I jumped at the chance to review AT PLAY IN GOD’S CREATION: AN ILLUMINATING COLORING BOOK, because as the kid in all of us knows, nothing soothes quite like taking some crayons/markers/colored pencils to paper. Yet, I was pleasantly surprised to find that this coloring book is so much more than the child-like therapy we originally think of when coloring — it is also a prayer aide.
I may have torn into the box when it arrived in the mail like a young child unwrapping her Christmas presents. In fact, I almost gasped because I was so amazed at the beautiful simplicity of the cover. I knew that if that much beauty and attention to detail had been put into the cover, I was going to like what I found inside.
Written by Tara M. Owens and beautifully illustrated by Daniel W. Sorensen, the subtitle of “coloring book” really doesn’t do this book justice. The book opens with a few pages reflecting on creation, beauty, prayer, and how to get the most out of this book and your prayer, and then is filled with pages upon pages of gorgeous illustrations.
As I slowly flipped through the book, not only did I encounter beautiful original artwork to color, but I was also surprised to find that there are quotations from Scripture and the saints interspersed throughout many of the art pieces. These quotations weren’t just placed as an afterthought; they are seamlessly integrated into each art piece, leading your mind to prayer as your color inside (or outside!) the lines. As I dove into the task of coloring the candle piece, I constantly found my mind and heart drawn to the quotation woven into the page from St. John of the Cross: “In the first place, it should be known that if a person is seeking God, His beloved is seeking him much more.” I thought I’d spend a couple of hours just relaxing by coloring, but I ended up spending quite some time in prayer as I colored away.
This is one of the highest quality coloring books I have ever seen. The book is made with thick, high quality paper, and is filled with almost 100 pages to color and explore. The only drawback I found was that the pages are made of such high quality, thick paper, that it makes it difficult to color to the inside edge of the page at the binding. For some pictures, this doesn’t matter, but for the pages where the design continues across the two-page spread, I would have liked to have been able to get my colors all the way to the inside of the page. If you aren’t a coloring perfectionist like me, you probably won’t even notice this!
I highly recommend this coloring book that goes above and beyond artistic creativity and stress relief. I can see this book as being incredibly helpful to taking your prayer life in a new and different direction, and it is perfect for meditative and contemplative types of prayer. This book would make a perfect gift for Christmas for a family member, friend, or yourself! Hop on over here to grab this book for all your gifts this year!
Disclaimer: I was given a free copy of this product in exchange for my review. However, all thoughts and opinions are my own.
