Do pirates read? We’ll soon find out! Recently, French LUG BrickPirate hosted a LEGO challenge called “Like an Open Book.” The contest was seen as an opportunity for builders to offer up a complete and varied library—and to build a book and a scene from it. So batten down the hatches and strap in, because today’s post is brought to you by the letter Rrrrrrrrrr!

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There were two different categories for the contest:

The first was to make a life-sized, brick-built book—and integrate a creation whose story will be articulated in and around the book. The latter must be the predominant part of the creation. Paul Hetherington was cited as an example for his Mouse Guard book as well as BrickNerd’s own Malin Kylinger aka Blue builder for here Legend of Anendra.

The second category was to make a creation representing one or more reading accessories at 1:1 scale directly related to the book while also including the book that inspired them.

First up is a very poetic book by builder Antha: The Fairy Book. This one features some rare Scala parts you don’t see that often anymore. The main concept was to integrate the “Belville Wall, Door and Castle Pattern” into the build, making it appear to be an illustration in the story.

Builder ilive was already highlighted on BrickNerd at the start of this contest with his Mummy Book. Next he explored a more historic one: The Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry.

Based on the parchment leaves depicting the months, the builder represented two scenes of life in the Middle Ages, with the banquet on one side and the harvest on the other. The forest and the castle tie everything together in the background, bursting out of the pages.

Next up is a cookbook by Ti-Bot, “Bonnie’s Carrot Cake Recipe.” The piece integrates a detailed Fabuland-themed scene, complete with a book-stand. Now those are cooking instructions I think I could actually follow!

Playing with words, Magoa invites us to fly with the letters in “Colors of Words.” Don’t try to find a word here, it is just a matter of interpretation and contrast. Everyone is free to interpret and find a meaning for all these letters and colors. What word can you see?

What would a library be without a book by Tolkien? Builder fdsm rectifies this omission with a scene depicting the newly formed Fellowship of the Ring. “Speak Friend and Enter” are the words above Durin’s door, which when read aloud, opens to The Mines of Moria. But watch out, the eye is always watching!

This build by BobDeQuatre was already spotlighted on BrickNerd by Michael J, but I can’t resist writing about my favorite detail—the water falling down the shelf. This makes the bookends not only integrated into the books but also to the shelf. That deserves some bonus points!

Moving on to the next shelf, we have books about history and war. Belgian builder Veynom was impressed by reading “The War without Hate,” a book of notes taken by German General Erwin Rommel during his various campaigns in World War II. He named his build Heia Safari, which is the name of a popular military march written in 1916. The build features accessories from BrickArms if you wanted to build your own military scene.

Builder Alego goes back to childhood with this interpretation of the “Three Little Pigs.” We can catch a lot of NPU here with the dark tan claws used as a straw roof being blown away, a part found only in the LEGO Stranger Things Upside-Down set, or the white panel used to represent windswept turning pages. Poor little pig… Hope he’s got good insurance!

For something a bit more serious, let’s read about capitalism, politics, materialist philosophy and economics with ManuManu and his build on Karl Marx’s “Capital.” This MOC is done in two parts—interior and exterior. There’s a sliding system for the inside decoration. The book opens and closes, but you need to know the combination since it’s a “safe“ book. You can see more details of the minifigure scene inside and the locking mechanism in the builder’s Flickr gallery. 1:1 reading accessories include a lit cigar and a glass of Scotch—very important when reading such intellectual material!

I (Samuel Pister aka Pistash) also got into the bookmaking spirit and made “Inside the Book”—a moving, entrancing statement on the power of a good book. The idea of this MOC is to convey the feeling of falling into a good book and being immersed in reading. I wanted to build something alive, which is why there is a mechanism that makes the circles spin. You can see the full motion in this video on Youtube.

We can’t forget the classics! Lufo Brick built the story of Moby Dick. The titular great white whale literally leaps out from the book, smashing the boat in mid-air. It’s not looking good for the Pequad…

I will close this article with a final build based on a French comic book “Joe Bar Team.” Builder Seb71 created these bookends based on the famous biker comic book.

But in all good comic books, as in all good builds, there is a twist. The builder treated us to an alternate scene stemming from an unfortunate bike accident that smashed parts of the MOC—caused by one of his kids! Rather than grumble, he took advantage of the situation by building a new scene with the broken bike. That’s gotta hurt!

So, that’s a pretty decent bunch of additions to the BrickPirate’s library! The books should keep them entertained and informed on one of those desert islands where they bury their treasure. Sure beats talking to a volleyball.

What book and scene would you like to see made out of LEGO? Leave your thoughts in the comments below.

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