a more finished looking project when I color.

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This publisher has recently released a number of coloring books in this line. This particular book has a focus on the Bible and Mothers. The 50 designs are all elegant and include either a Bible verse or a uplifting saying. In addition to page after page of designs, there are also tags, bookmarks, and cards that can be colored and cut out to use or give away. The Scripture quotations are taken from a variety of sources, including: the Holy Bible, New International Version NIV; the Holy Bible, New Living Translation; the New King James Version; the Message; the Holy Bible, English Standard Version; and the Holy Bible, Contemporary English Version.

The uplifting message and/or Scripture is incorporated into the designs so that you can dwell on the words as you are coloring. I find that I am turning to the page that I need to think about which makes this a book I will reach for often. While my mother has passed, I will be happy to give this to the other Moms in my family and friends.

The book is really well made. The designs are printed on one side only of heavyweight perforated paper. The binding is at the top and is spiral bound. I really appreciate this binding as you can flip to any page and have access to the entire design. The cover is made of heavy hardboard. When I flip the book to the page I am working on, the cover becomes a working surface that I can take with me on the go.

A few of the designs extend beyond the perforations. I won’t remove these from the book as I will lose a bit of the design if I do. This could be easily solved in future additions to this series by sizing the design to fit below the perforations.

All of my alcohol-based markers bled through this paper. However, none of my water-based ones did. My various gel pens worked well and did not bleed through or leave shadows at the back. Coloring pencils worked nicely as well and behaved according to their type of lead (soft/hard core.) You can put a piece of card stock, chipboard, or even a file folder below the page you are working on to keep ink from ruining the rest of the book. I will put a list of the coloring medium that I used for testing this book in the comments section below.