Make It! Write It! Read It!

Simple Bookmaking Projects to Engage Kids in Art and Literacy

Wendy M. L. Libby

• Publisher: Zephyr Press
• Year: 2015
• Print ISBN: 9781613730300
• eBook ISBN: 9781613730331
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Education
• Subtopic: Elementary Education

2015 Gelett Burgess Children's Book Award Winner in Activity Book Category
Perfect for preschool through elementary–level educators seeking to enhance classroom lessons or parents and other caregivers looking for fun and creative hands-on activities for children, Make It! Write It! Read It! includes field-tested bookmaking projects that encourage self-expression while building both art and literacy skills. Seventeen easy-to-follow blank book designs—such as Accordion Fold, Hanging Tassel, and Paper-Bag-Pockets books—are presented and then applied to 23 specific cross-curricular book projects, including Alphabet, Pop-Up Jungle, and Flapping Insects books.
 
The projects require nothing more than imagination and standard classroom art supplies. With gentle prompting, kids can write poems, paragraphs, or simple stories related to their creations. Each activity includes educational objectives; skills developed; materials needed; clear, illustrated, step-by-step instructions; and literary connection ideas.
 
Longtime art educator Wendy M. L. Libby guides beginners who might need more direction but also suggests open-ended possibilities for more experienced bookmakers, teachers, and artists.

PART 1

BLANK BOOK PROJECTS

CHILDREN CAN MAKE many different types of books with a few simple directions and materials. The blank books they learn how to make here by following the step-by-step instructions can then be used to make their own creative book. The folding and assembling techniques presented in this section will be referred to in the specific bookmaking activities in Part II.

Each of these projects can be modified to fit your needs. For example, a certain size paper or amount of pages might be listed in the directions, but those details can be altered. The most common materials for these projects are papers, card stock, scissors, glue, a stapler, a pencil, colored pencils, markers, and crayons. The projects are arranged in order of increasing difficulty, starting with a simple folded piece of paper and culminating in a stitched book with decorative covers and endpapers.

Simple Book

Materials

• 3 to 5 pieces of white paper, 8½ by 11 inches
• 1 piece of colored construction paper or card stock, 8½ by 11 inches
• String, yarn, or ribbon, 24 inches long

Directions

Fold each piece of white paper in half, short edge to short edge.

Open the folds and stack the papers on top of each other.

Refold the papers all together.

Make a cover from the colored construction paper or card stock by folding it, short edge to short edge, and tucking the folded pages into the crease. The cover can be the same size or slightly larger than the pages.

Wrap the string, yarn, or ribbon around all the pages and the cover at the fold, and tie into a bow or knot.

Flip Book

Materials

• 10 or more pieces of white paper, 3 by 4 inches
• 1 piece of colored construction paper, 1 by 3 inches
• Stapler

Directions

Stack the sheets of white paper on top of each other. Flip books work best when the pages are small, because they are easier to flip. For best results there should be at least ten pages for flipping.

Make a spine by fol...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Contents
• Introduction
• Part 1 Blank Book Projects
• Part 2 Bookmaking Projects
• Conclusion
• Glossary
• Suggested Reading