by Emelie Oberg
Published by Gibbs Smith on March 21st 2017
Style: double page printing
Pages: 96
Format: Card cover with fold out, Glue & Stitched
I received this product for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the product or the content of my review.
Goodreads
A debut coloring book for all ages from Swedish artist Emelie Lidehäll Öberg.
Reminiscent of classic Swedish fairy tales, Emelie Lidehäll Öberg’s debut coloring book fills 96 pages of sweetly sleeping animals, dolls come to life, and whimsical abodes.
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Fairy Tales Coloring Book Video Review
I hope you enjoyed the Fairy Tales Coloring Book Review video walk through above.
Fairy Tales Coloring Book Review
Emelie Oberg is one of my favorite artists. I fell in love with her whimsical illustrations when, on a whim of my own, I purchased Sagolikt last year from a Swedish book store. According to Google Translate Sagolikt means Fabulous and, to me, that sums up this book perfectly – it is fabulous. Fortunately, the rights to publish Sagolikt in English were obtained by US publishers, Gibbs Smith. Purchasing books from Sweden can be very expensive with shipping costs added in. Publishing in English means a wider audience can see this fabulous coloring book at a reasonable price. Gibbs Smith are publishing the Sagolikt coloring book with the title of Fairy Tales Coloring Book.
From my perusal of both books the imprint English edition is virtually the same as the original edition of the coloring book published in Sweden with a few minor differences which I will point out below.
The nameplate page difference is only in the text
Cover & Layout
The cover of Fairy Tales Coloring Book features deer under a dome surrounded by flowers. The illustration is both whimsical and quirky. Pastel colors of mint and dusky pink with gold foil highlights make for an exceptionally pretty coloring book cover.
When you look at Sagolikt and Fairy Tales Coloring Book side by side you can see what a great job the publishers have done with recreating this coloring book in the same vein as the original.
Summary of Minor Differences between Sagolikt and Fairy Tales
There are a few minor differences between the two coloring books, none of which would affect your enjoyment of this book.
It is very difficult due to the foiling on the cover to get a good photographic representation of the cover
- The front cover of Fairy Tales Coloring Book is white as opposed to the creamy white of Sagolikt.
- The label on the dome on the English edition reads “Deer” rather than the Swedish publishers name of “Printworks” on Sagolokt.
- The art work shows the leaves outlined in black on both books, but this is more restrained on the English edition, whereas it is bolder on the Swedish edition.
- Both coloring books feature a lovely mint spine but the shade is lighter on the English edition.
- The title is printed in gold foil on both books but the line weight is bolder on the Swedish edition.
- On the back cover, the black outline is again restrained on the English edition, and bold on the Swedish coloring book.
- The color of the art work also appears to be slightly darker on the Swedish edition and a shade or so lighter on the English edition.
Fairy Tales has french flaps which feature line art on the inner cover and inner side of the flap. The art work features a variety of elements that have been used in the coloring book including berries, mushrooms, birds and butterflies. The front french flap features a bird to color in with the well known words of all good fairy tales “Once Upon a Time”. This is the same as the Swedish coloring book except that the text is in English.
The back flap features the same line art and the french flap features information about Emelie Oberg in English. This is exactly as Sagolikt with the exception in the change of language.
Fairy Tales Coloring Book measures approximately 25cm x 25cm (10 in x 10 in approximately)
The only difference in the back of the book is the language is in English
Ancillary Pages
The opening title page features the title of Fairy Tales displayed in bunting just as it did in Sagolikt. As the title is slightly longer, the bunting dimensions have changed. Over leaf copyright information is in English and shows the English publishers of Gibbs Smith. This first page would be the best place to test out your mediums and see how they react with the paper and your coloring style.
The nameplate page follows which features English text instead of the Swedish text in Sagolikt.
The final page in the coloring book features a dedication to the daughter of the artist. The only difference in this page is that the text is in English.
Layout
All of the illustrations in Fairy tales coloring book are orientated portrait style. They have all been published in the book in the same order of appearance as in Sagolikt. There are no double page scenes within the book. All of the art work has been arranged on a single page with printing on both sides of the paper. The paper is off white, medium quality at 150gsm.
Emelie tends to use the whole of the page for the bulk of her work. In those illustrations you will find that there is some line art near the spine of the book. This area of a coloring book is always tricky to color in. The binding on Fairy Tales Coloring Book is quite stiff, at this stage, being a new book. I am confident with some continued gentle pushing on the center of the book that the spine will loosen enough to color in the tricky areas.
Testing the Paper
Here is short Facebook Live video where I tested the mediums on the title page of Fairy Tales Coloring Book.
Fairy Tales Coloring Book Images & Illustrations
Emelie’s art is very appealing to me. It has a naive, folk art style about it with a dash of whimsy that just makes me think of simple pleasures in life. Sharing a hug with your favorite furry friend, enjoying a hot cuppa at the end of the day or discovering the hidden world of cute critters – it’s all in Fairy Tales.
When Emelie draws cute critters they are unlike other artists. Her outline consists of a fine lines rather than a solid line. When she draws people they have the resemblance of a doll with round cheeks that makes them very appealing. I find this style of art work very comforting as well. It seems to give me more freedom, as a colorist on training wheels, not to replicate a look found in the real world but to do my own thing in the world of Fairy Tales.
The line art is very crisp and black and visually easy to see, which is a blessing. However, Emelie does pack a lot of detail in to the page. If you have minor visual impairment you may need to focus on just one small area at a time without being distracted by the whole of the picture. If you have motor skill challenges you will be pleased that the details are not on the whole very fine and complex, but there are a lot of detail in elements. For some of these elements I would recommend a color wash over the area.
Please click on an image to view more detail.
[foogallery id=”6253″]Where to Buy Fairy Tales Coloring Book
| Amazon US | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Book Depository |
If you need inspiration or just want to see how gorgeous these pages are when colored then check out my Sagolikt/Fairy Tales Pinterest board.
Happy coloring x
Lea
This is absolutely adorable. Since I feel like you know me well enough and you can see pgs…do you think it is a possible book for me??
Thanks dear Lea
Connie
Hi Connie, I adore this book so I hope that I am not biased 🙂 There is a lot of detail in each image and I am concerned that with your vision that you may have to color wash on a lot of those details. Personally, I like that look but it’s up to you 🙂 The good thing is that the line art is very crisp and clear so a lot easier to see than other artists works sometimes. Can you give me some idea of things that you enjoy coloring that don’t cause you too many issues so I can give you my opinion? Happy coloring x
Ty vvm Lea
There is new book out, a sequel to her first book Fairy tales. The title of this book is “Sagor och sagner” (Fairy tales and stories) by Emelie Lidehall Oberg. It’s available on printworksmarket.com . I have seen reviews on youtube and like this book more than the first book.
Sincerely,
Fam