Really fun book. Pictures and art is fantastic
355281
Really fun book. Pictures and art is fantastic. Great rhythm to this book. My kids love it. We have bought at least six copies and given them all away!
1661526
I bought this book for my store because the art work is wonderful and it is quite commical.  The idioms and pictures are very well done and will make you chuckle.  Very cute and worth looking at.
4217527
Donald Sassoon has put together a brilliant book with more illustrations than text (pictures are worth 1000s of words) and the reproductions are very high quality for a book of this price.  I would venture to say that even non-art buffs would enjoy this book if you left it out on a table or wherever.  Not only is it a great review of Mona Lisa but also Renaissance art (sounds boring but it is anything but). Also included are modern interpretations of the Mona Lisa and what has made the painting so iconic throughout its history.  Some of my favorites:  a photo of the Kennedys visiting the Mona Lisa, Leonardo's drawing of exploding cannonballs, the painting of Leonardo as he lays dying in France, an old photo of an engraver working in the Louvre, a Chanel ad, the mustached versions and even the New Yorker cover Mona Lisa in a Mets uniform.  The illustrations and discussions of not only Leonardo but other artists of his time are first rate; I could just go on and on.  The book is not large or heavy so it can be carried around easily, would make a great gift, as well as a great addition to any library.  It is scholarly, beautiful, easy to handle, and lots of fun.
2358265
This book is a gem.  I purchased it for my 10 year old granddaughter who was wanting something fun and detailed to color with her new art supplies.  She loves it.  The book is creative and fun and very well drawn.  We look forward to more books by this illustrator.
4659983
Confession time: Ive never really gotten into the whole adult coloring book fad. I mean, who has the time, right? Not to mention, I have a fat stack of kids coloring books gathering dust in my library. Rather, when this title popped up on Blogging for Books, it was the artwork that caught my eye and compelled me to request a copy.

And Camilla dErricos illustrations are indeed lovely. Beautiful. Dazzling, even. Stunning and surreal. The sort of thing I could stare at for hours on end. Honestly, theres just no overselling it. If nothing else, POP MANGA COLORING BOOK would make a wonderful coffee table book.

The books synopsis describes portraits and patterns, but the majority of the pages are filled with the former, sometimes superimposed on the latter for an extra-challenging coloring experience. Portraits of wide-eyed girls and women, some fully human, others only partially so: mermaids, steampunk mechanics, dragon wranglers, and kraken-girls. Here youll find androids and wolves, clockwork fishes and chariots pulled by ginormous butterflies. The world that dErrico has created is weird and whimsical and hecka fun.

In fact, some of the artwork is reminiscent of my favorite kids movies from the 80s  most notably LABYRINTH and THE DARK CRYSTAL. dErricos wooly mammoth-type creature calls to mind Ludo, while the armored lizard immediately conjured images of SkekSil (his sharp and pointy face, anyway).

It seems like the bulk of the illustrations fall into one of three broad categories: steampunk, under the sea, and goth girl, interrupted. Whatever the case, all are brimming with creativity and artistry.

Part of me doesnt even want to color in any of the pictures, lest I ruin them! Though Im pretty sure this would offend/depress Ayako, the cute little blob-with-eyes who serves as our guide. She encourages us to bend the rules, exercise our creativity and, above all, *have fun*. Ayako pops up throughout the book to offer tips and dish gossip about her boss/creator. Thats the kind of book were talking about here.

Whether you're a manga fan or simply appreciate funky art; are skilled in the ways of coloring with pencils, or new to the adult coloring book scene  dErricos POP MANGA COLORING BOOK is guaranteed to amaze. Seriously, SF/F nerds  you need this book now.

** Full disclosure: I received a free copy of this book for review through Blogging for Books. **
2519065
This book is so much fun.  The rhyming is clever and kids love it.  The artwork is so detailed and unique, I loved looking at the background and finding everything.  It makes learning fun for kids and it is such a cute/clever book.
534513
I loved this book when I read it for inspiration for the art work. It was fun and well written. Enjoyable for children as well as adults looking for a fun read. The characters were enticing and the story flowed incredibly well.
1538507
This is an amazing book.  My 4-year old daughter had so much fun with it.  She's not a great artist, but she loves arts and craft.  This book boosted her confidence in her ability to create all kind of pictures with just ovals and lines (or finger and paint if you have those handy).
3780941
Florent Chavouet has a real gift with his artistic abilities and his illustrations in this are so fantastic. I am so happy he has continued to make travel books in this style and would love to see more.
1642855
The review is from my blog, for a full review with a video flip through, go to thecoloringaddict.com

