Kids ask: How is paper made?
Valeria Galindo, 7, a soon-to-be second-grader at MacArthur Elementary School in Hoffman Estates, asks: "How is paper for books made?"
The word paper comes from the Latin word papyrus - a reed the Ancient Egyptians ground and dried to create a portable surface to write on. Historians believe paper made from rags or fibers was also used in Ancient China more than 2,000 years ago. A conflict between Arab and Chinese warriors in the 8th century brought the art of papermaking to the Middle East, which then journeyed with traders everywhere they went, including Europe.
Ancient books and papers have survived the centuries that used cotton, flax and animal skin for paper. For more than 100 years, trees and recycled paper have been the main ingredients for paper.
The process begins by removing the tree bark from logs and finely chopping the logs into very tiny pieces The wood chips are placed in a pressure cooker with water and chemicals that digest the wood, turning it into a very fine pulp. The pulp is washed and colors are added. The resulting paste is slathered onto wire screens to make very thin layers. The paste is run through rollers and dryers. A thin sheet of paper is formed and wound onto large rolls.
In one day, one of the largest papermaking machines can produce 1,000 miles of paper. To make books, the paper rolls are printed, cut and stitched into bindings.
Paper has some surprising uses. Flower pots, tea bags, grocery bags, disposable diapers, sand paper, checks, milk and juice cartons, swabs and dressings, cans, cake circles, package bands, picture frames, currency, toilet tissue, paper towels and wallpaper all can be made from finely ground wood.
Check these out
The Schaumburg Public Library suggests these titles on paper and papermaking:
• "Paper Products," by Andrew Langley
• "Book Making and Paper Making: Be Your Own Publisher," by Deborah Hufford
• "The Science of a Piece of Paper: The Science of Materials," by Camilla dela Bedoyere
• "A Paper Bag," by Sue Barraclough
• "Paper," by Claire Llewellyn
• "Paper Crafts," by Meryl Doney