Alter your board books » Rookie Moms

Activity #323: Alter your board books

We had a board book that I didn’t like too much. The illustrations were too wishy washy and there were too many words. We also had a board book that I loved, by Todd Parr, called This is My Hair. Bold illustrations and simple text. Plus funny. I decided I wanted the first book to be more like the second book. Plus I needed a Father’s Day gift for my husband.

So, I painted over the cover of the book, put stickers on it and pasted all sorts of stuff on the inside. The main theme was “This is my dad”. I made a cartoon-like image of my husband’s head and copied enough of them for each page of the book. Then I pasted it over various environments that I cut out of magazines. I hand wrote the captions. I did not worry about letting the original contents of the book show through. It was obviously hand-made.

I think it looks really messy and amaturish, but visitors to our house seemed to be very impressed. So, I share this idea with you so that you can impress your own visitors. Feel free to copy my ideas exactly.

Apparently there is a whole art form called altered books, where people collage on the pages of regular books. They make some amazing stuff. My version is less than amazing, but it is a board book that my son and husband read together - and it’s made by me.

by Whitney in Crafty, Free/Cheap, Month 7 | Email this activity to a friend
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(10 votes, average: 4.9 out of 5)

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caley Says:
September 25th, 2006 at 8:15 pm

i LOVE this idea and plan to create my own in the very near future. i love handmade things, as well as recycling old things into cooler things. i’ll let you know how mine turns out! thank you for the great ideas!

Rowena Says:
September 25th, 2006 at 8:31 pm

That’s a really great idea. Now I think I want to make one for my son and husband for Christmas. Very cute. I love altered books.

Stephanie Says:
October 27th, 2006 at 12:31 pm

This is terrific! My husband had a terrible day at work this week, so the next day I whipped one up for him while he was at the office. It cheered him up, and our 6-month-old daughter keeps trying to “grab” Daddy’s face on all the pages. It was such a big hit I think I’m going to make “This is my Family” for my sister’s son for Christmas.

Heather Says:
December 14th, 2006 at 11:45 pm

Wonderful idea! I’m planning to do this for Christmas for my husband and the grandparents too. What paste or glue have people used which is study and baby safe (and preferably, waterproof)?

Any suggestions from those who’ve made books?

Thanks!

laikajg Says:
December 16th, 2006 at 1:39 pm

I’m also interested in suggestions for types of kid-friendly paints, glues, etc. …and then is there a final coat of something applied at the end?

Whitney Says:
December 17th, 2006 at 10:12 am

I used Mod Podge. Details are here: http://www.plaidonline.com/apMP.asp

Heather Says:
January 11th, 2007 at 1:18 pm

This is one board book worth having at home from Dutch on Sweet Juniper: A Horse named Paul Revere by the Beastie Boys

Heidi Says:
March 19th, 2007 at 10:26 am

I finally tried this today with my daughter. I’ve had it int he back of my mind for months. I painted the covers and all of te pages brown and then used pink, purple, yellow and green to write on the pages. I made ‘this is my family’ for her to take to daycare for when she is in a bad mood. Thanks for the great idea and now I know what my neice and nephew will be getting for Christmas next year!
Hint: try finding a cheap board book from the dollor store or the dollar section at Target…

Things I do when I should be sleeping « Sublime Bedlam Says:
March 27th, 2007 at 2:16 pm

[…] I once again stole an idea from Rookie Moms wherein you swipe a board book from your baby that you absolutely detest reading (in our case the book was one of a set of 6 that I bought on clearance from Border’s (”Playtime”, “Animals”, “Numbers”, “Food”, “Colors”, and one other, equally as creatively titled, one that I can’t remember), which just goes to show you that things usually reach a dollar in markdown price FOR A REASON) and give it a total makeover. […]

Suzie Q Says:
August 23rd, 2007 at 5:33 pm

I *love* this! Can’t wait for our little one to arrive so I have an excuse to make one of these. And my husband would go crazy to see himself in the Tour de France.