Hi there!

Nowadays, all information is available to be read and/or listened to on our personal computers and also for a few years on our smartphones.

However, there are many qualified opinions from psychologists and philosophers who recommend the use of paper, especially for children.

And regarding them I thought: ¿How to attract their interest, in the face of the constant bombardment they have from digital and audiovisual?

And there I came up with the idea of creating a complete set of 8 universal and classic children's literature books, shaped like a triangle or a portion of pizza.

In this tutorial I will explain you in detail how I designed it from zero and also adding detailed instructions so that you can do it yourself.

Here you can quickly see what one of the books we will create looks like:

It is a challenging project, I encourage you to do it with my help.

So let's get started!

Supplies

Tools:

Pencil.
Metallic ruler.
Curves binding needles .
Bookbinding Thread.
Cutter.
Cutting mats green (or similar).
Bookbinding awl or something with a point like a compass.
Bench vertical Blade or access to one (recommended).
A3 color printer + A3 sheet self-adhesive paper or access to one (recommended).
A3 b&w printer + A3 sheet paper or access to one (recommended).
Wax or candle.
Credit card or Bone folders.
workshop presses.
Brush.

Supply:

Glue.
Mercerized cotton thread (or linen thread)
Cardboard sheets.
Colored Cardstock sheets.
White fabric.
A4 carbon paper.

Step 1: Choosing Which Books to Make and Their Texts

The first challenge was to choose the 8 stories. I wanted them to be from anonymous authors as much as possible. I remembered many of them as a child and others when I started reading them I remembered. They are:

I chose stories by unknown authors, to avoid copyright problems and also because the versions can vary in more or less detail without modifying their essence and in particular the moral they bring for children (and why not for adults too)

Since I also wanted the books to have a uniform number of pages, it occurred to me to seek help from artificial intelligence (A.I.) through the Chat GPT platform using the free version that uses the engine GPT 3.5.

The quality of the writings is nothing new to anyone today; But for me it was a novelty to be able to adjust the number of words in the story, based on the images that I defined for each one and the maximum number of pages of all the stories.

Step 2: The Drawings of Each Book

Users with Microsoft licenses have the free COPILOT platform (with limitations) that has an incredible tool called Designer (powered by Dall-e 3) to create images through a defined “prompt”. Here the video is accelerated to 4x.

This is how I got the images for each one 8 books (All drawings were created with A.I.)

I chose for the images to create a drawing style: flat, monochromatic and contemporary.

The images I got surprised me. In some cases I had to make some small adjustments by editing the image in Adobe Photoshop, deleting content, accentuating some facial expressions, etc.

Step 3: Design

Below you will see an image of how a book is put together. You will be as amazed as I am, if you have never seen it before. The vast majority of books are made this way. It is a hardcover book, with 44 triangular pages bound with the traditional sewing method.

Book graphic design:

I used the powerful design tool Adobe InDesign to create all the pages, while Adobe Illustrator was used for the cover design. Both tools are those used professionally to create magazines, brochures, etc.

I made an initial "test template" until achieving the best result in a pre-print draft. When I was happy with the final template, I copied it to make all the books the same way.

Pages:

Each individual page is a triangle with a base of 134 mm and a height of 195 mm. The numbering is placed at the side edge of each page. Each book sheet is formed by two triangles joined at the base, as seen in the figure.

The sheets are printed double-sided on an A3 size 80-gram paper, with registration marks for subsequent cutting with a bench guillotine. With each A3 print double-sided, once cut with a guillotine, you will get a rhombus-shaped leaf, with 4 individual pages of the story. The mark of the two concentric circles and a cross indicate the place where the sheets are folded.

This is an example of any sheet printed in A3 ready to be cut. Note that the numbering is not consecutive, because we will do the binding by joining 4 booklets of grouped sheets (I will refer specifically below).

Hard Covers:

The upper (front) cover, the lower (back) cover and the spine, are created with triangles of 143 mm base x 208 mm height, made of 2 mm thick cardboard, and a rectangle 143 mm height x 7 mm width, covered with color printed self-adhesive paper.

In the image below you can see the cardboard of the hard covers, the colored self-adhesive paper positioned before it is glued to the cover and the pages of the book in dashed line.

In the image below you can see the colored self-adhesive paper making up the front cover, the back cover and the spine of the book. As will be seen later, these images will be printed in A3 size and cut with a cutter. Note that the small 4 white lines in the central part are also to be cut with scissors.

