iiiiReader Book Reviews

This is a new coloring book by Marty Noble. Her more recent books have shown an increasing tendency towards smaller and much more intricate illustrations. It’s gotten to the point where most of the books I buy of hers are too difficult for me to color because of the tiny, tiny elements. I have given those books away in frustration because I love her style but can’t deal with the issues involved with trying to color itsy bitsy pieces.

This book is different. While it is still more detailed and has smaller areas to color than her earlier works, this is very do-able for me to color. The smaller areas are fewer and less intricate. The designs are still quite full of elements.

The designs are of 31 different fairy tales. Each tale has a page. I recognize many of the tales but not all of them. That will make it fun to investigate. For me, this book is definitely a keeper.

Depending on when and where it was printed, Creative Haven paper is either slightly rough or slightly smooth. My copy of this book has slightly smooth paper.

Continue reading →

This is the fourth book in the Serene Village series. I’ve reviewed three so far, including this one. I skipped ahead as this one is Christmas related (though you might not think so from the title.)

Many of the designs have winter fun in mind but there a good number that also focus on Christmas. I like Christmas books but wish it were more clear that that was what you could expect in this book. For some people, it makes a big difference.

I like the books in this series but, unlike other such series, this one is done by different artists. While in theory, I don’t have an issue with this, in practice it feels more like the publisher is trying to cash in a bit by releasing lots of books quickly.

This particular book does not have an artist attribution, which is more unusual for the Julia Rivers imprint than for other publishers. The style is very different from the last book I reviewed but it is cute and should be fun to color.

There are some areas with smaller than average elements to color but not what I would consider too difficult or hard to color.

Continue reading →

This is my first coloring book by Jenn Ski though I have purchased other books from the Just Add Color series. As always, with this series, the publishing is done well. The paper is heavy, slightly rough and has perforated pages.

The designs in the book are of animals. The style is in that of a mid-century style. The animals are definitely stylized but it also brings to my mind, the look of folk art as well.

The designs are open and easy to color. You have room to do blending or to add additional elements if you choose to do so. To be true to the mid-century look, big blocks of colors would be a great way to color.

Continue reading →

This is a set of 20 cards which are a small portion of the designs from the larger coloring book by the same name. I don’t own that book, so I can’t speak for it. However, this book has no original designs. They are all stock images licensed from Shutterstock. They may have words and verses added but I can’t verify that those are from this publisher.

The designs are nice and most are Christian-based. A few are more general inspirational statements. The designs are generally detailed and have smaller elements to color. That is par for the course with small card interpretations. Fitting on the small page what originally fit on a larger page will shrink the elements quite small.

I like the book and will certainly color a few but most will pass to others. Actually, using the color cards as part of a gift isn’t a bad idea. They don’t need to be colored. You can include the card and a small set of ten or so pencils or markers for the individual to enjoy coloring.

Continue reading →

This is the fourth book in the Dreamlings series. I own all four. I don’t know if this is considered volume 4 or if it stands outside of the general series as a seasonal one-off coloring book.

While the coloring book does contain winter scenes, it also has a big emphasis on Christmas style scenes as well. That works great for me as I like Christmas coloring books; however, I wanted to let you know in case that is an issue for you.

The designs are mostly of animals though there are a couple of girls, snowmen and even a gingerbread man as well. I enjoy that the animals are shown with a Christmas tree and even as ornaments on the tree itself. The designs are easy to color and include a nice background. While they have a nice amount of detail, I do not consider it a coloring book of detailed designs.

As usual with the Dreamlings series, the designs are printed twice – once with black lines on white paper and the second time as white designs printed on black paper. The change up in the background color makes coloring the second copy a new experience.

In addition to the two copies of designs, the purchase of this coloring book also includes a free download .pdf. The instructions for downloading are in the book.

Continue reading →

“Colouring Fantasy 3” is my third coloring book by Scot Howden. I so enjoyed his first two coloring books that finding a third one was an enjoyable surprise. The designs are detailed and some are intricate with small areas to

ys, his designs have an ethereal quality to them that is really wonderful to color. The designs in this book are a range of women in fantasy, such as fairies.

