Coloring Book Week: Princesses and Fairies Colouring Book by Tomoko Tashiro

Princesses and Fairies Colouring Book (Japanese Edition) by Tomoko Tashiro. So last week's post on Coloring Book Week: Fairy Tale Colouring Book by Tomoko Tashiro was one of the most popular entries. Good news is that next week a second coloring book featuring more fairy tales will be released. Fairy Tale Colouring Book (Japanese Edition) is so popular that it keeps going out of stock so I imagine this one will be a big hit, too, especially with offerings like Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Thumbelina, Little Mermaid, and Snow White. I wanted to give you a chance to preorder for the release date if you are a fan.

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Book description:

Color your own fairy tales! The Princesses and Fairies Colouring Book is a follow-up to the Fairy Tale Colouring Book illustrated by Tomoko Tashiro. Princesses and Fairies includes drawings inspired by fairy stories such as Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, A Midsummer Night s Dream, and more!

Japanese illustrator Tomoko Tashiro, best known as a packaging designer for Shiseido cosmetics, presents exquisite artworks for coloring drawn from well known tales containing princesses and fairies. Besides wonderfully illustrated scenes taken from twelve canonical stories, Tashiro has added beautiful patterns and motifs for coloring. The finely wrought illustrations within this book are all drawn in Tashiro's signature Nouveau-influenced style. Princesses and Fairies Colouring Book makes a wonderful gift book for children as well as adults!

Japanese illustrator Tomoko Tashiro has created beautiful works inspired by twelve famous tales of princesses and fairies, additionally including some fairy-tale-inspired patterns and motifs in this highly unique coloring book.

An ideal gift book for fairy-tale lovers of all ages.

New Book: Crochet Ever After: 18 Crochet Projects Inspired by Classic Fairy Tales by Brenda K.B. Anderson

(US/UK Links)

Crochet Ever After: 18 Crochet Projects Inspired by Classic Fairy Tales by Brenda K.B. Anderson was released late last month in the US and will be released on January 30th in the UK. See Crochet Ever After: 18 Crochet Projects Inspired by Classic Fairy Tales (UK Link). There are several fairy tale inspired craft books out and upcoming--it's a popular trend--and this one in particular captures my fancy. I'll share some images.

Book description:

18 projects to crochet happily ever after.

From the whimsical mind of Beastly Crochet author Brenda K. B. Anderson comes a funtastic collection of 18 fairy-tale inspired crochet projects. Shows and movies based on fairy tales are incredibly popular, and crafty crocheters now have a book of fabulous projects that pay homage to their favorite stories. Little Red's hood with integrated infinity scarf will stay put when she's being chased by the Big Bad Wolf. Sleeping Beauty now has just the right nightie to wear while waiting for Prince Charming to wake her up. Gretel can take her snacks to go with her cupcake purse. Plus the Evil Queen will know exactly who the hottest in the land is when she gazes into her Mirror, Mirror on the Go makeup case.

Heroines, fairy princesses, witches, and big bad wolves are all accounted for in this fanciful collection of crochet accessories, toys, bags, kids' clothes, and more.

Deep Dark Forest Mittens (LOVE!)

Big Bad Mittens (Now I want these for Hand Puppets...sigh.)

Fairy Princess Dress

Flying Broomstick Lace Shawl

Little Mermaid Purse

Little Red's Infinity Hood

Little Red's Infinity Hood

Magic Bean Stalk-ings

Snow Queen Beret

Thumbelina Doll

Unicorn Hoodie (One of the nieces would LOVE this.)

Back cover so you can see the Frog Princess Hat

Five New Books in the It's Not About... Series by Veronika Martenova Charles

It's Not About... Series by Veronika Martenova Charles: I wrote about the first five books in this series almost three years ago. This year five more books were added. I missed these earlier this year, but I am thrilled to see they have been published. I haven't seen these but I saw the original five since they were sent to me for review and they are great tools for sharing different versions of fairy tales in a classroom or elsewhere--well, you know, away from SurLaLune which offers a similar service. These versions by Charles are easy reading level for early and middle readers with cool characters sharing the stories, so they are safe for the classroom, too, unlike some of the tales shared on SurLaLune.

Series description:

More first books for fledgling readers that offer the enjoyment of a good story with the thrill of accomplishment that comes from independent reading. Written in short, easy phrases with carefully selected vocabulary and plentiful illustrations, each book helps youngsters achieve success as they have fun.

The series follows three friends who love to share stories. In each book, one is reminded of a well-known story:

It's Not About the Ball! (Easy-to-Read Wonder Tales) is based on The Frog Prince and has The Promise from Scotland, The Frog Boy from Vietnam, and The Singing Frog from Chile

It's Not About the Tiny Girl! (Easy-to-Read Wonder Tales) is based on Thumbelina and has The Peanut Boy from Chile, Little Inch from Japan, and Baby-man from Native America

It's Not About the Diamonds! (Easy-to-Read Wonder Tales) is based on the story of Diamonds and Toads and has The Three Gnomes from Germany, Rice Cakes from Indonesia, and Old Man of the River from Africa

It's Not About the Straw! (Easy-to-Read Wonder Tales) is based on Rumpelstiltskin and has The Elf from Germany, Lady in Green from Scotland, and The Bridge from Japan

It's Not About the Beanstalk! (Easy-to-Read Wonder Tales) is based on Jack and the Beanstalk and has the Bean Tree from Appalachia, Olaf and the Troll from Norway, and Molly and the Giant from Scotland

As one friend starts his story, the others are reminded of versions they know so each volume has three stories within one framework. The stories come from around the world, and Veronika Martenova Charles provides a note at the end of each book to describe the origins.

Fairy Tales in Stitches: Unexpected Patterns by Gera

The Three Bears by Gera

You are probably aware by now that the Japanese enjoy European fairy tales and have many unique and fun interpretations of them, especially in fabric and stickers and other craft related items. One charming series of several cross stitch patterns is by Gera of many of the less popular fairy tales for cross stitch interpretations--no Cinderella or Sleeping Beauty here in other words. 

Most of my images came from a seller site where several Japanese crafts are available for international customers--it's in English and makes for easier buying in other words. It is SuperBuzzy and really quite a charming site. I haven't ordered from them yet so this is not an endorsement but I will be trying them in the future when I decide which of these patterns I want the most. My birthday is coming in May and there may be a self-gifting of some of these patterns I've been discovering.

Bremen Town Musicians by Gera

The Giant Turnip by Gera (The Giant Turnip!)

Thumbelina by Gera

Tortoise and the Hare by Gera

The Three Pigs by Gera

Hansel and Gretel by Gera

Little Red Riding Hood by Gera