We Share our Favourite Offerings from the World of Illustration Gone are the days in which colouring books were reserved for the furious scribblings of messy kids. It’s the 21st Century, and beautiful colouring books are being brought out every month for the furious scribbling of messy (or otherwise!) adults, too. We love creativity and innovation at THE PLUS, especially large-scale creativity, so these two colouring books – To the Ocean Deep and To the Ends of the Earth and Back Again, each laying bold claim to being the world’s longest – were truly irresistible. “It seems as though colouring books have become part of the establishment in the last few years, and that a new book is created for every social and cultural interest,” Becky Bolton and Louise Chappell, the Good Wives and Warriors (www.goodwivesandwarriors.co.uk) team behind To the Ends of the Earth and Back Again tell THE PLUS. It’s true, the field’s diversity is astounding, but it’s driven equally by the unending passion for illustration nurtured by artists like these two: “We have both been drawing since we were old enough to hold a crayon! We both still get a childlike excitement in art or stationery shops at coloured pencil sets and stands of paint tubes!” We all know that it’s not size or length that matters, so we’re not going to make these two books duke it out for the title of ‘World’s longest.’ Both take you on a whimsical and lengthy journey, either across the land or under the sea; expect to encounter exquisitely stylised flora, curious fauna, and a magical spread of landscapes and treasures. To the Ocean Deep: The Longest Colouring Book in the World Everyone raves about pop-up books, but South Korean illustrator Sarah Yoon’s intriguing illustrated colouring book has flipped the idea on its head. Inviting us twenty thousand leagues (or, 15 pages) under the sea, Sarah’s book consists of a single, fold-out, 15ft illustration. We’re not going to spoil the surprise by telling you what you’ll find at the bottom. Available now from Laurence King. To the Ends of the Earth and Back Again Becky Bolton and Louise Chappell take another long look at colouring-in, in this fold-out colouring masterpiece. The pair have exhibited around the world together since graduating from The Glasgow School of Art. This colouring book promises – and boy does it deliver – 5m of horizontal colouring fun, a marathon of dragons, mountains, deserts, and mystical landscapes inspired by folk tales. Available this August from Laurence King.
