Super Mario Bros.: A Big Color/Activity Book
| Super Mario Bros.: A Big Color/Activity Book | |
|---|---|
| |
| Series | Super Mario Bros. |
| Publishers |  Western Publishing[1] Fernández Editores[2] |
| Labels | Golden Book[1] Fiesta ILAC Nintendo[2] |
| Original language | English |
| Translation | Spanish (Latin America) |
| Release dates | 1989[1] 1990[2] (original release) April 1992[3](re-release) |
| ← Previous — |
Next → Super Mario Bros.: A Giant Color/Activity Book (English) Super Mario Bros.: Libro para colorear (Spanish) |
Super Mario Bros.: A Big Color/Activity Book, also referred to as just Super Mario Bros., is a softcover-bound book originally published by Western Publishing in 1989 under the Golden Book label as part of the Super Mario Bros. series of coloring and activity books.[1] As its title implies, it is primarily based on the game Super Mario Bros., and features an illustrated adaptation of the story from the game's manual, which is detailed below. The book contains 56 pages.
A smaller staple-bound version of the book, simply titled Super Mario Bros.: A Color/Activity Book and containing only 48 pages, was later released in April 1992.[3]
Contents[edit]
The Mushroom King and Princess Toadstool live happily in the Mushroom Kingdom, a magical place where everyone lives in peace. However, one day, a tribe of evil turtles, led by Bowser, invades the kingdom. The Mushroom People fight against the turtles but are ultimately defeated by them. Using black magic, Bowser turns all of the Mushroom People into bricks, rocks, and horsehair plants before locking the Princess in the dungeon of a faraway castle, with her being the only one with the power to free her people. A brave, determined, and busy man named Mario arrives in the Mushroom Kingdom and sets off to save the Princess. When not saving Princess Toadstool, Mario is often found skateboarding, hang gliding, racing, singing songs, winning a trophy, playing soccer, skiing, roller-skating, driving his car, cooking, making snowballs, riding a motorcycle, entertaining parties, flying a plane, or relaxing.
- Connect the dots to see what can give Mario a boost to make him taller.
This is a connect the dots puzzle, that when completed, forms a Power Booster Mushroom.
- A Mystery Maze
- Use the symbols to help Mario choose the right path to the faraway castle.
The reader is tasked with figuring out which of the 6 paths shown lead to the castle. Power Booster Mushroom spaces move 1 space down, Fireflower spaces move 1 space up, Starman spaces move 1 space right, and Coin spaces move 1 space left. The path that leads to the castle is path 4.
- Starman Maze
This is a maze puzzle where the reader is tasked with finding a path to guide Mario to the finish while avoiding the Starmen.
- Mario has to look out for a lot of enemies. See if you can find them all. Lakitu - 2, Bullet Bill - 3, Cheep Cheep - 3, Koopa Troopa - 1, Koopa Paratroopa - 3, Spiny - 2
The reader is tasked with identifying the enemies that appear across the two pages. The reader is given hints on the names by showing the total amount of each enemy on the page.
- Who's Living Inside the Pipe?
- Connect the dots to see who can harm Mario if he falls inside one of the pipes.
This is another connect the dots puzzle that when completed, forms a Piranha Flower.
- Help Mario find his way down these confusing stairs.
This is another maze puzzle where the reader is tasked with finding a path to guide Mario to the finish while avoiding dead ends.
- A Cheep Cheep Maze
- Take Mario to the other side of the bridge before a Cheep Cheep gets in his way.
This is another maze puzzle where the reader is tasked with finding a path to guide Mario to the bridge while avoiding the Cheep Cheeps.
- Jumpin' Mario
- Cut out the box on the heavy line, then cut a slit at the top of the overalls on the dotted line. Cut around the figure below. Slide into the slit as shown in the diagram and move the figure up and down.
This is a craft where the reader is tasked with cutting out Mario's top and bottom half, and connecting them together by sliding the top half into the bottom.
Following this is a coloring page with Power Booster Mushrooms, a Cheep Cheep, Koopa Paratroopas, Mushroom people, Spinys, Little Goombas, and clouds. This page is copied for pages 36, 38, and 58.
- Solve the Puzzle
- Cut out the puzzle pieces at the top of the page. Paste them into the correct spaces to see who Mario is trying to save.