Endpapers:

The endpapers (also known as the endsheets) are the pages that consist of a double-size sheet folded, with one half pasted against an inside cover (the pastedown), and the other serving as the first free page (the free endpaper or flyleaf). Thus, the front endpapers precede the title page and the text, whereas the back endpapers follow the text.

They are created with triangles of 134 mm base x 195 mm height joined at their base, forming a rhombus (the same size as a sheet of book paper) made of colored cardstock.

Booklets:

Each book in this project is made up of 4 booklets.

The first three consisting of 3 sheets each, and the last one consisting of 2 sheets.

With a technique that has a lot of information in courses and on the web, the books are sewn with needle and thread (yes, just as you are reading it), a process referred to as binding, which I will discuss later.

Type and size of fonts used:

Sassoon Infant Bold – Book title, page 1. Size: 62 pt.
Sassoon Infant Medium - General text. 56 pt. - line spacing: 67,2 pt.
Floral Capitals Medium – Initial capital letter at the beginning of each book.
CombiNumerals-Bold – To identify the book number with the classic number inside a filled circle. Size: 20 pt.
HeyKiddo – For the story names on the covers and the mention of the website address on the back cover. Size: 14 pt.
SeeYouAtMovies2 – For the collection name placed on the book spine. Size: 17 pt.

Colors:

I spent a lot of time choosing the colors of the book covers. Color is the gateway to sight and interest on one hand, and on the other hand, the combination of colors also contributes to the overall aesthetics of the set of 8 books.

Even though there is a lot of information and resources online, I used two very interesting iOS operating system app called: Color Palette Designer and Color Card.

Finally, I settled on the palette called WARM FIRST, combination #3, from which I chose:

For each hard cover, the RGB code are:

Little Red Riding Hood. Hex Code: #384031
The Three Little Pigs. Hex Code: #EC7A6B
The Ugly Duckling. Hex Code: #FFD941
The Little Red Hen. Hex Code: #81912E
The Tortoise and the Hare. Hex Code: #CCD15C
The Elves and the Shoemaker. Hex Code: #64C2CC
The Three Billy Goats Gruff. Hex Code: #029BA3
The Boy Who Cried Wolf. Hex Code: #124265

For each cardstock endpaper, the colors are:

The Little Red Hen / The Three Billy Goats Gruff: Blue Color.
The Boy Who Cried Wolf / The Ugly Duckling. White Color.
The Three Little Pigs. Red Color.
The Elves and the Shoemaker / Little Red Riding Hood. Green Color.
The Tortoise and the Hare. Brown Color.

Step 4: Creation Process Flow Chart

It may be that by reading the entire Instructable you will find yourself in the different steps, however if you want to create one or more books I suggest that you look at this FLOW CHART and perhaps print it to read and understand it, so that it is easier to go step by step:

Made with Lucid App (free version).

Step 5: Printing

The first part may have been boring. But here the action begins. 😉

With completed designs done in ADOBE INDESIGN and ADOBE PHOTOSHOP and exported to PDF, the next step is to send them to your own printer or a copy service (I suggest you the second).

Sheets:

The sheets are printed as mentioned in the previous step, on A3 sheets, double-sided.

I chose to do it in black and white (B&W) 80 gr copy paper (not glossy) just for budget reasons.

It could perfectly be improved in the future by adding some color detail to the images and using glossy paper. Surely printing at scale would significantly reduce costs.

When printing, you should take the precaution of checking in the light that all the registration marks on the front and back sheets match perfectly. On a first try, most copiers print double-sided in a less than perfect way. Through the printer driver and fine adjustment, you can get the perfect print.

Self-adhesive color paper:

The covers are printed on self-adhesive color satin paper. It is very important to keep in mind that since RGB code colors are used for the design process, printers usually use the CMYK code colors. That is why when exporting the PDF I had to choose the option that the particular printing company where I did the work gave me, which is: U.S. Sheetfed Coated v2.

This is to ensure that the colors you see in the PDF are truly reflected in the physical print.

The latter may seem like something taken from a science fiction movie, but believe me, it is a headache for the printing industry if the details are not taken care of.

In the following link I attach all the books in PDF separated by booklets for printing and also the self-adhesive color paper.

Download all pdf ready to print

Step 6: Sewn Binding

From the printed and cut sheets, in this step we will make the sewn binding.

In this step there is also action and maybe there is drama 😁

Keep in mind that there are many, many methods for binding. There are even thousands of videos on the internet that explain how to do it too. In this Instructable I have tried to faithfully describe what I did when creating these books. I suggest that before doing anything you read this entire step carefully and if you have doubts, repeat the reading. If you have any questions, it will be a pleasure to clarify them.

