Dear Everyone ~

I recently bound a special picture book for Charlie, who is 18 months old.
It’s an illustrated story by his grandfather Bradford,
and here are a few delightful details he shared with me.

“Our family tradition is to for everyone to receive
a book and PJs on Christmas Eve. The idea is that we all curl up
with a good read as we drift toward Christmas morning.
I used to create stories with paintings on newsprint for
my two daughters, Nora and Grace, when they were little.
I am looking forward to sharing the tradition with the next generation.”

Bradford asked me to put a pocket inside the back cover,
to hold a letter that he’s written for Charlie.
I asked if I could include a few excerpts in this post,
and was touched when Bradford happily agreed.

“You won’t remember that this book started when
you were less than a year old. You loved looking at a collection of
Cy Twombly paintings, especially one that showed
bright red clouds against an angry yellow sky.”

“As we looked at the book together,
I often commented on how the artwork spoke to
the changing seasons…. So the basic story is simple.
A ship’s captain sets off on a journey to recover summer.”

“This is the kind of book where the words can change
depending on how you are feeling or who is reading it to you.”

“Anyway, I hope you enjoy this book now,
and then come back to it years later—maybe when
you have a grandchild of your own.”

One of my own favourite bits from Bradford
is when he told me, “As you can see, I don’t believe in
‘writing down’ to what we think is a child’s level.”
Bravo, Bradford!

The book is 12 x 9, with a Japanese style binding and
a dozenish pages by Bradford on watercolour paper.
For the covers, I used a new bookcloth called Duo,
which is my current absolute favourite. The end sheets are vellum.
And the book is stitched with waxed-linen thread.
The ensemble is wonderfully tactile, and sturdy enough
for Charlie to turn the pages and enjoy for decades to come.

Enchanted,

Bari