The One and Only Colouring Book for Travelling Adults: A Review

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This book, published by Phoenix Yard Books was sent to me by them in return for an honest review, so here it is. This book is smaller than most at approximately A5 size, making it perfect to fit in your handbag for your commute or a suitcase or rucksack for travelling further afield. The book contains 60 images of both abstract and more realistic design and they’re drawn with varying line thicknesses to adapt to your better and worse days of vision and concentration. The majority of the pictures are very intricate and will keep you occupied for hours as you colour in each detailed section. I would strongly recommend investing in a good set of fineliners (I recommend Stabilo Point 88), or gel pens so that you can really get the details without the frustration of accidently going over the lines. Most of the images are too detailed for using coloured pencils though I used my Faber Castell Aquarelles on the fish pictured below and used them with water for the yellow flowers. The detailed coloured picture in vertical panels was coloured using Stabilo .88 fineliners and the abstract page was coloured using Staedtler fineliners and fibre-tip pens.

The book is spiral-bound meaning none of the images are lost into the spine and you don’t have to colour with the book lying open, you can fold it in half so it takes up less space – particularly useful if you’ll be colouring on the move on a train or plane with limited space. The paper quality is fantastic! It’s so thick that I’d be tempted to describe it as card and there was absolutely no bleeding with any of my pens, even my new, quite wet, felt-tips that were causing problems in other books. This means that despite the images being printed double-sided there is no worry about ruining any of them if you press too hard or get a bit colour-happy with your felt-tips.  The images are really varied so you won’t get bored and no matter what mood you’re in you’ll be able to find a page that calls to you and just asks to have colour added. The book comes in a cardboard sheath which admittedly isn’t the strongest and will be likely to get pretty battered if shoved in and out of a bag but it’ll certainly serve the purpose of protecting the book from receiving the same injuries. I didn’t feel anything was missing from this book, it’s got buildings, flowers, fish, repeating patterns, abstract art, angular designs and flowing lines. There are shapes, patterns, scenes, you name it, it’s in there, there’s even a page of outlined cats and dogs! It’s like little bits of all of your favourite colouring books all bound together into one travel-friendly edition.

I found this book very calming and soothing. The intricacy of the designs meant I had to focus, meaning I had less capacity to be anxious and listen to the worries that so often plague me and the smaller size meant that the pages weren’t too overwhelming when trying to choose a design to start, as sometimes happens in A4 books. The nature of the spiral-binding and cardboard sheath mean it’s perfect for taking with you wherever you go and those of you who, like me, use colouring as therapy or as part of mindfulness, should definitely be investing in this book so that you can have art therapy on the go to whip out when you feel your anxiety increasing or stress levels rising. I highly recommend this book for those of you who love to use fineliners and felt-tips that often bleed in other books and for any of you who want to travel and colour or who use colouring as therapy so that you have it with you whenever you may need it without fear of ruining the book in your bag. This is one of my firm favourites.

Get your copy of The One and Only Colouring Book for Travelling Adults today.