Current Price: £6.99
Number of Pages: 104
Size: 21 x 21cm
Paper colour: White
Paper surface: Smooth
Paper thickness: Thin
Linework: Fine/Medium
Perforated: No
One sided: Yes
Binding: Glue
Drawings go into the spine: Some
Waterbased pen bleed: Yes
This book is all about hidden homes and communities beneath the forest floor, in hollow tree trunks and curled around roots. There are a few animals sprinkled throughout but mainly it focuses on the miniature underground lands- think 'The Borrowers' and you won't be far off!
Most of the illustrations are extremely intricate whilst a few have wide open spaces; the more detailed pages have wobbly lines that touch and often don't give you a place to go with your pens. I don't mind this too much though, it adds to the hand-drawn nature of the book. There are a lot of very similar drawings, so in future editions I might suggest whittling them down to the best ones which are all distinctive from each other.
Despite the problems with this book, the quaint beauty of the tiny worlds Sarah has created is undeniable. If there was a cardstock Artist's Edition of the book with clearer printing it would be on my favourites shelf for sure. It reminds me of a doll's house but for mice!
Here's my finished picture, coloured with Staedtler Triplus felt pens.