iiiiReader Book Reviews

Creative Haven Norman Rockwell Classics from The Saturday Evening Post Coloring Book (Adult Coloring)

By: Norman Rockwell

Rating: 5 of 5

I have collected vintage magazine covers throughout my adult life but do not have one by Norman Rockwell (simply too pricey for my budget.) I am really pleased to have this coloring book based on 31 of his wonderful covers.

Sara Jackson is the illustrator who has done the work of converting Mr. Rockwell’s artwork for this book. She has done an excellent job with designs that have a high level of detail. There is a heavy use of black in several of the designs. I can work with that but I know that it is an issue for many who like to color. You can see a full book, silent flip-through in my video to see if the book works well for you.
The covers included in this book are: Soda Jerk, Blank Canvas, Triple Self-Portrait, Happy Birthday, Miss Jones, The Dugout, The Plumbers, Freedom from Want, Progress?, Gone Fishing, Before the Shot, Lion and Zookeeper, Travel Experience, April Fools: Checkers, Coin Toss, After the Prom, The Babysitter, Tattoo Artist, Saying Grace, Dewey v. Truman, Three Umpires, The Discovery, Barbershop Quartet, Picture Hanger, Cover Girl, How to Diet, Imperfect Fit, Prom Dress, Movie Star, Boy Reading His Sister’s Diary, Art Critic and The Missing Tooth.
The back of each page has information about the cover, including Title, Artist (Mr. Rockwell), and the date of publication as the cover of The Saturday Evening Post. I really appreciate that this information backs the design it pertains to. That way, if you remove a page from the book, the information and design stay together.
This is what I experienced while coloring in this book and testing the paper with my coloring medium.
31 Crisp and Clear line drawings derived from classic Norman Rockwell magazine covers from The Saturday Evening Post
The designs are printed one side of the page
Paper is the usual Creative Haven quality: white, medium weight, slightly rough and has perforated pages.
Glue Binding but with perforated pages so removing a page is fairly simple.
The designs stop well before the perforations.
Alcohol-based markers bleed through this paper
Water-based markers bleed through in spots and show colorful shadows on the back of the page
Gel pens and India ink pens leave shadows of color on the back of the page. India ink pens can bleed through when I apply more than one layer of ink.
Coloring pencils work well with this paper and even better than many of the more recent Creative Haven coloring books I have bought. I was able to get good pigment (color) lay down, layer the same color and multiple colors and to blend easily using a pencil style blender. I tested both oil and wax-based pencils with similar results. Hard lead pencils, like Verithins, leave dents on the back of the page.
I suggest either removing pages from the book to color or using a blotter page under your working page. I like card stock as it keeps ink from seeping through and damaging the pages below.

Creative Haven Country Scenes Coloring Book (Adult Coloring)

By: Dot Barlowe

Rating: 5 of 5

The designs in this coloring book have a wonderful hand-drawn sketch look to them which is quite lovely. The designs are of animals, buildings and landscape that one would see in the country. These are scenes of everyday life which have a peaceful nature to them.

The designs are detailed and in some few instances have intricate and small areas to color. Because they are hand-drawn, there are some few disconnected lines. I expect that in a sketch and have found that, if necessary, I can use a small nib black gel pen to connect lines. For the most part, I don’t bother with it and just go with the flow of the sketch nature of the design.
This is a lovely book to color in when I want to relax. Not only is it fun to color, the scenes are so peaceful and inviting, it ix a restful experience.
This is what I experienced while coloring in this book and testing the paper with my coloring medium.
31 Beautiful Designs inspired by the countryside
The designs are printed one side of the page
Paper is the usual Creative Haven quality: white, medium weight, slightly rough and has perforated pages.
Glue Binding but with perforated pages so removing a page is fairly simple.
The designs stop well before the perforations.
Alcohol-based markers bleed through this paper
Water-based markers bleed through in spots and show colorful shadows on the back of the page
Gel pens and India ink pens leave shadows of color on the back of the page. India ink pens can bleed through when I apply more than one layer of ink.
Coloring pencils work well with this paper. I was able to get good color lay down, layer the same color and multiple colors and to blend easily using a pencil style blender. I tested both oil and wax-based pencils with similar results. Hard lead pencils, like Verithins, leave dents on the back of the page.
I suggest either removing pages from the book to color or using a blotter page under your working page. I like card stock as it keeps ink from seeping through and damaging the pages below.

Curious Creatures: A Coloring Book Adventure (A Millie Marotta Adult Coloring Book)

By: Millie Marotta

Rating: 5 of 5

I own all of Millie Marotta’s previous animal theme coloring books: Animal Kingdom, Tropical World and Wild Savannah. In Curious Creatures Ms. Marotta has taken on more unusual animals from around the world. She states that some where chosen for their bizarre behavior while others for their unusual appearance and others still for their survival skills. At the end of the book, there is a listing of the animals (in page order) with both their common name and their Latin name.

The designs are detailed without being intricate. The illustrations are beautifully done. There are a number of designs that cross over the binding and, in my copy, they line up well but it is difficult to get into the binding area to color.
The book is in the larger square format at 9 7/8 x 9 7/8 x .5 inches as are the other books in Ms. Marotta’s series. The book cover is very pretty. It has touches of color and gold foil on the front of the cover. You could certainly color the remainder of the design if you so choose. The inside of the covers are plain white and slightly rough
This is what I found while coloring in this book and testing it with my coloring medium:
Designs are printed on both sides of the page
Some designs merge into the binding and some spread across the binding for a two-page design.
Paper is white, heavyweight, slight rough and non-perforated.
Glue bound
Alcohol-based markers bleed through the paper easily.
Water-based markers, India ink pens and gel pens leave extremely light shadows on the back of the page.
My coloring pencils did the best of the various medium. They went on well and blended well. I tested both oil and wax based pencils and could layer and blend easily using a blender stick.

