I know what values are the most important to teach my children
When I was growing up, my second favorite thing about the beginning on the school year (with the first favorite being brand new school supplies) was making book covers for all of my books. It was mandatory that our books have covers and the way to do it was with brown paper bags. I always made them inside-out so that I had a blank canvas on which to write “MATH” in bubble letters and “I Love Kirk Cameron” in 7 different colors of ink along the spine.
As the year wore on, I’d decide at some point to re-cover my books as the paper would begin to tear loose from the book and the repeat peace sign doodles would start to smear. That blank canvas was always a mid-term pick-me-up that I would need.
MrZ and I were just talking the other day about how we remembered when stores started carrying those sheets of glossy white paper designed for covering books. There were dotted lines on the underside that told you exactly how to fold the paper to make a tight cover. I don’t think we ever bought those for my books, but I never really wanted to because I was afraid the glossy paper would be too difficult to keep from smearing.
It’s an exact science – the world of book covers.
Well, in this picture here, you see today’s generation’s brown paper bags on our heads. Those are called “Booksocks” and they are stretchy cloth covers you buy at any office supply store. They cost between 2 and 5 dollars and come in a variety of colors and designs. They are totally cool on some levels, but also horribly depressing on others. Where do all of the girls proclaim their love for Zac Efron? (On my site, of course.) How do the boys learn to draw their team logo perfectly? WHAT DOES EVERYONE DO WITH THEIR GROCERY BAGS NOW?
It’s one of the many differences between my childhood and LilZ’s. LilZ has asked if we can get brown bags the next time we go shopping so that I can teach him how to make book covers. I consider it an honor to pass on such a skill to the next generation.
I remember brown paper bag book covers. They were such a great outlet for my creativity. Book Socks just don’t have the same appeal.
Oh my gosh, I don’t know if I would even remember how to do it. So hooray that you remember the exact science of it. Maybe you can do a photo essay on it, so we can remember too.
Thank you so much for clearing this up for me. I hadn’t a clue as to what book socks were.
Ah, those were the days, brown grocery bags and magic markers!
Our school had glossy ones or paper ones provided by “sponsors” I guess. We were REQUIRED to put them on (teachers would take time for us to cover our books in class–honestly!). So we’d all put them on backwards so we could decorate them. Yes, many found memories of doodling on my book covers…no, I mean listening in class. To this day, when I’m in meetings or church, I tend to doodle when not taking notes. Really, it does help me listen.
Hey, I did that, too! Brown paper bag book covers rocked! I guess paper bags are so passe now because you are killing a tree- they don’t stop to think about the plasctic trees, now do they?
P.S.- love the picture!
Those were the days….aaahhhh,Kirk Cameron. Who knew he would grow up to be such a boring guy?
I loved book cover day,almost as much as I loved getting to wear my new shoes for the very first time. And my new clothes.
I had recently seen the book socks-ick! They look like shower caps!! Wouldn’t ya know someone has made a FORTUNE off of ‘em too!! It grosses me out,totally…to the max!!
I heart brown book covers! It was so fun to write Baseballmom + whoever, and practice the AC/DC logo, and Styx…how funny! Our school had brown paper cut to the right size to make them with, but then got the sucky glossy white ones later…they just weren’t the same. Oh, I also love me some office supplies!
When I first saw the picture, I thought maybe you and Lil’Z were sportin the latest in Elfin wear. You guys make cute elfs.
Brown paper bags were the best book covers. I still use them for gift wrap. Not because I’m that cheap, but because it’s more fun to have the kids decorate the “wrapping”.
One of the worst things about living in a very affluent community is people spend huge money on worthless school supplies. Pretty much every kid has those stretchy cloth covers, but not mine. I refuse to fork over good money for something so worthless. So we use the brown paper bag method as well. It usually means a trip to trader joes or whole foods, because they have the big heavy handle bags whilst the supermarkets have smaller thinner paper bags, but I don’t mind.
The funny thing is, this year several of my daughter’s 9th grade friends wanted to have book covers just like hers. I had to actually teach a class on how to do them because most of them have parents who are clueless.
Well, covering books on the beginning of the school year wasn’t my favorite thing about starting a new year at school. Maybe because I’m not the handy kind of person.
And, for the same reason, I have just used your free template for blogger. I love cute designs but I don’t think I have the talent to make any.
So, I’d like to thank you for designing beautiful templates. If youhave time, maybe you can check out if I did it right or not. Well, the banner and footer aren’t showing up. I’ll handle it some time next week.
Again, thanks so much and have a great weekend!
