A New Use for Old Book Jackets

When your kids receive a new hard cover book, do they keep the protective paper book jacket in nice condition? Mine don’t.

My kids have learned since an early age that books are special and we need to take care of them. They get that you turn the page from the corner so the pages don’t rip, and they know they aren’t supposed to color in books or throw them around. For the most part, our books are well loved but in decent shape. The book jackets are another story.

They are immediately lost, torn, crinkled and tossed. I know the flaps contain useful information about the author and illustrator. I know I shouldn’t just toss them. But now I’ve basically giving up on trying to preserve them.

The other day when I found the jacket of one of our favorite books thrown on the floor, far, far away from it’s book, I had a thought. Maybe I should at least try to repurpose these things.

My son loves the book Iggy Peck, Architect, by Andrea Beaty and David Roberts. He relates to young Iggy, who builds towers out of everything he sees, and who adores structures and drawing. I glued the orphaned Iggy Peck book jacket to the cover of a standard folder filled with graph paper… and voila!  An architect’s notebook inspired by a favorite book!

Or how about a book jacket scrapbook. We received The LEGO Ideas Book as a gift. It’s all about using the bricks you already own to make new and clever creations. (Btw, yay Lego! Thank you for coming up with an idea that doesn’t involve buying new bricks!) I glued the book jacket to a file folder, attached some binder clips, and now my sons can take pictures and/or draw their own Lego creations and stick them in the book to create a Lego scrapbook featuring their favorite projects.

So, now my wheels are turning. I’m sure there are about a million different ways to turn tossed book jackets into something interesting.

What do you do with the book jackets at your house? Are your kids better at keeping them in one piece?