Your
Kids Write These Books
Every
parent has a drawer or box filled with priceless cards and
mementos
made by little hands. It’s time to make room in the old shoe
box for two
new books about moms and dads written by their kids.
MY
FATHER AND ME and MY MOTHER AND ME are the latest in a series of
soft-cover memory books by Kids Can Press aimed at getting parents and
kids to
remember the good times, and even the bad days. These
scrapbooks
provide pages on which to construct a family tree, list likes
and
dislikes, paste in photos, and draw pictures.
Don’t
worry about writing skills. With your help kids can even
tick
off supplied
answers to questions. And there is also a back-flap pocket
in which to
save small treasures like cards and photos.
Written
by Jan Drake and Anne Love, collaborators on many excellent
children’s
activity books, the MY FATHER AND ME book
is rightfully
being touted
as a good gift for Father’s Day. Frankly, either book is
perfect for
any time you want to connect with your kids.
And
not to leave out other members of the family, scheduled for release this fall
are two more additions to the series: MY BABY SISTER AND ME and MY
BABY BROTHER AND ME.
Drake
and Love tackle extended family with their newly released KIDS
While
the emphasis is on the traditional -- card games and crafts --
the book is
fully up-to-date, making note that some kids might have one,
two, three
or four grandparents. Whatever the family dynamics, it’s a
good idea to
tuck this book and a camera into the suitcase of any kid
off to visit
grandparents this summer.
Two
books with historical backgrounds round out the best bets this
month.
CASTLE DIARY, THE JOURNAL OF TOBIAS BURGESS, (Candlewick Press,
distributed
by Douglas and McIntyre) is a captivating book about
11-year-old
Toby, a castle-dweller in the year 1285. Toby’s mother asked
him to keep
a journal because he’s been sent the huge distance of 20
miles to
spend a year with his rich uncle. In his uncle’s castle he
will
learn the skills and duties of the squire or knight he might grow
up to be.
Somewhere
between a picture and a chapter book, this riveting diary by
British
children’s author Richard Platt is rich in historical detail and
blessed with
a real flesh-and-blood boy. (Toby’s account of his own
blood-letting
by the apothecary amply proves that!) Illustrator Chris
Riddell
brings Toby’s 800-year-old world admirably to life, as the
youngster
squabbles with his little sister, nervously waits on his
relatives
and anxiously hopes to take part in a mock battle.
Historical
fact mingles with the fertile fantasies of one lonely teen
Kathleen
McDonnell.
As
a little girl upset by her parents’ breakup, Peggy created a fantasy
world called
Notherland. Now 15 and still unhappy, Peggy suddenly finds
herself back
in this imaginary world that she now can’t control, and on
a quest to
save it from an evil force. Along for the ride are a brave
doll, a wise
loon, fairy creatures called Nordlings, and real-life
Arctic
explorer Sir John Franklin.
Franklin,
who has been plucked from the pages of history 150 years
after his
voyage, is joined by his wife Lady Jane. In reality, she was
only able to
send search ships after her husband’s disappearance and
never saw
him alive again. It’s an odd assortment, yet all these
disparate
characters gel in a believable journey toward self-discovery
and hope.
3030
Copyright
(c) 2000 Cathy MacDonald
Distributed by Writers Syndication Services
Not Released for publication.