In this step we will use white mercerized cotton thread (or linen thread) and three curved needles (which are used in bookbinding to avoid injury to the fingers and make the work easier):

1) Assemble the 4 booklets by folding the individual printed sheets so that they are arranged as follows:

Booklet 1: pages from the first page to 10 (3 sheets)
Booklet 2: pages 11 to 22 (3 sheets)
Booklet 3: pages 23 to 34 (3 sheets)
Booklet 4: pages 35 to the last (2 sheets)

TIP: according to the drawing above, the booklets should be assembled in such a way that pages 10, 22, 34, and the last page are visible for booklets 1, 2, 3, and 4 respectively. The following photo shows an example of how Booklet 2 should look (see that the last visible page is 22).

2) Mark the points where the holes will go. For this step, use a strip of paper the same length as the sheets (134 mm) and mark the following points with a pencil:

3) Hold the 4 booklets with the strip of paper on top and finish marking with a pencil all the holes.

4) Punch the 4 booklets at the marked points:

TIP: place an empty cardboard box as seen in the photo, so as not to injure yourself or the work table.

5) Cut 3 segments of thread, each 50 cm long.

6) Pass the thread through wax. A simple candle can be used for this.

7) Thread 3 curved needles. Make 2 simple knots to prevent the thread from coming loose.

8) Place the first booklet so that page 10 is facing up. Identify each hole as follows:

9) Pass a needle through hole "1" of Booklet 1:

10) Open the booklet with the other hand and pass the needle through hole "2" from the inside out:

11) Pull the thread until there are 5 cm of excess thread left at hole 1.

12) Repeat the process with the other 2 needles so that the booklet looks like this:

13) Place Booklet 2 on top of Booklet 1. Pass the needle through hole "2" of Booklet 2 and then pass the same needle through hole "1" from the inside out:

14) Pull the thread tightly and make 2 simple knots with the 5 cm of excess thread left in Booklet 1.

15) Repeat the same procedure with the other needles and place Booklet 3 on top of Booklet 2.

16) Pass the first needle through hole "1" of Booklet 3 and then pass the needle from the inside out through hole "2".

17) Pull the thread tightly and pass the needle behind the thread between hole "2" of Booklet 1 and hole "2" of Booklet 2. This, from now on, will be called chain stitch.

18) Pull the thread tightly and repeat the same procedure for the other two needles.

19) Place Booklet 4 on top of Booklet 3.

20) Pass the last needle through hole "6" of Booklet 4 and then pass from the inside out through hole "5".

21) Make a chain stitch (Pass the needle behind the thread between hole "5" of Booklet 2 and hole "5" of Booklet 3). Pull the thread, and just before it is tight, pass the needle through the knot that forms:

22) Repeat the procedure with the other two needles, with the only difference being that the last chain stitch (hole "1") must be done twice to secure the knot.

23) Finally, make two simple knots with each remaining 5 cm end left at the beginning of the whole process. That is:

24) With the first needle and the excess thread (5cm) from hole 1, make two simple knots.

25) With the second needle and the excess thread (5cm) from hole 3, make two simple knots.

26) With the third needle and the excess thread (5cm) from hole 5, make two simple knots.

27) Cut all the excess thread so that the booklet looks like this:

28) Once the booklets are sewing, with the help of a brush you should paint with glue as seen in the photo above and then let it dry while pressing.

Step 7: Making the Hard Cover of the Book

Cuting Cardboard (covers):

On a 2 mm cardboard sheet, draw in pencil using rulers and squares:

- 16 triangles on the cover with the measurements 143 mm of its base and 208 mm of its height. There are 16, because each book has 2 hard covers, and in this project we are making 8 books.

- 8 rectangles of the cardstock with measurements 143 mm height and 7 mm width.

TIP: you could use carbon paper to trace the figures of the triangles and rectangles on a printed sheet as a template. This saves a lot of work.

Once drawn, using a knife and a metal ruler, carefully cut all the triangles respecting the pencil lines.

In the following link I attach the files for cut the cardboard.

Download all pdf ready to print

Cutting Cardstock (Endpapers):

On a sheet of cardstock with the corresponding colors of each book, draw in pencil using rulers and squares:

16 rhombuses with the measurements of 390 mm of the major diagonal and 134 mm of the minor diagonal.

There are 16, because each book has 2 rhombuses, and in this project we are making 8 books.

TIP: also in this case you could use carbon paper to trace the rhombuses figures on a printed sheet as a template. This saves a lot of work.

