Best Loved Psalms Coloring Book
Barbour, Barbour Books (DECEMBER) Softcover $9.99 (96pp), 978-1-68322-339-9
Interacting with these tranquil scenes makes for a restful pastime.
Best Loved Psalms is a peaceful coloring book featuring idyllic nature scenes and soothing psalms.
The first half of the coloring book concentrates on animals and nature scenes, each with a featured psalm. For much of this portion, the animals have their eyes closed, instilling a sense of serenity in each scene—as with sheep in a circle, dancing around “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want” or the calm creatures darting out of sweets under “Delight thyself also in the Lord.”
Their relaxed postures are certain to inspire peace of mind in the viewer as well, increasing the degree to which coloring these pages is a relaxing pursuit; interacting with the tranquility of the scene makes for a more restful pastime than coloring more rambunctious images might.
The lines that texture the animals’ fur are rendered in a unique style, resembling something like needlepoint. They create a cozy, homespun tone in each picture, adding another layer of craft.
Each psalm is written in a lovely, curling script, perfect for the swoop of a coloring pencil. Lines are delicate but not too thin, so accidental coloring outside of the lines is easily kept to a minimum.
In the second half, the style changes, placing emphasis on words and patterns. The psalms are more prevalently featured, with designs surrounding them rather than the setting. Excerpts like “My lips shall greatly rejoice when I sing to thee” dominate their pages, with tinier images around them—of musical notes or vines, for example. The text is formed differently— sometimes blocky, sometimes curly.
The designs are almost experimental. Still often nature themed, many resemble a kaleidoscope with their trapezoids and angled frames, intended to take a backseat to the words.
Best Loved Psalms selects lovely and familiar texts with musical cadences; they are certain to have a calming effect.
Those looking for a particularly soothing coloring experience can find it in Best Loved Psalms, a work complete with delicate lines and sweet forest animals. sake”—and descriptions of clothing, meals, holiday celebrations, and the dusty cow town of Denver in the midst of its booming growth, when trolleys, wagons, and cowboys on horseback in pursuit of escaped cattle tangled in the crowded streets. Nice imagery brings the mountaintop cabin to life, too, as with the “trickle-whisper” of the nearby spring.
Phoebe has a diverse group of mentors: her parents, her mother’s nurse Daisy, a Denver fortune-teller, an Audubon Society member, and a young bird-plume hunter. They give her much to mull over as she decides how to tackle various problems. Some mentors are quite eloquent in their advice: “Daisy says the fear that is in all of us is just courage turned inside out.”
Phoebe’s Heron not only sheds light on the early conservation movement and the tuberculosis epidemic but explores how adolescents develop their own identities and perspectives on issues. It emphasizes the importance of treating people fairly and kindly and of staying true to one’s values, even when it creates issues with family and friends. This is a sensitive and thoughtful juvenile historical novel that incorporates many themes in a delightful package.