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Zemlja Snova was published in 2016 and illustrated by Tomislav Tomic, it’s one of the most beautiful colouring books I’ve ever seen and still vies for the title of my most favourite colouring book ever. It was published in Croatia by Fokus and has been notoriously difficult to get hold of after it was quickly taken off Amazon and has almost exclusively been acquired since then through the publisher’s website which my Facebook fan group runs international group orders from. This is no longer necessary for this book because Dromenvanger will (hopefully) be available worldwide at a really reasonable price (around £12 or $15) with free worldwide delivery from Book Depository, when I originally wrote this post two days ago it was available for pre-order there, it’s currently showing as unavailable however, I’m hoping that this might just be a stock issue and that it will be rectified soon. The website allows you to sign up for email alerts of stock so do click through and sign up to be the first to hear when it’s available to order. The artwork is the same in both books but there are a number of subtle publication differences between the two editions which I’ve listed and detailed below. If you’d rather watch a video version then scroll all the way to the bottom where the video is embedded at the end of this post. This is a long post because there are so many pictures included to illustrate each point but please bear with me because a lot of time and effort has gone into being as thorough as possible. Most of the things I’ve noticed don’t affect the enjoyment or use of the book, they’re just differences but there are a few items that are fundamentally different and do affect use so keep an eye out for those. The publisher has very kindly provided me with an extra copy of Dromenvanger which I’m currently running a Worldwide giveaway for on my blog until 23.59 GMT on the 31st of October, to enter please click here.
- Covers – Zemlja Snova has a soft-feel cover with glossy accents on the title and subtext. Dromenvanger also has a soft-feel cover with glossy accents on the title and all of the stars.
- Cover Image – The cover images are totally different, Zemlja Snova has a partially coloured image on the front that is similar to the art in the book but isn’t a direct copy of a page. Dromenvanger has a partially coloured image from inside the book.
- Publishing Logo – The publishing logo is bottom centre on the cover of Dromenvanger and at the bottom right on Zemlja Snova.
- Cover Card – Both books are paperback and both have equally thick card covers.
- Inside Covers – Zemlja Snova has French Flaps with black and white artwork and these open out to reveal a purple and white line drawn illustration front and back. Dromenvanger doesn’t have French Flaps, and the inside covers are blank white.
- Back Cover – The back cover of Dromenvanger is partially coloured and shows a reverse version of the front cover image. The back cover of Zemlja Snova is completely black and white and the blurb is bordered by a frame from inside the book.
- Spine – The illustrator name and book title are differently ordered on the spines of the different editions. They both use completely different fonts. The Publisher logos at the bottom of the spine differ too.
- Book Size – Dromenvanger is slightly smaller than Zemlja Snova. The pages in both copies are the same width (the Zemlja Snova covers extend further), but not the same height with Dromenvanger being approximately 5mm shorter, possibly less.
- Thickness – Dromenvanger is thicker than Zemlja Snova due to having thicker paper (more on this later).
- Binding – Both editions are glue and string-bound, Zemlja Snova is more heavily glued than Dromenvanger.
- Language – Zemlja Snova is written in Croatian and Dromenvanger in Dutch. I don’t read either of these languages so I’m therefore unable to comment on whether the text in each book translates the same, or whether it differs in meaning.
- Title – Obviously the titles differ due to language but they also slightly differ in meaning. Dromenvanger translates as Dream Catcher and Zemlja Snova translates as Dreamland or Land of Dreams.
- Publisher – Both editions have been published by different publishing companies (hence all of these subtle differences), Zemlja Snova is published by Fokus Na Hit and Dromenvanger is published by BBNC Utigevers.
- Paper Colour – The paper in Zemlja Snova is bright white, the paper in Dromenvanger is cream.
- Paper Thickness – The paper in both is quite thick but it’s definitely thicker in Dromenvanger. Water-based pens heavily shadow in Zemlja Snova but don’t shadow at all in Dromenvanger. The paper used in Dromenvanger is, as far as I’m aware, the same paper that BBNC Utigevers use in all of their colouring books, it’s a little temperamental with oil-based pencils (though others have had great results with these so it may well be my technique or lack of patience) and beautiful for pens and soft pencils like Prismacolor Premiers.
- Copyright Page – The information is much more spread out on the page in Zemlja Snova and is contained to the bottom half of the page in Dromenvanger.
- Image Order – The pages in Dromenvanger are identically ordered to the correct, later editions of Zemlja Snova, the original editions had three double-page spreads that were split in the book, this issue has been rectified in later printings and in Dromenvanger.
- Image Size – Oddly, the first few frames on the ancillary pages at the beginning are larger in Zemlja Snova than Dromenvanger but the actual illustrations of the book are identical sizes on the many images I measured to check.
- Image Orientation – The images are spaced slightly differently between the books with a little more or less of the image shown at some edges on some pages when compared to each other, see photos for clarification.
- Weight – Zemlja Snova weighs less than Dromenvanger, it weighs 527g compared to 561g (ish, one of my copies was 565g).
- Availability – Zemlja Snova is extremely difficult to get hold of outside Croatia and is one of the hardest colouring books on the market to obtain. We have run international group orders through the publisher’s site for the last year but this isn’t easy. It was looking very hopeful that Dromenvanger was going to be much easier to access because it was listed on Book Depository, however, yesterday it changed to saying it was currently unavailable and some people who’ve pre-ordered it have been given refunds because Book Depository don’t know when they’ll get stock in. I’m really hoping that this issue will be resolved quickly and I will be sure to update this post asap when I know more. You can sign up for email updates about stock at the link below to book depository so that you’re the first to know when it’s back and if you can’t wait it’s available from Dutch site Bol. It’s definitely worth the wait for a copy because Book Depository will have free worldwide delivery and were charging a fraction of the price compared to getting a copy of Zelmja Snova out of Croatia and to your front door. We will still be running group orders for the new book (title unknown currently) and if you’d like to join these and know more then please do join my FB fan group where we will post any information as soon as we know it.
As you’ll have seen, there are a lot of subtle differences between the editions but hardly any of them affect use, in fact the only one that really does is the paper. It’s a shame in some ways that it’s cream, I know a lot of people love crisp, white paper, but this paper is thicker and ideal for water-based pens and pencils and with the (hopefully) increased accessibility, I will now forever be suggesting that people get a copy of Dromenvanger. My fingers are now very tightly crossed hoping that BBNC Utigevers will acquire the rights to the next book by Tomislav Tomic so that it too becomes easily accessible. This new edition is beautiful and for those of you who already have Zemlja Snova and are wondering about getting this new edition, or a second copy, I’d say definitely get a copy of Dromenvanger, it’s beautifully produced, the illustrations look lovely on the new paper and it’s so much easier to get hold of and if you’re anything like me, you’ll want a copy of the new edition just because it’s a bit different, I truly am a colouring book hoarder!
Amazon UK – Dromenvanger
Book Depository Worldwide – https://www.bookdepository.com/book/9789045321868/?a_aid=colouringitmom
Bol.com – https://www.bol.com/nl/p/dromenvanger/9200000080026444/?suggestionType=typedsearch#modal_open
You can see my videos of unboxing the book, and a silent flick-through of the book if you click on the relevant words.
Don’t forget, I’m running a Worldwide giveaway to win a copy of Dromenvanger by Tomislav Tomic, to enter click here by 23.59 GMT on October the 31st.
Colouring In The Midst Of Madness 