Rooms of Wonder: Step Inside This Magical Coloring Book

I’m not going to lie, I have very mixed feelings about this release. What I like, I really do like, but quite a bit of it is just… Meh… I’ll start with the good. I like quite a few of the actual “rooms.” I really, really like that there a lot of “little victories” type things to color. I really love the Harry Potter-esque things, the keys, and steampunk style stuff. I like the fish tank display idea (sort of steampunk-esque). I even like a few of the mandala-ish and collections (office supply and electronics page, the clothing pages, the mushrooms). I even really like the underwater page that looks like a gate or an old fashioned privacy screen. So, there is a lot to like., What I don’t like is a few of the cliches and tropes I thought the theme “Rooms of Wonder” might get us away from… The wallpaper pages. They’re just boring and over used in “adult coloring books.” Whether we’re talking about the floral patterned ones, or the sort of damask sort of motif… No, just, no. Even some of the more popular YouTube influencers, like Colour with Claire, are open about not liking them. I’m not sure why I thought the theme “Rooms of Wonder” would preclude the wallpaper idea… Lol, The billions of tiny flowers, with petals that are too tiny to actually shade or do much of anything with, and leaves. I have limited dexterity, compared to most adults, so they’re just frustrating. And, yes, I’ll say it: boring! I love the antique typewriter page, but all those tiny petals kill it, for me. The food obsessions, especially sweets is something I increasingly H-A-T-E. I have food allergies and live below the poverty line, so the adult coloring book illustrators’ obsession with edibles is just uncomfortable. It just plain S-U-C-K-S to constantly be reminded of things you can’t have, and couldn’t afford anyway. Not to mention it just encourages unhealthy thinking. Even for the rich and indulgent, it probably leads to some “let me stuff my face” moments, As to the change of paper to what Kerby Rosanes uses here in the US… It’s not ideal, because Johanna’s previously selected paper at least had some tooth. I liked a lot of pencils on the previous paper (with the exception of Enchanted Forest): Polychromos, Prismacolor Premier, Brutfurner square, Deli, MarkArt, Prismacolor Junior, and so on. The paper Rosanes uses has virtually no tooth, by comparison. I’ve found that I only like how Polychromos, Prismacolor Premier, and Brutfurner square (I’ve only done a quick test with the square pencil set) pencils work on it (for me). Using Deli and MarkArt pencils on it felt like a lot of work. Prismacolor Premier pencils smear very, very easily on “Kerby paper.” So much so that I abandoned the Chinese dragon in _Mythomorphia_ that I had been working on for at least a week. Even a battery powered eraser can only do so much to lift Prismacolor Premier reds, when smeared. And, very few things can cover up smeared Prismacolor reds permanently. I understand that Johanna’s hands were tied, but the knowledge that the paper in _Rooms of Wonder_ is the same paper Kerby uses… To be perfectly honest, is the real reason I haven’t colored anything in the book yet. I really liked how MarkArt pencils, in particular, worked on the paper in the American version of _Worlds of Wonder_. At this point, I just keep thumbing through the book., Overall, I like some of the pictures in the book that I’ll color in it, eventually. Some pictures I might even like to color twice. I may eventually buy a second copy, once I’ve finished coloring what I do like. Maybe I could dismantle the second book and give what I don’t like to somebody else… Time will tell.

