When adult coloring books became a fad, I wasn’t one of those who jumped in the bandwagon of de-stressing with the aid of complicated, drawing-filled books and coloring pencils.
I love the arts. I drool at paintings and appreciate every single stroke and paint an artist puts into her masterpiece. But for the life of me, I have very little patience for coloring books. I buy a lot of them though – the ones intended for children – because my twins are crazy about putting their crayons to work. But I can’t get myself to, well, “color”. So when I chanced upon the cover of The Time Garden, labelled as a “as magical journey and coloring book”, can you guess what my reaction was?
The classic reaction of the uninterested. “Ah, okay.” But I read the synopsis and it seemed interesting. The artist and author is named Daria Song and hails from Seoul, Korea.
Hmmm… okay. Entice me more.
She has a master’s degree in fiber arts and has exhibited at numerous galleries and museums in Hong Kong, Singapore, Turkey, and Korea. Five years of her childhood was spent in San Francisco, California – and this edition of The Time Garden is the first US print.
What in the world is fiber arts?
I was interested.
It took some time before the copy of the book arrived in my mailbox, which was not really a problem because I was in the hospital giving birth to Jeff Jr.
By the time I was up and about – which was last week – to work on a myriad of writing assignments and an avalanche of emails to answer in relation to my two blogs (Reading Ruffolos and Breast Talks), The Time Garden found its way to the loving arms of my mailbox.
The book is white and to a certain point, immaculate. A drawing of gold-plated leaves are falling from an aged tree serves as the book cover creating a mysterious and intriguing first impression.
Then you start turning the pages and you are introduced to a “journey”; a journey that starts with an introduction of a cuckoo clock which was brought in Germany.
The clock comes with a warning…
The clock is owned by the family of a little girl who is curious about the things around her. Her curiosity led her to discover what magic the clock can bring and brought her to places she never dreamed or thought of before.
The entire book takes you into that storyline. Uninterested with coloring, I continued to flip the pages and marveled at the different worlds the girl traveled to.
It is not a unique storyline, if you ask me.
But… the story coupled with the illustrations is not just a visual feast; it is a masterpiece of a storybook. Why? Because the pacing is perfect. Miss Song – and kudos to the translator as well – effectively used the two mediums – words and illustrations – to tell a story without each one fighting for the reader’s attention. It successfully combined the two mediums and came up with a storybook/coloring book that is not overpowering and annoying.
Since my preference is in the story, I consider The Time Garden as a storybook first and foremost; being a coloring book only comes second to its ability and power to witness a story unfolding infront of you – and it didn’t need to be colorful to achieve just that.
By all means, color all you want. I don’t have anything against your coloring pencils. But patience is not my virtue so if you choose to color the pages – and it may take you a while because this one has tucked a couple of leaves in one block – then take your time to absorb what the images tell you. The story is in there. That’s what I find de-stressing, not the coloring part.
Daria Song’s The Time Garden is appropriate for people of all ages. If you happen to see it one of the bookstores (physical or online), happily grab a copy.
Maybe in a year or two, my two-year-old daughter, Antoinette, who is showing signs of being the family’s resident artist can color it for me.
I’ll take care of the storytelling part.
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Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a copy of this book from the Blogging for Books program in exchange for honest reviews. I was not required to write positive reviews. Some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links.” Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
