Lauren Simkin Berke

Learn to create zines and books with this approachable guide featuring illustrated, step-by-step lessons on making many different book formats. The possibilities are endless! Channel your passions into zines, create your own notebooks and calendars, and try your hand at impressive pop-up and accordion books. This illustrated guide will empower you to share your ideas with the world in personalized, handcrafted packages. Whether you want to create a poetry chapbook, an illustrated ode to the people on your commute, or a map of your dreams, this book will help you leap from an idea to a physical object. You’ll learn the lingo and where to find materials, but most importantly, you’ll be ready to experiment and have fun. If you’re an artist seeking a new medium or are just beginning your creative journey, this book welcomes you to level up your DIY, join a community of makers and thinkers, and discover the power of zines and handbound books. Start now and watch your creative confidence grow and thrive.

This unique picture book biography tells the story of Dr. James Barry, born female, who lived as a man from age 18 to his death. Like other girls of her time, Margaret Bulkley didn't go to school. She wouldn't grow up to own property, be a soldier, a doctor, or hold any job other than perhaps maid or governor--such was a girl's lot in 19th century England. And was she comfortable born in a girl's body? We will never know. What we do know is that at the age of 18, she tugged off her stockings and dress, cut her red-gold curls, and vanished. In her place appeared a young man. Margaret became James Barry. James would attend medical school, become a doctor and a soldier, travel the world. He would fall in love, deliver babies, and fight in a duel. And he would live a rich full life. Here is a picure book that is both a fascinating and sensitively drawn portrait of someone who would not be undervalued, and an important introduction to the concept of gender identity.