I’m not going to lie, I have very mixed feelings about this release. What I like, I really do like, but quite a bit of it is just… Meh… I’ll start with the good. I like quite a few of the actual “rooms.” I really, really like that there a lot of “little victories” type things to color. I really love the Harry Potter-esque things, the keys, and steampunk style stuff. I like the fish tank display idea (sort of steampunk-esque). I even like a few of the mandala-ish and collections (office supply and electronics page, the clothing pages, the mushrooms). I even really like the underwater page that looks like a gate or an old fashioned privacy screen. So, there is a lot to like., What I don’t like is a few of the cliches and tropes I thought the theme “Rooms of Wonder” might get us away from… The wallpaper pages. They’re just boring and over used in “adult coloring books.” Whether we’re talking about the floral patterned ones, or the sort of damask sort of motif… No, just, no. Even some of the more popular YouTube influencers, like Colour with Claire, are open about not liking them. I’m not sure why I thought the theme “Rooms of Wonder” would preclude the wallpaper idea… Lol, The billions of tiny flowers, with petals that are too tiny to actually shade or do much of anything with, and leaves. I have limited dexterity, compared to most adults, so they’re just frustrating. And, yes, I’ll say it: boring! I love the antique typewriter page, but all those tiny petals kill it, for me. The food obsessions, especially sweets is something I increasingly H-A-T-E. I have food allergies and live below the poverty line, so the adult coloring book illustrators’ obsession with edibles is just uncomfortable. It just plain S-U-C-K-S to constantly be reminded of things you can’t have, and couldn’t afford anyway. Not to mention it just encourages unhealthy thinking. Even for the rich and indulgent, it probably leads to some “let me stuff my face” moments, As to the change of paper to what Kerby Rosanes uses here in the US… It’s not ideal, because Johanna’s previously selected paper at least had some tooth. I liked a lot of pencils on the previous paper (with the exception of Enchanted Forest): Polychromos, Prismacolor Premier, Brutfurner square, Deli, MarkArt, Prismacolor Junior, and so on. The paper Rosanes uses has virtually no tooth, by comparison. I’ve found that I only like how Polychromos, Prismacolor Premier, and Brutfurner square (I’ve only done a quick test with the square pencil set) pencils work on it (for me). Using Deli and MarkArt pencils on it felt like a lot of work. Prismacolor Premier pencils smear very, very easily on “Kerby paper.” So much so that I abandoned the Chinese dragon in _Mythomorphia_ that I had been working on for at least a week. Even a battery powered eraser can only do so much to lift Prismacolor Premier reds, when smeared. And, very few things can cover up smeared Prismacolor reds permanently. I understand that Johanna’s hands were tied, but the knowledge that the paper in _Rooms of Wonder_ is the same paper Kerby uses… To be perfectly honest, is the real reason I haven’t colored anything in the book yet. I really liked how MarkArt pencils, in particular, worked on the paper in the American version of _Worlds of Wonder_. At this point, I just keep thumbing through the book., Overall, I like some of the pictures in the book that I’ll color in it, eventually. Some pictures I might even like to color twice. I may eventually buy a second copy, once I’ve finished coloring what I do like. Maybe I could dismantle the second book and give what I don’t like to somebody else… Time will tell.

First time buying from this illustrator and everything in this book contains just what you’d expect. I was greeted by a collage of miscellaneous things, some in everyday settings like closets, pantries, kitchens, etc. ..a few others others outside. There are some floral pages and some wallpaper-like pages as well. These were not my favorite, but they are beautiful nonetheless. A lot of these pages seemed almost whimsical or magical which was very pleasant and made this more fun. The paper wasn’t a huge deal to me, I actually liked it very much. It is smooth and sturdy and I didn’t encounter any problems with how the color catches on or any smearing. I guess It’s just preference and what materials you plan on using. Overall it is a solid coloring book and I would recommend it. I found most of the reviews to be whining about personal issues and not the coloring book itself so in other words if you have problems with clutter, food, etc., perhaps this book is not for you, but that is not the illustrator’s fault. Hope this review is helpful!

If you like coloring lots of cute little items with a twist of magical adventure, you will love this coloring book! It’s more than just your average coloring book though! There is a secret key and a door to find on each page (except for one page), and on some pages the author left some space for you to get creative and use your imagination to add things on the page so you can really make this coloring book one of a kind and unique! It’s also got some 2-page spreads with lots of detail to color, and each room is a surprise! And if you love this coloring book by Johanna Basford, you will probably love her other coloring books, especially the sister book to this one that is called Worlds of Wonder. Johanna’s coloring books are great to buy as a gift, or for yourself, and they’re something that all ages will enjoy! Also, all of Johanna Basford’s coloring books are printed on thick paper that is of great quality. I honestly have absolutely nothing negative to say, and zero complaints! I give it an A+ and I highly recommend it!

If you like coloring lots of cute little items with a twist of magical adventure, you will love this coloring book! It’s more than just your average coloring book though! There is a secret key and a door to find on each page (except for one page), and on some pages the author left some space for you to get creative and use your imagination to add things on the page so you can really make this coloring book one of a kind and unique! It’s also got some 2-page spreads with lots of detail to color, and each room is a surprise! And if you love this coloring book by Johanna Basford, you will probably love her other coloring books, especially the sister book to this one that is called Worlds of Wonder. Johanna’s coloring books are great to buy as a gift, or for yourself, and they’re something that all ages will enjoy! Also, all of Johanna Basford’s coloring books are printed on thick paper that is of great quality. I honestly have absolutely nothing negative to say, and zero complaints! I give it an A+ and I highly recommend it!

I love this book!!, Drawings are beautiful, ideas are fun, there’s a wide variety of themes, plenty of large and small areas to color, great paper color, thickness, and tooth for colored pencils (I have crayola and markart) and markers (no bleeding thru with my zebra mild liners so far)., I admittedly hoped for more room scenes, and a bit more magic or something in some of them for a book called Rooms of Wonder., I really enjoy the wallpaper pages however which seem to be unpopular in general., And again, overall I think this is a fun, lovely book with lots of variety and flexibility in medium choice

I have all of Johanna’s books and they definately don’t disappoint. I adore her books they are so beautiful and she has a drawing style all her own. This book is no different each page is so adorable

I have all of Johanna’s books and they definately don’t disappoint. I adore her books they are so beautiful and she has a drawing style all her own. This book is no different each page is so adorable