This is a really cool book by Stephen Barnwell, its his first coloring book but hes no beginner at art, you can read his impressive resume on the Antarctica Arts website. This book has an awesome style and the images caught my eye immediately. Also check out the colored pages on their website, there are some seriously amazing ways to color these. And theres also a section there for tips and tricks for coloring.
The book has 52 images, all printed on just one side so you can use markers with confidence (though do put a sheet of paper under the picture you're working with to protect the next page).
The paper quality depends on the version. This US version is printed on 70 pound paper, which is roughly 105 gsm, its not the thickest paper in the world but better then your average copy paper. The international version is printed by Amazon and thus is on copy paper. So I do recommend getting the US version. The paper will not take water well since its on the thinner side, it will buckle so stick to pencils and youll be fine.
The book is divided into four sections by seasons and has the most fantastical imagery ever, everything from flying pigs to Arthurian legends. Theyre all so cool that I had a really hard time picking my first image and I will certainly revisit this book later to do more. I also love how the author himself has colored the images, they're very dreamlike in a way.
The images range in difficulty from very easy to a bit more challenging but theres something for everyone which is always awesome.
Overall, I love this book! I definitely recommend getting it. The paper could be thicker so it could take water as well but that is really the only thing I can think to pick on. The images are seriously enchanting and crazy enough to offer fun for days. I do hope Stephen Barnwell will do more books in the future, Ill surely be lining up for the next as well.
2150075
My roommate got this book for her birthday and as soon as she showed me I had to have it. Not only is there a ton of behind the scenes and special content in its pages but the pictures and sketches are great as well. There are also really neat removable prop reproductions that make the book totally worth buying.
4314048
Dinosaurs: A Global View is engagingly written and packed with great  dinosaur art.  The book starts with a general history, and later chapters  have brief discussions of various topics such as how stegosaurs' plates  were arranged, how sauropods held their necks, etc.  The writing is  readable by a lay audience, although some paleontology-specific terms are  thrown in without explanation.  However, there is a glossary and a thorough  index to make up for it.
The best part about this book is the art.  The  paintings, overall, are excellent, and include 19 by Mark Hallet, 9 by John  Sibbick, and 52 color and b/w by Douglas Henderson.  Henderson's moody,  atmospheric style is gorgeous to behold, at once both painterly and  realistic.  Also included are numerous skeletal diagrams and 8 photos of  Stephen Czerkas' fantastic dinosaur sculptures.
As a great picture book  and for entertaining reading for the mid-level dinosaur fan, I definitely  recommend this book.
1016855
The illustrations in this book are amazing. I love Octopus and all things steam-punk so this is a lot of fun.
804942
This is a hilarious, well-written, well-drawn book that you won't want to put down.

Both artists are incredible, and a friend of mine who is an art teacher pointed out how the variation in Zach Howard's line weights really made for great contrast on the page.  Shawn Murphy's lines are less varied and softer--perfect for the treatment of women or a character like Quinn, and the two styles balance each other out well, so that neither gets overwhelming.

But both styles are gorgeous, fun, and creative.  For the reviewer that says one artist is better than the other, I think he's wrong... it's a matter of your preference in styles.  My art teacher friend said he liked Zach Howard's work better because he found the variations more interesting.  Then he pointed out if you look toward the end of the book, you can see where it looks like each artist was sort of influenced by the other artist's styles so that it gets harder to tell which one is which.  I think that shows the artists must be pretty well matched.

The writing will make you laugh out loud and fall in love with the characters.  I'm not typically a fan of raunchy humor, and while the book does get risque, I still found it funny and well written.  I probably annoyed my seat mates on the plane by laughing out loud so many times, but they'll live.  :)

The drawing details are rich and wonderful.  You'll want to keep going back and looking for background art that you missed while turning the pages so quickly to see what happens next.

If you have a sense of humor, you'll love this book.  Get it.  If not, get it anyway.  It will help you develop a sense of humor if you don't have one!
3073791
The pictures are such high quality and fun to color. High praise to the team who put this together. They made all of the art exactly as I imaged it would look like in the book!
619075
The artwork in this book is so cheerful and cleverly done. It gives you a really fun way to teach shapes to your child. The discovery of a sunken treasure chest adds to the adventure and excitement for the child. The boats and fish are so colorful you wish you could jump into the pictures. I took it out of my library but am going to buy a copy for my child.  She is 22 months old and is learning her shapes, but is not able to count high enough to count the number of some of the shapes on the pages. But then, that means she can grow with the book. And isn't that exactly what you want out of a children's book?
4398848
Very interesting and entertaining book.  Great art.