PART 1

BLANK BOOK PROJECTS

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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 folding the colored construction paper in half, long edge to long edge.

* Sandwich the pages inside the spine and staple through the spine and the pages near the top and near the bottom.

Half-Cover Book

Materials

* 1 piece of colored construction paper, 9 by 12 inches

* Scissors

* 3 to 5 pieces of white paper, 3½ by 5 inches

* 3 to 5 pieces of colored construction paper, 4 by 5½ inches

* Glue

* Stapler

Directions

* Lay the large sheet of colored construction paper in front of you, horizontally.

* Fold the paper in half, short edge to short edge.

* Open the front cover, and find the middle of the front short edge. From the edge to the fold, cut the front cover in half. You may cut on either a straight or wavy line.

* On the fold, cut down from the top of the cover to the first cut. Remove the top half of the front cover.

* Glue the white papers to the small colored construction papers to make your interior pages.

* Staple the stack of pages to the inside of the folded book, below the remaining front-cover flap.

Accordion-Fold Book

Materials

* 1 piece of white paper, 11 by 17 inches

* 2 pieces of colored construction paper or card stock, 8½ by 11 inches

* Glue

Directions

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

* Open the paper back up, and on one side of the crease, fold the paper in half again.

* Repeat this folding step on the other side of the crease.

* On the middle crease, fold the right half underneath the left half to make a zigzag.

* Optional: It is also possible to use more than one sheet of paper. After folding them in the zigzag style, glue the back of the end piece of one folded section to the front piece of another folded paper.

* Glue the colored construction paper or card stock to each end to make the covers.

Coffee-Filter Pockets Book

Materials

* 3 to 5 large cone coffee filters

* 3 to 5 small cone coffee filters

* Glue

* Stapler

Directions

* Center a small filter on top of a large filter to create a page.

* Glue it down, and repeat for all other small filters.

* Stack all the large filters in a pile and staple along the left edge.

* The open tops of the filters become pockets into which you can place your writing.

Folded Book

Materials

* 1 rectangular piece of paper

* Scissors

Directions

* Fold the paper in half, long edge to long edge.

* Fold the paper again, short edge to short edge.

* Fold short edge to short edge one more time.

* Open the paper completely.

* Refold once, short edge to short edge. There will be four rectangle shapes on each half, formed by the creases. Leave the paper folded.

* Locate the crease that extends from the side fold across the middle of the paper.

* Cut on the folded line in the middle of the paper from the folded edge to the point where the corners from all four rectangles meet in the middle. Do not cut all the way to the edge of the paper.

* Unfold the paper and refold it long edge to long edge. Holding the end rectangles together, push the two ends slowly toward the middle until the middle rectangles open outward.

* Push the two end rectangles completely together until they touch. Fold all the papers flat so that only two rectangles are showing.

* Fold the book closed along the middle crease. Now you have a little book with a front and back cover and six pages.

Three-Part Section Book

Materials

* 3 pieces of white paper, 6 by 12 inches

* 1 piece of colored construction paper, 2 by 12 inches

* Stapler

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