Children love to read brightly colored books with illustrations and good stories.
Bubble books were patented in 1917 by Ralph Mayhew in partnership with Harper and Brothers as an invention which combined illustrations, text or songs and a recording. The unification of all three elements in books designed for children was a breakthrough in how books were produced. The books were called bubble books because the first set had a theme of soap bubbles representing the listening child's imagination. A bubble book can be created today by bringing together the same three elements.
Instructions
1. Write a children's story you can illustrate.
2. Measure the size of your cardboard CD sleeve. Subtract 1/4 inch from the width and height. Draw a border on illustration board to this measurement using black ink. Divide the story in sections; each section will be illustrated. Pick a scene from the story and illustrate it within the border size. Use color markers to make it vivid. Repeat for each section of the story.
3. Record a CD for each section of the story. The CD can be a recording of your voice reading the story or it can feature a song mentioned in the section of the story. Label each CD with a section number and the title of the book.
4. Scan your illustrations into your computer and print out a copy using photo paper for the best quality print. Make a second copy of your favorite illustration to use on the cover. Add the title of the book to a saved image using your art program. Trim around each illustration copy 1/8 inch from the border.
5. Open your word processor program and arrange your story to fit on pages the same size as the CD sleeve. Print out the story so the second page prints on the back of the first page. You may need to visit a photocopy store to figure this out. Print out all the pages of your story, creating breaks at each section.
6. Cut art board in a color you like for the cover. The cover should be 1/4 inch larger and wider than the CD sleeve. Punch the left side of the art boards, CD sleeves and inside book pages using a plastic comb bindery punch. Most copier stores can punch this for you.
7. Spray adhesive on the back of your trimmed illustration prints. Align the cover illustration on the front cover. Align each section illustration on the front side of the CD sleeve for that section. Put the CDs in the sleeves. Open the fingers on the plastic comb binder and assemble your book by first placing the cover on the comb, followed by the first section CD sleeve, the first section of text, the second section CD and so on until you place the back cover on the book.
