The Pocket Book
The idea: one sheet, folded and cut once, becomes a whole book with pages in order.
Read it
One story, three ways: Sprout for a new reader, Grower in short chapters, Reader as a full chapter book. Same plot, same ending.
Who is in this book
-
Kami Paper becomes a new shape with every fold, and it only cuts where it is told from CreaseTots -
Mark The lines tell you what to do — dashes fold, solid lines cut from CreasePals -
Inkling a child of the Green Names what she notices -
Cornelia Bring one corner to meet the other corner, exactly from CreaseTots -
Lan a child of the Green Goes first; makes a friend in a minute -
Crinkle Smooth a crooked fold out and try again; the crease remembers from CreaseTots -
Presso Hold the paper still and press the fold flat so it stays from CreaseTots
Every recurring character has a short tune, so you can tell who is on stage before a word is said. The tunes play only when you tap, and the Reading Access sound switch turns them off.
The Honest Page
Which parts of this story are true, stretched or made up?
True
- Aldus Manutius ran a printing house in Venice from 1494. He made 'portable small books', which people could carry about, a little like today's paperbacks. Source
- His small Virgil came out in April 1501. It was the first book printed in italic, a slanting type cut by Francesco Griffo, and he printed a thousand copies, many more than usual. Source
- Printers made small books by folding one big printed sheet several times. A sheet folded three times gives eight leaves, a size called octavo. Source
- Three folds in half make eight boxes, two rows of four, and the one-sheet book turns those eight boxes into eight pages.
Stretched
- Bettina folds a book like Aldus's small books. What we simplified: Aldus's books were folded from big printed sheets, sewn and bound with covers. Bettina's one-sheet book is a simpler fold with one cut that children make today; it works the same way, one sheet becoming many pages.
Made up
- Bettina, her family and the paper door are made up. Kami, Mark, Cornelia, Presso and Crinkle are our own characters.
Tell it back
Tell the story in your own words: who was there, what went wrong, and what they found out. Then a tiny eight-page book folded from one sheet, small enough for a pocket goes on your belt.
On your belt: a tiny eight-page book folded from one sheet, small enough for a pocket.
Your belt lives on this device. Nothing is sent anywhere.
Ring the hammer for someone
Pick this book for someone younger. The link carries only the book, and it will wait for them on the Green.