Breaking into Print: Before and After the Printing Press - Hardcover

Krensky, Stephen; Christensen, Bonnie

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0316503762 ISBN 13: 9780316503761

Publisher: Little Brown & Co, 1996

Synopsis

Provides an insightful look at life in society before the invention of the printing press and demonstrates how the ability to print books and documents greatly changed the modern world.

About this title

From Booklist

Gr. 2^-5. A book about printing should be handsome and well designed, and this certainly is. Krensky begins by telling readers about life before the invention of the printing press, describing how illuminated manuscripts were written and how the scarcity of books impacted civilization. It was not until Gutenberg invented the printing press that books became generally available, opening up the world of knowledge to scientists, explorers, and the literate citizenry. Krensky's straightforward text, supplemented by well-chosen bits of information in the margins, is set against clean white backgrounds and evocatively illustrated with Christensen's wood engravings and painted borders in the style of illumination. The title page verso gives information on the difference between engravings and wood cuts and describes how the book's engravings were accomplished. The book is weak, though, when describing how the first press worked. We learn how Gutenberg adapted a wine press for printing and created a rolling tray for sliding paper in and out, and how he made molds for his letters, but it is not easy to clearly visualize the printing process. Still, this works well as a history of printing, and children will be fascinated by the art. Ilene Cooper

From School Library Journal

Grade 2-4?Brightly colored wood engravings; decorative borders; and clear, clean typography appropriately distinguish this well-designed book about the development of modern printing. Krensky begins with a brief description of early medieval life, when the Emperor Charlemagne could not write more than his name and peasant villagers had never seen a book. Brief sidebars on almost every page add interesting and useful details to the main narrative, while the richly colored panel-shaped wood engravings tell the story pictorially. A double-page spread in the center of the book contains pages from the Gutenberg Bible. Krensky and Christensen's talents blend to create a handsomely designed and highly successful introduction to one of the most important social and technological changes in Western history.?Shirley Wilton, Ocean County College, Toms River, NJ
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: Little Brown & Co
• Publication date: 1996
• ISBN 10: 0316503762
• ISBN 13: 9780316503761
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 1