Coloring books for adults, originally published in the United Kingdom, have gained wild popularity in Ukraine, outselling popular local authors.
“Secret Garden” and “Enchanted Forest” by British illustrator Johanna Basford were adapted for Ukraine and sold more than 50,000 copies – a huge number for a struggling local book market, where even popular authors publish new titles in just a few thousand copies.
The two coloring books were originally released in 2013 and 2015 in the U.K. and translated into 14 languages since then, including Ukrainian. Over one million copies were sold globally. The “Secret Garden” was second best-selling book at Amazon.com as of March 24.
The books have nearly no text, so Ukrainian editions are fit for English readers as well. Plus, they are considerably cheaper, being sold in Kyiv bookshops at some Hr 85 ($3.5). On Amazon the books are sold for $10-12 each. To reduce the price of the books, Ukrainian publisher printed it without original craft pages.
The pages of both books are filled with inky contours of tiny flowers, trees, insects, and birds. Ukrainian publisher of the books, Vydavnytstvo Staroho Leva (The Old Lion Publishing House), branded the books the “anti-stress” coloring books, and it may be the reason behind the books’ success.
Vydavnytstvo Staroho Leva has released Basford’s “Secret Garden” in Ukrainian in September, 2014, a year after the book’s world release. It proved to be so popular that the next creation of the British illustrator, “Enchanted Forest,” was brought out simultaneously with the world release in March of 2015.
According to the publisher, the 50,000 copies of the “Secret Garden” first edition were sold out by March, and more are about to be printed. For comparison, the same publishing house is still selling the first 3,000 copies of “Felix Austria” by Sofia Andrukhovych, an acclaimed novel that became a BBC Book of the Year in Ukraine in 2014.
The fans of the book even mail the colored pages to the publisher to boast their progress. Vydavnytstvo Staroho Leva receives two or three such pages every day. The publisher has released a calendar and a set of postcards with images from the hit books.
The connection between the success of the “anti-stress” books in Ukraine and the turmoil of the last 1.5 years seems obvious. However, psychologists are unsure if the books really have an anti-stress effect.
According to Iryna Natalushko, art therapist at Caritas Ukraine charity center, the effect of the book is hypothetical, and was not confirmed by any research.
“It is quite possible, given that making art in itself can be therapeutic, that coloring books might have a grounding and soothing effect,” she says.
The same effect can be reached through any crafting activity — for instance, clay modeling.
Yuliia Yurchenko, a 28-year-old tour guide from Kyiv, was among the first who bought “Secret Garden.” She counts 105 colorful pencils and pens in her toolbox, all being used to color the book almost daily.
“I don’t look at the coloring book as an anti-stress one. I just like painting,” she says.
Seeing the success of the “Secret Garden,” another publishing house released an adult coloring book. The Book Club (Klub Simeinoho Dozvillia) has released the “Animal Kingdom” coloring book, by another British illustrator Millie Marotta. It is available in Kyiv bookshops for Hr 97.
Kyiv Post staff writer Yuliana Romanyshyn can be reached at [email protected]