The reader is tasked with cutting out 8 puzzle pieces and placing them together in the right spaces. When finished, the puzzle forms a picture of Princess Toadstool.
- Mario has made it to the castle to rescue the Princess. Cut along the heavy black line to see who is waiting for Mario.
The reader is tasked with cutting open the drawbridge to the castle Princess Toadstool is being held captive in. Once cut open, three mushroom people are revealed to be inside.
- Mario needs 100 points to stomp Little Goomba. Help him find the path that leads to 100 counting by 5's and move from square to square along the secret path.
The reader is tasked with forming a path out of the numbered squares by counting by 5's that leads to the Little Goomba so Mario can stomp it.
- What does Mario need to take him to the castle to rescue Princess Toadstool? Use the code to find out.
The reader is tasked with translating the code to reveal the message. When translated, it reads "Mario needs points to beat his enemies."
- Each player places a coin in the START box. Players take turns by flipping a coin. Move 2 spaces for heads; move 1 space for tails. Move an additional space for each 100 points. The first player to reach Princess Toadstool is the winner and hero of the Mushroom Kingdom.
This is a board game where players use coins as their playing pieces. Once it is their turn, the player flips their coin and moves 1 space if it lands on tails, or 2 spaces if it lands on heads. Each player moves an additional space every 100 points they earn. Text appears on some spaces either granting the player points or making them lose a turn. Once the player reaches Bowser, they have to have their coin flip on tails two out of three tries. If the player succeeds, they reach the finish space and win.
- Know Your Enemies
- Circle words up, down, across, back and diagonally to find all of Mario's enemies.
This is a word search puzzle, where the reader is tasked with finding the names of Little Goomba, Koopa Paratroopa, Koopa Troopa, Piranha Flower, Blooper, Spiny, Bowser, Buzzy Beetle, Cheep Cheep, The Hammer Bros., and Lakitu.
- Duck the Enemy
- One of these enemies is headed right for Mario. Follow the line from each line to Mario to see which it is. Hurry so he can duck it!
The reader is tasked with following the lines each connected to the 5 numbered Bullet Bills to see which one leads to Mario, with the Bullet Bill numbered "2" being the correct answer.
- Why is Mario looking for Princess Toadstool? To find out, start with the letter K and move only to letters connected by a heavy line. The first letter of each word in the answer is within a star. After you find the right path, copy the letters on the lines below and read the answer.
The reader is tasked with following the correct line to figure out what the reason why Mario is looking for Princess Toadstool. Once the reader reaches the letter "M" with "Finish" written above it, the hidden message should read "King Bowser invaded the Mushroom Kingdom."
- Help Mario win this award. Look down, across, back and diagonally to find these hidden words.
This is another word search where the reader is tasked with finding the words "Blocks", "Blooper", "Bowser", "Castle", "Coins", "Flagpole", "Flower", "Koopa", "Lakitu", "Luigi", "Mario", "Mushrooms", "Podoboo", "Stair Blocks", "Starman", and "Warp Zone" so Mario can win the Award for Heroic Actions.
- Wave Maze
This is another maze puzzle where the reader is tasked with finding a path to guide Mario to the finish while avoiding the Cheep Cheeps.
- Any number of players can play this game. Take turns drawing a straight line between two dots, trying to complete a square. As you complete a square, initial it and take another turn. Count 2 points for each square with Mario in it and 1 point for each blank square. Subtract 2 points for each square with Bowser in it. The player with the most points wins.
This is a dots and boxes game where any amount of players take turns drawing lines, connecting them with dots. If one player draws a line that creates a box, they write their initials in the box and receive 1 point. If Mario is in the box, the player receives 2 points. If Bowser is in the box, the player loses 2 points. Whoever has more points at the end wins.
- Super Door Signs
- Here is a special message to hang on your door. There is another one on the other side. Write your name and color both signs, then cut out. Attach to your door with a piece of string and turn to the message of your choice.
The reader is tasked with coloring and adding their name to a door sign and cutting them out. Then the reader attaches the sign to their door using a piece of string. One sign shows Mario with text reading "Enter my room" with the reader's name. The other side shows Bowser with text reading "Enter at your own risk!!"
