Parts of a Book Worksheet – Cover, Spine, Title Page

All 10 parts on the diagram

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The cover 6

Front cover The front of the book. It usually shows the title and the author, often with a picture.
Back cover The back of the book. It often tells a little about the book or its author.
Spine The edge that faces out when the book stands on a shelf.
Title The name of the book. It is printed on the cover and again on the title page.
Author The author writes the story.
Illustrator The illustrator makes the pictures.

Inside pages 4

Title page It repeats the title and the author from the cover.
Table of contents A list of the chapters, each with the page it starts on.
Glossary Important words from the book with their meanings, usually in ABC order.
Index A list of words from the book. It gives the pages where each one is found.

How this list was compiled: Every name checked on 2026-09-30, a name kept only where two independent sources use it. (1) The Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts, kindergarten to grade 2, read in the California Department of Education's printing, https://www.cde.ca.gov/be/st/ss/documents/finalelaccssstandards.pdf (front cover, back cover, title page, author, illustrator, tables of contents, glossaries, indexes). (2) Wikipedia, text only, Book design, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Book_design (front cover, spine, back cover, title, author, title page, table of contents, glossary, index). (3) The Wisconsin Library Media Skills Guide, 1979, read as passages returned by the Internet Archive's full-text search, https://archive.org/details/wisconsinlibrary0000unse (cover, spine, title, author, illustrator, title page, glossary). (4) Keeling, Standards-Based Lesson Plans for the Busy Elementary School Librarian, 2017, read the same way, https://archive.org/details/standardsbasedle0000joyc (table of contents, index, title page, cover, spine, author, illustrator). Hints and detail lines are in our own words. Licence: own work

The drawing: Drawn for this site on 2026-09-30 from plain geometry; nothing traced. The book and both names are made up. Licence: own work

How it works

This parts of a book worksheet uses one made-up picture book. Its cover shows six parts, from the front cover to the illustrator. Four more are pages inside: title page, table of contents, glossary and index.

Read the full guide

The different parts of a book, cover to index

Start outside. The front cover, the spine and the back cover wrap the book; the front carries the title, the author and the illustrator. Open it, and the title page gives the title and the names again. The table of contents lists the chapters. At the back, the glossary explains words and the index tells which pages they are on.

For a parts of a book anchor chart, print the labeled page and pin it up by the class library.
Glossary and index both list words. The glossary gives meanings; the index gives page numbers.

Questions and answers

What are the parts of a book for kindergarten?

Front cover, back cover and title page, plus the author and the illustrator: the Common Core standards ask kindergartners for those. Grades 1 and 2 add the table of contents, glossary and index.

What is the difference between an author and an illustrator?

The author writes the story and the illustrator makes the pictures. Both names are usually on the front cover and again on the title page.

What is the spine of a book?

The narrow edge between the front and back covers. It is the part that shows when the book stands on a shelf, so the title is usually printed on it.

What is the difference between a glossary and an index?

A glossary explains important words from the book, usually in ABC order. An index lists words and topics with the page numbers where they appear. Both are at the back.