The jacket is made of thick paper which you can colour and the inside of it is covered with a beautiful fish pattern which has a waxy finish and can be coloured but only with certain mediums because most pens and pencils are repelled by the shine. The UK edition has a removable dust jacket which has gold foiling accents on the front and back, really adding to the luxurious feel of this book. It has a black spine with white text, the same as Secret Garden and it looks beautiful with the other titles on the shelf (see photo below). Lost Ocean is a paperback, square book (25cm x 25cm) which is exactly the same size as Johanna’s previous two titles, Secret Garden and Enchanted Forest.

The biggest difference is that the dust jacket in the UK version is removable, like the previous two books by Johanna, but it is not removable on the US edition. Both versions are sold on Book Depository and the links to each are at the bottom of this review. It is worth noting here that the UK and US editions are different and I’m reviewing a UK edition. I have written a comparison of the UK and US versions because there are a number of obvious and subtle differences and this can be found here. In short, Johanna’s done it again – it’s fabulous and everything you’d want from a watery-themed colouring book. So, without further ado, here’s my review of it. This book is the most hotly anticipated colouring book of the year and is from my personal collection. It has been released early in some UK stores (including WHSmiths, Waterstones and Sainsbury’s but do phone ahead as not all of them have stock yet) and is set for general release in the UK on the 22 nd of October and worldwide on the 27 th of October. Lost Ocean: An Inky Adventure & Colouring Book is published by Virgin Books and illustrated by the very talented Johanna Basford. Disclaimer – Please read this disclosure about my use of affiliate links which are contained within this post.

Lost ocean book