The article describes in detail the step-by-step illustration and design process of the book, “Russian Fleet Stories” by A. D. Mityaev (the School Library series of the Children’s Literature (Detskaya Literatura) Publishing House) taking into account the main parameters set by the publisher. By perceiving the book as an integral spatial composition with harmonious proportions tantamount to a small-scale architectural form, the author puts forward his conceptualization of its graphic arrangement. The article maps out the sequence of the book layout development, standard templates used to layout the key elements of the publication: foresketches of the cover, front page, page imposition. It further touches upon the questions of the ratio between the text page format and full-page illustration. Attention is paid to the tasks of collecting material for illustrations using information from paper and digital media sources, as well as to the study of an array of visual materials on the given topic and step-by-step execution of the aforementioned undertakings. The article is illustrated with layout templates for the principal components of the publication, presketches and illustrations consequently created on their basis. The work method proposed by the author is recommended for teaching the basics of book graphics in art schools within the framework of higher and secondary education programmes. The topics reviewed by the author are also relevant for professional book artists and art historians.