Ivy and the Inky Butterfly: A Magical Tale to Color

The media could not be loaded. I will attach a silent, full length flip-through of the storybook/coloring book as well as a few sample photos so you can judge for yourself as to whether or not this coloring book will work for you.Once again, Johanna Basford is blazing a new path in the coloring genre. With “Ivy and the Inky Butterfly”, she has published a beautiful storybook about a young girl and her adventures in Enchantia. Along with the lovely story, there are great coloring elements on all pages. Whether the design is merely framing around the words of the tale or if it is a full page (or even a two-page spread) of illustration, Ms. Basford's signature style is immediately evident. There are beautiful flowers and animals as usual. There are also scenes with a high amount of detail. Some of my favorites are those which feature Ivy, who is a cute little girl. The illustrations are highly detailed and only a very few have smaller and intricate areas to color.As with her most recent coloring books, there appears to have been a concentrated effort to reduce the elements which span across the binding if the page is a two-page spread designs. In my book, some pages line up fantastic and some are a little off. The only real problem I have with the book is that due to the intense glue binding, it is very difficult to get into the seam unless you, as I did, break the spine. The inherent problem with that is that you risk having pages come loose over time. It seems like the book is glued together much more heavily than previous books by Ms. Basford.I want this book to be a keepsake I read to my grandchildren and which I plan hand down to my granddaughter once I have finished coloring it, so loose pages can be a problem. I solved that problem by, in addition, buying the UK version of the book which has a sewn binding. I'm waiting for delivery and will include comments about the differences (in the comments below) once it arrives. You can find the UK version of the coloring book here: Ivy and the Inky ButterflyThe paper is ivory as just it has been for the last couple of books. It is not the same color of cream as used in “Secret Garden” or “Enchanted Forest”. Nor is it the white color that was used in the first four printings of “Lost Ocean”. It seems to me that the paper has a smooth side and a slightly rough side and that it alternates in my book.The cover is attached and has green and gold foil highlights. The inside of the front and back covers have French folds (partial fold-outs.) There is a color palette test page at the back for testing your medium to see what seeps through or not.This is what I found as I colored in this book and tested the paper with my coloring medium.Alcohol-based markers bleed through the page quickly.Water-based markers (except for Tombow's) leave shadows and even spots of color on the back of the page. The brush end of Tombows did not bleed through.Gel pens and India ink did not bleed through the page.Colored pencils worked well; however, they worked better on the slightly rougher side of the page. On the smoother side, my oil-based pencils did not grip the page as well but were still acceptable. I tested both oil and wax-based pencils. I was able to layer the same color for deeper pigment, layer multiple colors and to blend with a pencil style blending stick (again, better on the rougher side than on the smooth side.) Pencils did not leave indentations on the back of the page.

I very much enjoy Johanna Basford's coloring books, but I was a bit unsure that I would like this one. It's a combination story book and coloring book, with less in the way of full-page coloring than a traditional book. I have come to love this adult coloring book, as it gives me the option to color a little or a lot -- here's what I mean.Sometimes I want to color, but I don't particularly want to do a full page. Sure, I could do just part of a page, but unless I don't like the page, I hate to leave something half-colored (unless of course I plan to finish it).Ivy and the Inky Butterfly has many small sections that I could complete in an hour or two with colored pencils (faster if I used markers or gel pens). They are complete on their own, and complement the story text on that page. It's nice to be able to have the satisfaction of completing something quickly!There are also larger spreads, with great detail, which could take many, many hours for colored pencils. It's nice to have a variety of images in a coloring book. Depending on my mood, I can opt for a small section or one that will take me many days to complete.The story is charming; along the lines of what you'd find in a child's bedtime story. The images are too small for coloring with crayons, or else I would say that this would make for a nice child's book as well. (Then again -- depends on the child's age and coordination.)The paper is nice -- it takes colored pencil well, as well as gel pens and the Stadler markers. I think it would take most water-based markers without issues, but I'd do a test swatch in the back of the book to verify if the markers bleed through. (And naturally, alcohol markers bleed through everything.)All in all, I give this adult coloring book 5 stars. Thank you Johanna! :D

Well worth the wait!! This book is so pleasing on so many different levels!I love the physical size of the book. It’s a little smaller than her previous books, but it has a great story book feel to it! I like that it’s thicker as well!The cover is gorgeous! I love that she used the green foil on this one along with the gold. It really makes it stand apart from the others. With it being a story book I think it was a smart move to not have a slip cover on it. Especially since this is a story for little ones. The slip cover would be excessive for this book, in my opinion.The paper quality is beautiful. I wouldn’t expect anything less from Johanna. It’s thick with a great tooth and has that beautiful ivory color to it. I expect it to do just as well as her previous books.I immediately started noticing little images from her previous books as I flipped through the pages. Little crabs, playful elephants, leafy borders! You can’t help but think back to Secret Garden, Enchanted Forest, Lost Ocean, and Magical Jungle. I feel that while she embarked on a new journey with this book, she still paid homage to her other books. This book is true to Johanna through and through.The line art is absolutely beautiful! She really out did herself on the details in this book. From gorgeous flowers to bobbles to books. It just so pretty! I found myself looking for the treasures mentioned in the story. I stared at each page to soak in all the detail, thinking of colors to use!The story is so cute and it’s packed full of adventure! I particularly appreciate that she didn’t go into great detail as to what colors certain things are. This allows all of us to use whatever colors our hearts desire! Some things in the book do have a distinct color description, but it absolutely does not limit you in any way!I’m extremely impressed with this book. It reaches out to me more than any of her other books have. This is a book that I hope to lose hours of time in while splashing color on its pages and while reading this cute story to all the Little’s in my life. I think this book will create great moments of solitude and relaxation and I think it’ll create little giggles and true family bonding time.A job well done, Johanna! Congratulations on such a phenomenal book! Now, I’m off to color!

Livro lindissimo.

The media could not be loaded. Es hermoso por dentro y por fuera, la portada y contra portada don de papel grueso y es diferente a lo usual, tiene detalles metálicos muy bonitos, las ilustraciones son preciosas!El papel es muy grueso y me encanta eso.Llegó en excelente estado.

This is a beautiful book to pass down for future generations. Litte intricate but worth it.

I love all Johanna's books. Even this one. I'm an adult but still enjoy colouring this one. I can recommend.

Impression de bonne qualité. Papier bien épais qui permet l'utilisation de médiums à eau. Papier lisse qui permet l'utilisation de beaucoup de gammes de crayons différentes sans souci. Une histoire conté au fil des pages, inventée par l'illustratrice pour sa fille. Mon préféré de Johanna Basford.