The Saturday Book Makers: Context Clue Detectives

The Saturday Book Makers

1Every Saturday morning, Amara walked to the community center for a bookbinding class. She was a novice, or beginner, and this was only her second week. Her teacher, Mr. Haddad, had been making books by hand for many years.

2"Today we will make a journal you can keep for a long time," Mr. Haddad said. He set out stacks of paper, thick cardboard, cloth, thread and needles. Then he held up a wooden handle with a sharp metal point. "This is an awl," he said. "It is a pointed tool for poking small holes."

3First, Amara folded six sheets of paper in half and tucked them inside one another. Mr. Haddad called the little bundle a signature. "A signature is a group of folded pages that you sew together as one piece," he explained. Amara made four signatures in all.

4Mr. Haddad was meticulous. He measured every hole twice, lined up each page exactly, and never let a crooked stitch slip by. "Careful work now saves trouble later," he told the class.

5Amara poked holes along each fold with the awl. Then she sewed the signatures together with a long, waxed thread. At first her thread kept tangling, and she groaned. After a few tries, though, she got the hang of it. Her stitches came out neat and even, and she began to sew faster.

6Next, Amara covered two pieces of cardboard with blue cloth. She used an adhesive to stick the cloth down. The class could choose from several kinds of adhesive, such as white glue, paste and double-sided tape.

7Amara asked why they did not just use paper for the cover. Mr. Haddad explained that paper tears too easily. Cardboard and cloth are durable, he said. They hold up well even after years of use.

8Last, the students could embellish their covers. Some added buttons, ribbons or bits of colorful yarn to decorate them. Amara glued a tiny paper star in one corner.

9When she opened her finished journal, the pages lay flat and the stitches held tight. Amara smiled. Next Saturday, she decided, she would write on the very first page.