wandering book artists come to town

It was a bit like having the circus come to town.  Especially if you love books like I love books. I could not decide what I was more in love with, the gypsy caravan, or the books?

Peter and Donna Thomas  created this life for themselves, out of a life-long love of books and art and a desire to share that with others.  They are on their second trip around the country in their wagon, which they built themselves, visiting book-binders, artists, librarians, type-setters and people like us, hoping to inspire others to live outside the box, in a life of beauty!

A scroll book.  Totally magical. 

Ani was enthralled with the books.  Come on - tiny and a book???? Right up her alley. In fact, for a couple of years, before she could read, a neighbor gave her a tiny tiny edition of a Leo Tolstoy book, and she carried it everywhere.  She knicked my itty bitty copy of the Quran, which a friend brought me from Turkey.  Apparently she's not the only one with a thing for little books; according to their website, Peter and Donna had been creating little books and showed them to a bookseller who took out a ruler and told them that they were quarter of an inch too big to sell well.   There are miniature book collectors (er, collectors of miniature books) who will only collect books that measure less than 3 inches.

A book about the history of pencils. With pencils.

brake lights. 

 While Ani was in love with the books, Eliza was in love with the caravan.  Mom...(she sidled up to me)...can we please build one of these???  

And as if that weren't enough, there was a lovely blend of music and art, with the magical ukelele...

...which is also a book.  About ukeleles.

Can you see where this might be going?  An accordian, and...an accordian book. Made out of an accordian. 

I left smiling, and itchy to make something beautiful.  The girls left making plans for their own caravans.  Ani's has a horse.