Parts of a Book

JACKET Plastic-coated protective 'sleeve"that goes around the cover, with 'blurbs"on the inside flaps that tell about the book

COVER Outer part of book, usually made of cardboard (thin cardboard on a paperback, heavy cardboard on a hardback)

SPINE Part of the cover where the pages are glued or sewn in place, also called the binding

CALL NUMBER Code that libraries use to identify where the book belongs on the library's shelf, located on the book"s spine; Non-fiction is numerical using the Dewey Decimal System, Biographies begin with "B" and Fiction is mainly alphabetical by author"s last name. When you look up a book in our Destiny catalog, your goal is to get the call number so that you can match it up to the book on the shelf.

TITLE PAGE Page near the very front of the book which identifies the book's title, author, illustrator (if there is one) and publisher

TITLE Name of the book-there may also be a sub-title

AUTHOR Writer of the book"s text; name is found on the title page and often on the cover, jacket and spine as well

ILLUSTRATOR Artist of the book"s drawings or illustrations; name is found on the title page, but rarely on the cover, jacket or spine (unless the illustrator is very well-known)

PUBLISHER Company or individual who prints copies of the book, beginning with the editing process and ending with final shipping to booksellers; name is usually found at the bottom of the title page; majority of publishing houses are in New York City

COPYRIGHT DATE Year the book was printed; usually found on the back of the title page, but occasionally found in the very back of the book; the symbol is a letter 'c"with a circle around it; also shows the book is protected from intellectual property theft by copyright law

TABLE OF CONTENTS List of the chapters found in the book and the page each chapter begins on; usually found right after the title page; a good place to start when looking for specific information, especially in a non-fiction book

INDEX A list in alphabetical order of all the specific and individual subjects found within the book and what page(s) to find it on; usually only in non-fiction books; a VALUABLE time-saving tool when researching a subject

DEDICATION An honor or tribute that the author and/or illustrator gives to someone; found usually right after the title page (if there is one)

PROLOGUE Mostly found only in fiction books, the author writes a short background about what has happened in the story previously, before the first chapter.

EPILOGUE Mostly found only in fiction books, the author writes about what happens in the story after the last chapter; gives a follow-up on the characters" lives, for example

GLOSSARY Acts as a 'mini"dictionary for the book; usually found at the back of the book"s text; shows unfamiliar words used within the book, plus their meanings

INTRODUCTION A paragraph or more written to inform the reader about the writing of the book, such as the reason it was written; usually found before the actual text of the book begins

PREFACE Something that is written before the actual text of the book begins which gives the reader some background information about the book in general-a preface and an introduction are sometimes considered the same thing

ISBN Stands for 'International Standard Book Number", an inventory number code that identifies each individual book that is published; previously 10 digits long, but now 13 digits as of Jan. 2007

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS A list of people or agencies that the author or illustrator wishes to thank for being of help to him/her when writing/illustrating the book; can be at the front or back

APPENDIX Extra, added-on information at the back of the book, which may be of additional help to the reader; often in map, chart or list form; usually found in non-fiction books; rare in fiction books