Published: August 3, 2025
After the first failure with the woodblock print, I reached the conclusion that woodblock printing might not be suitable for picture books, but I couldn’t give up here. On the way home, I held a reflection meeting with Lutz.
“They say failure is the mother of success, so I think we just need to identify the causes of failure and turn that into success next time.”
“Yeah, that’s true. So, what do you think caused the failure, Myne?”
Nodding as Lutz asked, I thought about the reasons for the failure. I quickly came up with three.
“First, I think the sketch for carving was too complicated. Wilma’s delicate drawings aren’t suited for woodblock prints, which require carving the board.”
“That’s right. We either have to give up on woodblock prints or ask Wilma to change her drawings.”
Since we can’t have Wilma provide illustrations for every single book, we either find a method other than woodblock printing or get Wilma to draw simpler line art.
However, Wilma hasn’t seen anything other than the drawings in the temple. She’s only seen things inside the temple. In this situation, it’s difficult to ask her to change her style. At the very least, we’d need examples to say, “Please do it like this.”
“Also, there was my mistake with the mirror writing, right? I should have checked more carefully. This can be avoided with more attention and maybe having others check as well…”
“Hmmm, in that case, why not separate the boards for the text and the picture from the start? Even if the text has mistakes, it won’t affect the picture.”
“Lutz, you’re a genius!”
Since it’s a picture book for children just learning to read, I had the vague image that the text and pictures should be together, but it’s fine to separate the pages or have the boards stacked vertically.
“Besides that, the carving technique needs work. Some failures stood out.”
Parts of the letters were cut through, some lines of the picture were sticking out—when printed, these mistakes were obvious.
Lutz pursed his lips at my criticism.
“That’s because we didn’t have the right tools for carving. It’s not that my brothers aren’t skilled.”
“No tools? But your house should have plenty given their profession.”
Lutz’s house has a large tool storage area for work and various tools. While I was recalling that, Lutz shrugged lightly.
“Sure, because they work in construction, we have more big tools for wood processing than other houses. But we don’t have tools for detailed carving. They just don’t use those.”
Indeed, the tools Uncle Deed uses daily and those needed for house repairs don’t include fine carving tools. Even my father, who has some big tools, uses a knife for fine work.
“That drawing was too detailed to carve with a knife.”
“Huh? You carved that with a knife?”
When I requested the work, I should have provided proper carving tools like chisels. It’s impressive that they carved it so well with just a knife.
“Next time I ask for carving work, I’ll provide the tools. Can you tell your brothers I’m sorry and thank them?”
“Yeah, got it. …By the way, why did we decide to make a children’s Sacred Scripture in the first place?”
Lutz asked, making me think back on how the project had shifted from a picture book for babies to a children’s Sacred Scripture.
“Probably because the drawings Wilma can do are basically related to the temple?”
“Then, if you’re making something for babies, it doesn’t have to be Sacred Scripture, right?”
“Yeah, that’s true.”
Everyone said my drawings weren’t good, so I thought we had to rely on Wilma’s drawings. Since Wilma’s drawings were temple-related, the story matched and it became a children’s Sacred Scripture.
…Wait? Now that I think about it, a children’s Sacred Scripture might not really make a picture book for babies.
I realized something serious. The requirements for books for babies and for children are a bit different. We shouldn’t lump “children” together like that.