I’ve given a few of the designs my own names, such as Braveheart which he calls Thistle; fairy on an old shoe, which he calls Daydreaming; Hey, I’ve misplaced my Eye again, which he calls Momento; and Joan of Arc, which well, he calls Joan of Arc, too.

He’s got his girls clothed which, in his original art, may not always be the case. I appreciate it, Scot, as my grandchildren rummage through my books and I’d have to cut out pages which would be a shame.

Continue reading →

This is one of the latest releases in this series by David Jones and Daisy Seal. I’ve found the books in th series to be hit or miss and, for me, this one is a hit. I am inclined to like Japanese art because of I have grown up with it and enjoyed it my whole life. However, I would be the first to be critical of something that wasn’t quite right.

This book does not contain any of the issues that I have had with some of the other books in this series. The designs are good line drawing representations of famous Japanese woodblock prints.

The designs are detailed and some contain intricate and small areas to color. Quite a bit of each design is open and flowing and gives the colorist a lot of room for interpretation.

There are designs of women and designs of men as well. There are landscapes and seascapes and animals (especially fish), too. It is a nice all around book printed on quality paper. I’ll enjoy coloring in this book for years into the future.

There are 45 line drawing designs to color. The designs were chosen by Daisy Seal and were illustrated by David Jones. The name of the original woodblock print is on the page facing the drawing and includes, where possible: the name of the artist and when the artist was born and passed away and the general time in which the artwork was created. There is a thumbnail of a small portion of the design with some color showing.

The inside flaps at the front and back of the book have black and white line drawings which can be colored as well. The cover is quite smooth but will accept various forms of color medium.

Continue reading →

This is my first coloring book by this artist. I wasn’t sure what to expect when I ordered it. It has an inspirational story about a young girl along with designs about her as she follows her dream journey.

The girl travels through many lands – each one more fantastic than the last. She doesn’t have features on her face, which makes for an interesting coloring conundrum. Do you leave her featureless so she can be anyone one or do you (if you have the skill) provide her with features. This was an easy decision for me as I am lacking the skill – so she is anyone and everyone in my book.

The designs are detailed and have full backgrounds. Something that I liked was that one the few two-page spreads, the artist divided the image into two and place it so that no other design was behind it. You don’t lose anything in the binding area.

The words of the story are printed on the back of each design page, so certain medium will leak through and will mar the words. It’s not important to me, but I wanted to let you know what to expect.

Continue reading →

This is my fourth coloring book by Janelle Dimmett. The two of the other three were published by Pomegranate and were of a higher quality of paper. This book and another that I own are published by Kindle Direct Publishing (Amazon’s in-house publishing group.)

The paper is quite different; however, I have come to accept that Amazon will not provide independent artists a good quality coloring paper. If I want the artwork by these artists, I have to accept the questionable paper.

I have been contacted (on my Youtube channel) many times to find a good fall-based coloring book. Not Halloween but a truly seasonal inspired book. Even though we are late in Autumn as I write this, I just found it. It’s not a new book but it is a new to me book and I wanted to review it and bring it to your attention this year.

I really like Ms. Dimmett’s style and it is shown to great advantage in these illustrations. The fall images feel just right to me. There are some Halloween images but they are cute and hot scary for kids to color. One of my favorite images in the book is of trick-or-treaters. I think it is just cute and sweet and reminds me of my own childhood and taking my kids out each year when they were little as well.

As usual with Ms. Dimmett, the designs are detailed and some have intricate and small areas to color. Unlike the last self-published book I reviewed by this artist, this book has framing lines or finished elements. The images are also sized great for the book.

Continue reading →

This is the second Archie comic book theme coloring book that I own. This time, the theme is holidays which really seems to mean Christmas for most of the designs. Archie was one of my favorite comic books as a child. I enjoyed all of the kids in Riverdale and even some of the adults.

The designs, once again, appear just like the comic book series and are well done for coloring. Once again, there is a heavy use of black that may trouble some people but is fine for me.

The coloring book is printed on both sides and some of the designs merge into the binding. The pages are perforated and some of the design elements will get lost if you remove a page from the book. The inside of the front and back covers are printed with line drawings but have a slightly glossy finish which can interfere with coloring.

The designs are all detailed and a few, especially those with smaller comic strip scenes, contain smaller and more intricate areas to color.

Continue reading →