Book Making with Children

I happened to be "cleaning" yesterday and came across some of my children's writings. The books brought a great deal of nostalgia about years gone by. You and I have heard it millions of times, "They grow up so quickly." It's true.

Well, anyway, I found the books they wrote one summer. They were so charming and some comments were hysterical. I cherish those childish words and will keep the books forever.

Children love writing books and my children are at the age now where they like to put the razzle-dazzle of pop-ups, varying fonts and color.

Lately, I have been researching paper folding to add to books.I suppose you can say that I am adding origami to our books. For example, one of my children decided to write a story about a frog. She added an origami frog to her book and it was a scream! She painted it, added drops of paint to make his spots and made the most charming face.

The topics to write about are virtually endless. Several include:
1. My Family
2. Animals
3. The Sport I play
4. How to...
5. My Favorite Place
6. The Alphabet
7. My family heritage
8. A Book About Me
9. My Vacation
10. Original Stories
11. My Crazy Day
12. Somebody Special
13. The Birthday Party
14. Friends are Important

If you have a classroom, make sure you have a section of books children have written. They love to read other children's writings. Be sure to include poetry books!

There are plenty of different types of books to make. Instead of explaining how to make the books, I thought you might like to visit these fabulous sites:
1. Susan Kapuscinski Gaylord is incredible. She provides wonderful step by step directions as well as free activities.
http://www.makingbooks.com/step.shtml
http://makingbookswithchildren.blogspot.com/
2. Vicki Blackwell also has some wonderful ideas on making books. She must be an amazing teacher. Check her site at:
http://www.vickiblackwell.com/makingbooks.html
3. Joan Irvin is the "Pop-Up Lady." She not only has some interesting pop-ups on her
website, she has also authored books on the subject. Be sure to visit "The Pop-up Lady!
http://joanirvine.com/HowTo.aspx
4. I wish I could give more credit to this creative lady, but she has only signed her name as Cathy. Her site is excellent with colored photos.
http://www.bookmakingwithkids.com/index.php
5. Jeanne Hunt has downloads that are easy to follow and ones you will want to save.
http://www.oneheartarts.com/bookmakingprojects.htm

You may want to view some of Susan's outstanding videos:






Another charming video is:



If you want to have a book professionally bound, you might consider reviewing the site: http://www.bookemon.com/create-book/Writings

If you are interested in viewing some recommended pop-up books, you might try these:


My favorite book about paper folding is: The Encyclopedia of Paper Folding.


Other books on origami include: