How a Book Is Made
- Book Review,
by Aliki
From School Library Journal
Grade 2-5 In response to the question, "Who made this book?," the eight cats pictured on the back jacket answer in unison, "We all did!" In only 32 pages, Aliki explains their participation in this venture, from the author's inspiration through the presentation of a copy of the completed book to a grateful child. Aliki's publishing company is in a world populated by cats, cats in fancy dress whose individual looks and personalities are representative of a wide spectrum of people. Her lucid explanation of the bookmaking process is clearer than but every bit as accurate as many explanations written for adults. Younger children will be satisfied with the charming pictures and the basic picture book text, which identifies the various stages in the business of publishing books. Older or better readers, and those doing research, will find the more detailed explanations, set in smaller type within the frames of the illustrations, to be particularly worthwhile. All ages will be captivated by the dialogue balloons within the softly colored mixed media illustrations (colored pencil and watercolor), which add some humor and give the book personality. A calendar, unobtrusively placed in many of the illustrations, supplies a time frame for each step. No other author has explained the complicated process of creating a book to such a young audience. Even those readers for whom the technical aspects of book production are too difficult to grasp will appreciate the love and hard work that go into the creation of a book. Bound to please, this book marks a high spot in informational writing for children. David Gale, "School Library Journal"Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Card catalog description
Describes the stages in making a book, starting with the writing of the manuscript and the drawing of the pictures, and explaining all the technical processes leading to printed and bound copies.
About the Author
Aliki is the author and illustrator of more than fifty books for children that are treasured by readers all over the world. Her many well-loved titles include My Visit to the Zoo, My Visit to the Aquarium, My Visit to the Dinosaurs, Wild and Woolly Mammoths, Tabby, and Those Summers. Aliki lives near the Globe theater, in London, England.In Her Own Words..."Aliki grew up in Philadelphia in a big Greek family where everyone was busy creating and sharing their activities. She knew from the time she was in kindergarten that she wanted to bean artist, although music was also a natural talent. She was encouraged throughout her early life by her parents and by teachers she will never forget."She graduated from the Philadelphia Collegeof Art and started a career in advertising art. After she married Franz Brandenberg, Aliki continued her career in his country, Switzerland, where they lived for three years. It was there that she wrote and illustrated her first book, The Story of William Tell, which was published in England. When they moved to New York, Aliki wrote and illustrated My Five Senses--the book that changed the direction of her career and her life."Although she had never thought of being a writer, Aliki has been making books ever since. Children's books, she says, are a combination of two things I love: words and pictures. I also love the privacy of books--both reading them and making them. Aliki writes fiction, in which she can express her feelings, and nonfiction research books about subjects she's interested in and wants to know more about. Each book is a new challenge; each is different, she says. The subject directs the way I illustrate a book, the same way friends bring out different parts of us. The challenge is to get the words right and then to make pictures that expand and enhance their meaning.""Besides her own books, Aliki has illustrated many written by Franz Brandenberg and other authors. Her two children are also in the arts. Jason is a filmmaker and Alexa is a children's book author-illustrator. They appear in almost all of her books as cats, mice, or themselves. "Aliki loves music, theater, cinema, museums, children, her cat, Nefertiti, and working in her garden in London, where she lives. She travels frequently to the U.S., Greece, Switzerland, and other parts of the world, though most of the time she is alone in her studio with the books she is working on--and Mozart."
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