Longer Storybook (#3)
The original story M-bot story starred my grandson Malcolm, but I have removed his name from the book and left a blank space so that you can write in a child's name. "Grandma" also originally appeared in the book, but you can also personalize the adult in the story.
When I first planned this book, I thought I could just delete all of the ""Malcolm's" and "Grandma's" and just give you a PDF with blanks. But the resulting PDF was really confusing.
So I added steps 2-9, which have red and green boxes indicating where all of the names go.
Download and Print the PDF.
All of Grandma Van's Print and Mail stories fit on standard 8.5 x 11 inch letter-sized paper.
Downloads
Personalize Pages 16, 1, 12 and 5.
This M-bot story has two characters. Use the illustration above to help you place a grown-up's name where each GREEN BOX appears and a child's name in each RED BOX. The third RED BOX on page five works best if you put in a pronoun (she or he) instead of the child's name.
Personalize Pages 2, 15, 6 and 11.
Again, write a child's name in each RED BOX and an adult's name in each GREEN BOX.
For the last green box on page fifteen, use "He" or "She."
Also on page fifteen, a third name can be added in the BLUE BOX.
Personalize Pages 14, 3, 10 and 7.
Write a child's name for each RED BOX.
Write an adult's name for each GREEN BOX.
Personalize Pages 4, 13, 8 and 9.
Again, write a child's name in place of each RED BOX and a grown-up's name for each GREEN BOX.
Personalize Pages 32, 17, 28 and 21.
Two times: put a child's name where each RED BOX appears in the illustration.
Put a grown-up's name where each GREEN BOX appears in the illustration.
Personalize Pages 18, 31, 22, and 27.
RED BOX = Child's name.
GREEN BOX = Adult's. Third green box can be a pronoun instead of the name.
Personalize Pages 30, 19, 26 and 23.
RED BOX = Child's name.
GREEN BOX = Adult's
Personalize Pages 20, 29, 24 and 25.
RED BOX = child
GREEN BOX = adult
Special note from Grandma Van:
The story sounded just great when I wrote it with Malcolm and Grandma as stars. Replacing the names with blanks spaces and then red and green boxes got just a bit confusing. Please contact me if you see an error here. I TRIED to get it right. Next time I will use a better method!
Cut the Pages Apart.
Cut the pages apart, as shown in the illustration.
Sew Two Separate "folios."
Arrange the pages into two piles. Pages 1-16 should be in the first pile and pages 17-32 in the second.
Using strong thread or dental floss, sew the pages as shown.
Each of these piles, when folded and sewn, becomes a folio.
Glue the First Folio Into the Binding.
Cut a binding from overweight paper. The best size is 11.5 by 4.5, but you can also use 11 inch paper and trim the pages down later.
Fold the paper. Run a strip of hot glue slightly to the left of the fold.
Glue in the folio for pages 1-16.
Glue the Second Folio to the Binding.
Run a second line of hot glue slightly to the right of the fold.
Place the folio for pages 17-32.
Fold and Trim.
Trimming is optional. (Whether or not you trim depends on the degree of "perfection" that you desire!)
Any time a folio of made of folded pages, the inner pages will stick out more than the outer pages.
For a "temporary" book, or one that will have a very short life cycle, you may just want to leave the pages untrimmed.
But if you have more than one folio, and if you want a tidier finished product, use a sharp-bladed knife and a metal-edged ruler and trim the edges.
Add an Image to the Cover
Write the name of the story on the cover and sketch a little picture.
OR
Make another copy of the title page, trim it, and glue it on the cover.
Share Your Grandma Van Print and Mail Story.
This is the third (and most ambitious) Grandma Van title.
Storybook #1 is a simple black and white 16-page M-bot story.
https://www.instructables.com/id/Grandma-Vans-Print...
Storybook #2 is a a version of the "Little Red Hen" story that can be personalized.
https://www.instructables.com/id/Grandma-Vans-Print...
If you like these books, please add your comments!