Cutting Self-Adhesive paper:

Use a utility knife to cut following the printed lines very carefully, giving firm and safe cuts.

In the photo below you can see all the pieces ready to assemble the hardcover:

Placing the self-adhesive printed paper on the cardboard:

Take the set of self-adhesive printed paper, leaving the facestock printed on one side and glue on the other.

Position the facestock on the workbench with the printed side facing down. Place one of the cardboard triangles positioning its vertex first, making it coincide with the part of the facestock seen in the photo and carefully lower it until it is glued as shown in the photo:

Place the rectangle in the central part of the facestock and carefully lower it until it is centered and glued as shown in the photo:

Finally place the remaining rectangle with a similar method to how you placed the first one.

With the help of scissors, make the 4 cuts indicated on the facestock.

Once this is done, start on one of the lids by folding the surface of the facestock sticking out of the cardboard 180 degrees and carefully glue from one side to the other.

Do the same with all four sides of the lids.

Once this is done, finish by closing the two central portions of the facestock, and with the help of an object such as a metal clip, press the facestock so that the whole is perfectly glued.

Press and slide a smooth plastic card or something similar at 45 degrees on the surface of the facestock to ensure perfect gluing, checking that there are no folds or the facestock remains unglued on the cardboard.

Rotate the front cover 180 degrees and the hard covers of the book are ready.

Step 8: Final Binding

EndPaper Paste:

Place the glue-reinforced sewn book on its spine, on top of your work board.

Place an auxiliary sheet at a distance of 10/15 mm from the left edge where all the sheets are glued.

With a brush, apply glue (not so thick) over the 10/15 mm that you left free. The auxiliary sheet will serve to prevent the glue from going beyond the previous measurement.

Place the front EnderPaper of the book (the color that corresponds to the book) on top of the book in line with the pages, and press firmly to adhere.

Turn the first page of the front endpaper and the back endpaper as seen in the photo and press.

Repeat the same steps done for the front endpaper with the back endpaper

In the photo you can see all the books with their Enderpapers glued and finished.

Gluing a white fabric reinforcement (mull):

The next step is to glue a mull on the booklets to reinforce the whole. The mull is made with a 110mm x 45mm white fabric. First apply white glue with a brush on the 110 mm of the spine, then position the mull in such a way that it is symmetrical on both sides of the booklet. Then apply white glue again with a brush on the mull.

Apply presses so that the entire assembly dries properly.

Gluing the book sewn to the covers:

Place the book in the position indicated on the photo.

Place a sheet between the two EndPaper pages.

With a brush apply glue (not so thick) over the entire sheet of the endpaper including the mull. The auxiliary sheet will serve to prevent the glue from passing to the lower sheet.

Remove the auxiliary sheet.

Position the book assembly carefully on top of the cardboard.

Turn the front cover of the book 180 degrees so that the endpaper meets the hard covers of the book.

Press firmly with your hands.

Flip the book over and repeat the same procedure with the subsequent EndPaper.

Place a sheet between the two EndPaper pages.

With a brush apply glue (not so thick) over the entire sheet of the endpaper including the mull.

Remove the auxiliary sheet.

Turn the front cover of the book 180 degrees so that the endpaper meets the hard covers of the book.

Press firmly with your hands.

The process ends by placing sheets of film between the two enderpapers (front and back), placing a protective cardboard and some workshop presses. Let the set dry for no less than 4 hours.

Finally the eight finished books look like this 😊

Step 9: Final Packaging

Inspired by a set of commercial children's books, I thought it appropriate to finish this project with a simple colorful packaging so that the books stay organized.

I used Autodesk Fusion 360 and Illustrator for its design.

In the following link I attach the files for printing the self-adhesive color paper and plans to cut the cardboard.

Download all pdf ready to print

Following the dimensions of the attached plan, on a 2 mm cardboard sheet, mark and cut with a utility knife, and only mark (without cutting) in those places indicated as folds.

Finally, put the assembly together, glue the joints and let it dry.

Print the color PDF in the appropriate size on self-adhesive paper and then cut with a cutter and glue to the cardboard.

Paste the self-adhesive paper on the cardboard box, trying by all means to avoid leaving any airy parts or folds.Place it in an appropriate place in the house. The case can be placed horizontally or vertically according to your taste.

Note: if someone professional in the printing industry reads my procedure, they would be upset 🫢. I applied the self-adhesive paper to the ready-made box, this is because it is a first model and there may be adjustments. The correct procedure would be to apply the self-adhesive paper on the cut cardboard of the box and then fold and glue it.