Pop Manga Coloring Book: A Surreal Journey Through a Cute, Curious, Bizarre, and Beautiful World

By: Camilla d’Errico

Rating: 5 of 5

This is a wonderful coloring book filled with imaginative and unusual Manga style designs. I am used to straight-forward Manga with cute girls with big eyes. In this book, the girls are still beautiful but are incorporated into fantasy style images. Quite often, the subject girl is pensive, staring off into space.

This is a book that I am buying for several of my friends for gifts at the holidays. It is so unusual and different, they will be sure to love it, too.
The designs are detailed and some are intricate. Coloring them is definitely akin to coloring artwork rather than simple line drawings. I think the book is pretty much one of a kind, though I can hope that the artist may consider issuing another coloring book in the future.
This is what I found while coloring in this book and testing my coloring medium on the paper:
80 pages of imaginative and unusual Manga style designs (includes title page and copyright page.)
Printed on both sides of the page
Paper is heavy weight, white, slightly rough and non-perforated
Glue binding
Designs merge into the binding area and a number of them cross over the binding for a two-page design
Book can be opened fairly flat but takes some effort and breaks the spine of the book.
Alcohol-based markers bleed through the paperbacks
Water-based markers, India ink pens, and gel pens do not bleed through or leave shadows. Some gel pens require additional drying time.
Colored pencils work well with this paper. I found that I could layers the same color for deeper pigment or multiple colors and I could blend easily using a blending stick. I tested both oil and wax based pencils.

The Lion Easter Colouring Book

By: Antonia Jackson

Rating: 5 of 5

This is a lovely storybook style coloring book which tells the story of Easter. I thought at first it was a child’s coloring book but after purchasing it and seeing it firsthand, I would say it is a book which someone older would color and possibly present to a child. That is my intent, I am coloring this book to give to my grandchildren.

The designs (by Felicity French) are quite detailed but not intricate in nature. The story is re-told by Antonia Jackson. It is very well done and can be understood by a younger child. The designs match very well to the narrative. While there is a cross, there are no pictures of Jesus on the cross. The story and illustrations start before Palm Sunday and follow through the Resurrection.
This is what I discovered while coloring in this book and testing my coloring medium on the paper:
30 design pages (including presentation and title page) which tell the Easter story of Jesus.
Printed both sides of the page
Paper is white, medium weight, slight rough to the touch and non-perforated
Designs merge into the binding and some spread across two pages
Sewn Binding
Soft cover book with a detached dustcover.
Alcohol-based markers bleed through the page quickly.
Water-based markers bleed through in spots.
Gel pens and India ink pens do not bleed through the page. Gel pens take a longer drying time than usual.
Coloring Pencils work well with this paper. I found that I could layers the same color for deeper pigment or multiple colors and I could blend easily using a blending stick. I tested both oil and wax based pencils.

ABC (Dover Coloring Books)

By: Anna Pomaska

Rating: 5 of 5

My grandson and I enjoy coloring time together when he comes to visit, so I am always on the look out for coloring books for him. I especially like this ABC book because it has a design page for each letter, has the letter in both upper and lower case format, and shows several items which begin with the letter.

As he is in pre-school and is now learning his alphabet and numbers, this is a great book for re-enforcing those lessons. It is a fun coloring book and my grandson enjoys coloring them.
The book has designs on both sides of the page. I found that markers of all sorts bleed through the page. Gel pens show through on the back of the page but don’t leak through. Crayons and coloring pencils work well and can be layered and blended well. The designs have a lot of room on the sides and are staple bound if you prefer to copy pages for the kids in your life to color.

Island Paradise: An Adult Coloring Book with Tropical Vacation Scenes, Relaxing Beach Themes, and Soothing Nature Patterns

By: Jade Summer

Rating: 5 of 5

The designs in this coloring book make me think of my various vacations to tropical islands, especially to different islands in Hawaii. In addition to scenes which have a vacation feel, there are designs of flora and fauna (including many fish) that bring up an island feel. The designs are very detailed with lots of additional lines so you can use a huge number of colors if you wish. Coloring in the book makes me yearn to plan another tropical vacation in the near future.

While you can have access to .PDFs when you purchase this book, my review is based on the book as it is received from Amazon. That way you will know what the pages look like and how they accept color. I like that the publisher provides the digital version as well so you can choose the paper you wish to use and/or to color the pictures as many times as you choose.
This is what I found while coloring in this book and testing the paper with my coloring medium:
25 x 2 each island designs for a total of 50 coloring pages
Designs are printed on one side of the page
Paper is typical of CreateSpace: white, thin, slightly rough and non-perforated. The back of the page is printed black.
The designs do not merge into the binding. There is a heavy framing line at the outer edges of the design to give the project a more finished look, especially for framing.
Glue Binding (there is room to cut the pages out if you choose to do so.)
Though you cannot see the bleed-through easily due to the back of the page being printed in black, I recommend the use of a blotter page when working in this book. I use a page of card stock or several sheets of heavyweight paper under my working page. It keeps seeping ink and marring dents from ruining the pages below.
Alcohol-based markers bleed through the page quickly.
Water-based markers bleed through in spots.
Gel pens and India ink pens leave shadows on back of the page. India ink can bleed through if you apply heavily or multiple coats.
Coloring Pencils work well with this paper. I found that I could layers the same color for deeper pigment or multiple colors and I could blend easily using a blending stick. I tested both oil and wax based pencils. I also found that hard lead pencils leave dents through the paper.