Marguerite Makes a Book
Written by Bruce Robertson
Illustrated by Kathryn Hewitt
Inspired by the rare collection of European illuminated manuscripts in the J. Paul Getty Museum, this is a delightful story about how books were made in the medieval times, specifically Parisian manuscripts of the 1400s, a golden era in the history of French painting.
The illustrations in the book invoke the feeling of an illuminated manuscript with gold borders and colorful images surrounding the text. Robertson does a remarkable job bringing Paris to life 600 years ago. Techniques to make paper (animal skins), brushes (goose feathers), and paints (egg yolks, lapiz lazuli stone, vermilion, pine pitch, madder root, saffron flowers, wax, etc.) are described briefly.
Upon reading this book, my kiddos kept asking, “Can we make a book like that?” How could I say no? [I’ll post pictures when they are done]
After reading this book, you may want to learn more about how illuminated manuscripts were made. You may even want to try it for yourself.
I’ve created a Squidoo lens to further explore this great book and check out this awesome lens to learn more about Medieval Europe.