Book Review: The Coloring Book

The Coloring Book
By Hervé Tullet
Tate (Abrams)
ISBN: 9781854378491
$18.95
Grades K and Under
In Stores

*Best New Books*

Warning: This is a coloring book. An awesome coloring book, true – but definitely a coloring book. Just wanted to make that clear for those working in school and public libraries.

Is the world ready for a coffee table-worthy coloring book? Well, that’s what we have on our hands here. Inventive, beautiful, and inspiring, it stands head and shoulders above the traditional. The Coloring Book should be given out with vaccinations. While not suitable for a library collection, Tullet’s book is an unquestionably wonderful choice for the children you know.

When you title your coloring book “The Coloring Book” you’d better create something definitive. No disappointments here. In appearances, The Coloring Book is one man going wild with a Sharpie. Full of doodles, activities, designs, and full-blown original characters, it makes you begin to wonder why all coloring books can’t be like this. Each turn of the page uncovers something that kids won’t be able to resist.

Tullet has created a long line of coloring and activity books for both French and American audiences. This is his forte, and it shows. He has a knack for turning the ordinary into something special. Take for example, the page at the beginning of the book with three overlapping oblong areas labeled yellow, red, blue. The text encourages readers to “See what happens when you mix the colors”. A simple, instructive, fun way to start out a coloring book. The pages that follow are full of these moments that encourage interaction and creativity.

Beautiful to look at, fun to use. Clear space on the coffee table.

Filed under: *Best New Books*, Reviews