Below is an alphabetical list of common terms related to children's book design. Click on a term to skip down!
Backmatter
Material at the end of a book (resources, educator guides, interviews, author notes, photos, etc.).
Barcode
The white box on the back of the book that contains a series of numbers and parallel black lines encoded with the book's unique data, including purchase price. Check out some beautiful barcode designs here.
Bleed
An image that extends past the edge of where the paper will be trimmed. Anything beyond the bleed will not be printed, so full-bleed images extend beyond the trimmed page/spread.
Carousel Book
Also known as a 360° book, the front and back covers touch to form a circle. Some carousel books have ribbons that tie the front and back together. See many examples and more information on carousel books here.
Casewrap
Also known as a case cover or hard case (or an “Undie” on this site!), the hard casing of the book made from printed paper wrapped around cardboard. The dust jacket covers up the casewrap on many books. See many examples, and my favorite reveals, here.
Debossing
An indented pattern on the surface of a book, like the title or another detail. The opposite of debossing is embossing. See examples here.
Die Cutting
Cutting paper, pages, and books into specific shapes. See some examples here.
Dust Jacket
The removable paper cover wrapped around a casewrap. Underneath the dust jacket is the casewrap. See many examples, and my favorite reveals, here.
Embossing
A raised pattern on the surface of a book, like the title or another detail. The opposite of embossing is debossing. See examples here.
Endpaper
Also known as an endsheet, the paper at the beginning and/or end of the book that is glued to the inside cover. See many examples here.
Fifth Color
A solid spot color ink (often neon) outside of the usual four print colors cyan, magenta, yellow, and black (also known as CMYK). See some examples here.
Foil Stamping
A metallic effect added to specific details and/or text. See examples here.
Fore-Edge
The edges of a book's pages. Sometimes these are treated with paint, stencils, or foil, and sometimes the treatment is only visible when the pages are slightly fanned. See some examples here.
Gatefold
A folded, oversized page in a book designed to be opened out past the book's trim size.
Gutter
The space in the middle of an open book where two facing pages meet. The binding on the outside of the book is called the spine. Take a closer look at books that are designed to emphasize the gutter here.
Leporello
An accordion-pleat, or zig-zag, book. See many examples and learn more about leporellos here.
Recto
The righthand page of a spread. The lefthand page of a spread is called the verso page.
Spine
The outside edge of the book where the pages are gathered and bound. The binding on the inside of the book is called the gutter.
Spot Gloss
A high gloss UV coating on a selective area. See examples here.
Spread
Trim Size
The actual size of a book (width, height, and depth, ie: 9.4 x 12.2 x 1.0 inches).
Verso
The lefthand page of a spread. The righthand page of a spread is called the recto page.
