World of Flowers by Johanna Basford

World of Flowers brings 80 delightful illustrations of blooms, petals, bouquets, vases and lots of flowers.

I really like the dimensions of the drawings. They have many details but nothing is too small, just great for coloured pencils.

I love Johanna’s work. We can see the influence of early botanical illustrators – sometimes it reminds me of Maria Sybilla Merian. We also find visual elements that seem inspired by Art Deco and Design, like symmetric patterns and decorative borders.

World of Flowers artwork is very creative because flowers are always present, but in diverse compositions.

Going through the pages feels like going for a pleasant walk at the countryside: barns, shelves, garlands, butterflies, vases, lanterns, ponds and gardens: all full of fresh blooms.

If you like flowers, you will be enchanted by this book!

We can find more than one version of WOF.

I have the US and the UK version, and they have some differences.

The US version, also available here in Canada is produced by Penguin Books and printed in the United States.

WOF US:

  • Book cover has a light-pink background behind the lettering. 
  • Doesn’t have a dust jacket
  • Book is slightly taller, around 5 mm.
  • Paper hue is a very light eggshell or cream like tonality, almost white.
  • Paper is strong, heavy enough (thick) and has a little texture.
  • Binding method is glue. Pages are attached to the spine with a paperboard and glue.

The UK version was purchased from Amazon.uk. It’s produced by Penguin Random House UK and printed and bound in China by Toppan Leefung.

WOF UK:

  • Book cover has a white background behind the lettering.
  • Has a dust jacket, revealing a light-pink cover with a flower pattern printed on.
  • Paper hue is light eggshell or cream, only a touch darker than the US version. The difference is barely noticeable.
  • The paper is a little lighter and smoother than the US one.
  • Binding method is stitching. Book is sewn in sections along the spine and glued for a sturdy finish. This allows the book to open flat without damaging the pages.
  • WOF UK version with dust jacket

My first copy was from Amazon.ca, the US version. I was really enjoying the book when it started to fall apart.

As the pages fell off, I had the idea to add a spiral bind. I brought it to Staples. Not the best idea I ever had 😦 The sales person at Staples warned me it would cut away a part of the page. However, I thought there was enough space to preserve the images. I was wrong.

The cut took away a part of the drawings, also taking away my will to continue to colour that book. I enjoy having the artwork in full, just like the artist intended.

I did some research and found out there was another version available, this one from the UK, so I ordered online. As this one is stitched together, it should not fall apart.

As life is not simple 🙂 I do prefer the paper used in the US version, so I purchased another copy. This one is holding on well and so far my book doesn’t show any signs of detaching pages.

Sometimes there’s a production problem and for this reason some books will not hold as they should, I guess my first copy was a lemon. I can say I’m happy now because I get to colour both versions of this gorgeous book! 😀