Enchanted Forest

I caught an intriguing glimpse of what seemed to be a coloring book in a blog post by Lauren of CrumbBums last month, and discovered I wasn’t the only one demanding the title when scrolling down to the comments section. It turns out the book is by Johanna Basford and is called “Secret Garden: An Inky Treasure Hunt and Coloring Book.” She later wrote this post on the nature-inspired coloring book, and I have added it to the kids’ (my) wishlist.

Being the tree-oriented gal that I am, I couldn’t resist ordering the newest book by the same author instead, “Enchanted Forest: An Inky Quest & Coloring Book.” I’m not completely ready to let the boys loose on this gorgeous book, so I copied a few pages and brought out the markers on one rainy day last week.

We sat, colored and talked, and after an hour had passed I realized I was enjoying myself, possibly more than the boys. The good news is there are endless pages left to color in addition to the quest of the Enchanted Forest.

Hidden within the pages are forest creatures of all sorts such as hedgehogs, woodpeckers, dragonflies and frogs, and nine symbols carved into square tablets. Once the symbols have been discovered the final door is unlocked, revealing the end of the quest and one final magnificent surprise.

   

I can’t adequately describe this book; you simply must see it for yourself. It’s possibly my boys are still a little too young to color within the lines, but doesn’t mom need something to color on those rainy days when all the markers and colored pencils have been pulled out?