Creating a Children's Book

Bookmaking Guide

Method One

Materials needed:

• Construction paper or card, various colours; letter/A4 paper
• Trimming board
• Cardboard backdrop (optional)
• Hole punch
• String or wool
• Scissors
• Water-soluble glue

1. Cut construction paper to make uniform sizes.

• These can be letter-sized (A4), or half-sized (A5).
• Whichever you choose, ensure that students are aware of the size they will be working with before they begin. This will determine the size of the illustrations they make.

2. Pre-punch a series of holes in the side of the card or construction paper. Holes should be set in about 1 cm (1/2 inch) and be about 2.5 cm (1 inch) apart.
* As an alternative to punching holes and weaving, the spine may be stapled together.

3. Text and illustrations are trimmed to fit the page, leaving a border of about 1 cm.

4. Text and illustrations are glued in and allowed to dry.

5. Pages are ordered properly and piled together.

6. Weave the string through the holes from one end to the other, and then back again.

7. Tie the ends carefully.

Method Two

Equipment needed:

• Letter-sized paper, good quality
• Plastic slip-covers
• Binders with paper covers

1. Using this method, students do all final, neat work on good-quality paper (including illustrations).

2. When all work is completed, pages are placed in sequence, numbered, etc.

3. The front and back covers are glued to the binder.

4. End papers are glued inside the bind

5. Work is put into the slipcovers, back-to-back, and inserted into the binder.