Coloring to Calm

Meditations Through Coloring
By River Grove Books

I am a coloring book addict. I have been coloring for more years than I can remember.  I get very excited when I see a new coloring book and when I buy it I can hardly wait to start filling in the colors I see for the designs.

Coloring relaxes me and helps me to unwind from the days hectic schedule. At times during the day I find myself daydreaming about the pictures I will color when I get home.

I received a preview copy of Meditations Through Coloring from River Grove Books yesterday. I have to say this book grabbed me instantly. I could see the colors that needed to be added the moment I looked at the first page. The problem, the review copy I have is electronic. The images are amazing! Some are large with large spaces for color, others are extremely detailed and will require patience and time to complete. 

Based on what I see in this electronic file, it looks like the images are front and back. If this is the case that could be the one downfall I see to this book. I appreciate the 96 pages of images to color, but when I use my colored pencils, I don't like to have to place a blank sheet of paper between each of my already colored pages so the colors don't cross to other pages. Another problem with seeing only the images is not being able to feel the paper on which the book is printed. When I look for a coloring book, I feel the paper and usually select only those with higher quality paper. If the paper is too cheap (like an old fashioned coloring book, printed on newsprint like paper) I will not buy the book. I want my coloring to be display quality. If I spend the time to color the images, I want them to be beautiful and appreciated, even if I don't have the time to hang all of my pictures up in my home.  I don't have enough wall space to hang all of my coloring pages up on my walls. 

*To comply with new guidelines introduced by the Federal Trade Commission, Greanleaf Book Group has provided a complimentary electronic copy of Meditations Through Coloring for review purposes. My review is in no way influenced by the publishing company and is strictly my opinion.

Feelings in Prose

Feelings
written by Felicia Law
illustrated by Paula Knight

I love connecting children with books, especially when they have rhythm and rhyme. Felicia Law's new book Feelings does exactly this with her latest addition to the Patchwork series. This series "is a whimsical collection of books that integrate poetry to reinforce primary concepts among emergent readers".

Young children are introduced to feelings such as self-confidence, surprise,  jealousy, naughty, and fright in short poems. Each double page spread (illustration on one side and the poem on the other) depicts diverse children with facial expressions representing the various feelings. At the end of the book a list of words from the poems help parents to focus on key words for their emergent readers listening and speaking vocabulary.

I would recommend this title for parents of children from birth up to preschool. The Patchwork books are a great way to introduce young children to poetry while working on a simple concept with each title.

*To comply with new guidelines introduced by the Federal Trade Commission, Norwood House Press has provided a complimentary electronic copy of Feelings for review purposes. My review is in no way influenced by the author or publishing company and is strictly my opinion.