- King Bowser has trapped Mario and a fight has begun. He needs to escape the evil king to save Princess Toadstool. Cut around the set of bars; then lay them on the picture. Move the bars back and forth to see what is happening.
The reader is tasked with cutting out the bars above the picture, placing it on the picture, and moving it back and forth to form an animation of Mario punching Bowser.
Differences between Super Mario Bros.: A Color/Activity Book[edit]
Super Mario Bros.: A Color/Activity Book is a smaller staple-bound version of Super Mario Bros.: A Color/Activity Book that omits eight pages found in the original book. Two of the pages omitted are the scene at the beginning showing Bowser using his black magic. Three pages are omitted from the section listing Mario's hobbies, removing "driving his car", "cooking", and "flying a plane" from the list. The other three pages removed are the two pages for the drawbridge activity and a coloring page with Power Booster Mushrooms, a Cheep Cheep, Koopa Paratroopas, Mushroom people, Spinys, Little Goombas, and clouds.
Two versions of Super Mario Bros.: A Color/Activity Book exist. One version, with title written in white inside a green oval, has a product code of 1193-95 and a price of 2/$1.00 inside a yellow circle on the front cover. This version lacks the paragraph describing the Golden Book label on the back cover and has an ISBN of 0-307-01193-3. The other version, with the title written in black and not surrounded by any oval, has a product code of 1207-14 and a price of 99₵ on the front cover. This version in addition to lacking the paragraph describing the Golden Book label, is also missing the illustration on the back cover and lacks an ISBN. The first version is unusual in that the product code ends with something other than "-14", "-15", or "-16", which are normally used to indicate a non-"Big" or non-"Giant" coloring book under the Golden Book label.
Characters[edit]
- Mario
- Princess Toadstool
- Mushroom King
- Bowser
- Mushroom People
- Little Goombas
- Koopa Troopas
- Koopa Paratroopas
- Hammer Bros
- Piranha Flower
- Cheep Cheeps
- Bullet Bills
- Lakitus
- Spinies
- Buzzy Beetle
- Blooper
"Luigi" and "Podoboo" are also included as two of the words in a word search, though Luigi, nor any Podoboos actually appear in the book.
Gallery[edit]
Cover of Super Mario Bros.: A Color/Activity Book
Alternate cover of Super Mario Bros.: A Color/Activity Book
Spanish cover
Inside cover
Pages 2 and 3
Pages 4 and 5
Pages 8 and 9
Pages 10 and 11
Page 12
Page 13
Page 14
Page 15
Page 16
Page 17
Page 18
Page 19
Page 22
Page 23
Page 24
Page 26
Page 27
Page 28
Page 29
Pages 30 and 31
Page 32
Page 33
Page 34
Page 35
Page 36
Page 37
Page 38
Page 42
Page 43
Pages 44 and 45
Page 46
Page 47
Page 48
Page 49
Page 50
Page 51
Page 52
Page 53
Page 54
Page 55
Page 56
Pages exclusive to Super Mario Bros.: A Big Color/Activity Book[edit]
Pages 6 and 7
Page 20
Page 21
Page 25
Page 39
Page 40
Page 41
Notable mistakes and errors[edit]
- The Little Goombas featured on page 23 have their teeth on the top of their mouths instead of the bottom.
- The secret message on page 33 is false, as points are not required to beat enemies in any game released at the time this book came out.
Version differences[edit]
- In the Spanish translation:
- The Spanish translation adds captions for the illustrations. Examples include:
- The illustration of Mario singing a song has a caption added that says that he is very romantic.
- On a related note, the same illustration has its pre-existing text changed from "Singing a song" to "Singing a romantic melody".
- The illustration of the Mushroom People has a caption added that reads "¡Sorpresa! ¡Qué felices se pusieron cuando Mario encontró a sus amigos!" ("Surprise! How happy they were when Mario found their friends!")
- The illustration of Mario riding a motorcycle has a caption added that says that he enjoys danger.
- The illustration of Mario singing a song has a caption added that says that he is very romantic.
- The header for "Jumpin' Mario" is changed to "Hopping with Mario".
- The Spanish translation adds captions for the illustrations. Examples include:
Names in other languages[edit]
| Language | Name | Meaning | Note(s) | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spanish | Super Mario Bros.: Libro para colorear y actividades | Super Mario Bros.: Coloring and activity book | [2] |
