Protecting Children's Christian Books

My children's Arch books 

When I started Bible Love Notes in 2011, I shared creative posts like this on social media even though my subscribers always received one-minute devotions just as they do today. If you don't know about Bible Love Notes, you can find out more at the bottom and sign up for a free subscription if you'd like.

But first, let me share a way to keep paperback books from getting torn and worn. It works on any paperback book, but I first learned this trick when my children were pre-school age and I ordered a pile of Arch Books. 

If you don't know about Arch books, they tell stories from Scripture in  rhyme, contain pictures throughout, and they're inexpensive. They are a fun, creative way to introduce your children or grandchildren to Scripture. 

Note: I don't earn anything by recommending the books or products in this article.

 A friend who taught pre-school told me how to protect soft-cover books by covering them in clear contact paper, and she was so right! 

These Arch books were read repeatedly and packed and unpacked in countless moves, but they were still in good condition 45 years later when I passed them down to the grandkids. And I've found a product that I think is a slight improvement over clear contact paper. It's called "clear laminate" and is made by Duck.  

Covering books with these products waterproofs the cover and keeps the corners from becoming dog-eared. 

Here's the best way to cut the paper for a clean fit on the book. 

I found this very hard to explain. I hope my diagram helps. You cut the corners of the contact paper diagonally and fold the excess over onto the inside of the front cover first and then lifting the pages out of the way, you fold the laminate the same way on the back cover. When you lay the book on the laminate paper, you want to lay the front cover first and make sure the laminate is smooth, then fold it around the outside spine and smooth onto the back cover. Obviously, the book doesn't lay flat on the laminate as it does in my diagram. But I hope this helps. You may make some mistakes on your first book, but by the second or third, you'll be an expert.

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