When my world is crumbling around me and I’ve hit rock bottom in my little college world (which unfortunatly, the last few months I have.), it is posts like these that REALLY help me cheer up a bit. Thank you so much for writing a whole post about book covers. I don’t think there is enough “coverage” of this topic. Ha. Ha?
Thanks Zoot for your site.
I think that is awesome that LilZ wants to learn the classic art of book covering. Where did all our paper bags go? We get plastic now—how sad.
Yay, that’s so cool that LilZ wants to use brown paper bags. I’ve seen those stretchy covers too and they made me a little sad.
Like Tina, we used to take time in class to cover our books with these ugly corporate-sponsored covers. I had forgotten about that. They were usually promoting some “teen” Saturday morning lineup, and they were incredibly lame, so yeah we put ‘em on inside out.
They were also incredibly cheap and would tear if you looked at them wrong, so then we’d go home, rip ‘em off, and start fresh with a nice paper bag. The height of coolness was to get a paper bag with handles, and then figure out how to make it so you could carry your book like a little tote. I never did get the hang of that. *sniff*
I LOVED covering my books! I would sit at the kitchen table with the bags and tape, and I would work on them until they were perfectly tight.
OK, can I tell you, I wrote a list on my Latin book… a list of all the guys I wanted to kiss before I graduated (I’m such a slut). I think I actually kissed a few of them, and now I know that three on the list were (are) gay. Heh.
When I saw the stretchy book covers, it bummed me out. Unless, of course, you BEDAZZLE them!
I think the lack of an option between paper and plastic is a conspiracy by the booksock people. Does anyone ever get asked that question anymore? The cheaper, dirtier grocery store I sometimes frequent doesn’t even HAVE paper bags and they looked at me like I was crazy the first time I asked. It’s a good thing I don’t have kids… they won’t know what they’re missing.
If you cover the paper bag book cover with clear packing tape after your doodles are done it will keep the paper from tearing!
I loved covering my books with paper bags! I love reading your blog because so many times you bring back memories that I don’t readily remember! We’re pretty much ot the same generation..I loved Kirk Cameron, too! Anyway, my kid’s don’t have tocover the books they bring home..I don’t understand this at all. Book Covering = Good Times!
Gawd, I miss having to cover books with brown paper bags. Mine would be completely covered in graffitti and doodles by the end of the first month.
I actually had to read the packaging the other day in Target just to figure out what those things were. It made me feel old.
OMG Zac Efron!!1onenoe!!1
Ahem. Sorry. I thought I’d get that out of the way for the 13 year olds.
Even being out of highschool for only 6 years, I wish we’d had Book Socks.
Maybe then I wouldn’t have just left them all in a pile on my favorite teacher’s office floor instead of my locker….
I loved Kirk Cameron, too!
I totally remember grocery bag book covers. I loved them! It was a true “blank canvas” … ahhh, memories….
But, I just saw those stretchy cloth ones in the store the other day and I was almost enticed enough to buy one, but, lo, I don’t have books to cover anymore, as I am a 26 year old “adult” now. Bah. And, also, I’m too cheap to spend $2-5 on a damn book cover that will ultimately just rip and be doodled on.
This post brought back so many brown bag book cover memories for me.
What are those funny looking sock things?? Tell LilZ that he would be the coolest kid on school if he used brown bags instead of SOCKS!!!
Oh Miss Zoot, I am SO with you on that. I too refused to give into sparkling new white and printed book covers. I was very picky about even what store the sacks came from! I had book covering down to a science. When my son started using text books in school I was so excited because I was ready to teach him what I knew, or at least just cover them for him. But they don’t cover their books! Wayh!
Am I the only one who never had to cover her books??? Good thing my kids are homeschooled, ’cause I wouldn’t know how to make paper bag covers and we’d go broke on BookSacks. (I did buy 1 BookSack for my oldest, who started high school this year. She only has one book she has to cart home and they required a cover.)
Oh book covers. You have no idea how tempted I was to cover my books in college. But I um, owned them, so that didn’t make much sense to anyone but me. I NEEDED SOMEWHERE TO DOODLE! I had to get a damn steno notebook and let me tell you, it just wasn’t the same! I’m glad LilZ wants to do old school book covers. I don’t know how many times I wrote “SMILE” — in the cool bubble letters — or RJP *heart*’s FlavorOfTheWeekBoy — or the answers to tests. Oh! I mean… yeah nevermind.
Thanks for the nostalgia, Miss Zoot!
We were totally the same in hih school, apparently! haha I am dying laughing and I was trying to tell my son about the ‘old school” book covers from my day – he watned to do the same thing and learn it. He’s almost 12, so he and LilZ are much the same… Very funny post!