Anatomy of a Book

Anatomy of a Book

This blog is sweet, short, and to the point. With an excellent visual, it teaches the reader the different parts of a book. And, no, I am not talking about just the front and back cover (everybody knows that). The author, Jenna Homen, goes a little bit more into detail and certainly taught me words I had never heard before: endpapers, casewrap (reminds me of plastic wrap), book block, gutter, headband, and backbone (also known as spine). The end papers are the two sheets of paper that you find at the beginning and end of a book; some may have colors and designs. The casewrap is a little hidden. But, if you lift the jacket (not the one you wear), you might be impressed by the patterns, colors, and images carefully crafted by the designers. The book block is basically all the pages in a book. If you hold the pages together, it looks like a “block.” Whoever decided what the parts of a book were going to be called probably named them with things that would resemble a specific part. For example, when you divide the book in half you can see the that blank space on the center of the book; that is called the gutter (it also looks like a gutter). The headband is my favorite part of a book because it definitely looks like a headband you wear on your head. They are both colorful, beautiful, and are for decorative purposes. The book I am holding in my hands has a red headband! I just wanted to throw it out there and share! The backbone is simply the spine of the book. Don’t get confused;  it is the same thing. So, if you hear “backbone,” simply think of the spine. Once again, it is the same thing! I do feel proud of myself because I can probably draw a book and label its parts! Bam!

 As a librarian, it is important to know the parts of the book because you can turn around and teach it to the children. Just like businessmen need to be very familiar with their product, we need to be able to know what makes up a book. From now on, I promise to be more appreciative of the work that goes behind the creation of a book. It requires time, effort, and lots of meticulous work. Knowing the parts of a book helps me appreciate and value them much more. I hope I can transmit this same love and appreciation for books to my students.  

Homen, J. (2017, July 13). The Anatomy of a Book [Web log post]. Retrieved September 14, 2018,   
     from https://www.chroniclebooks.com/blog/2017/07/13/the-anatomy-of-a-book/