My Baby Sister and Me: A Memory Scrapbook for Kids

Steve Pitt is a Toronto-based freelance writer and an award-winning journalist. He has written many young adult and children's books, including Day of the Flying Fox: The True Story of World War II Pilot Charley Fox.

Childhood does not last forever and if you want a souvenir of it,
perhaps one or more of these books will fill that niche. Each volume
uses prose, photos, and hand-drawn pictures to capture those magic
moments shared between family members. All books are designed around a
similar format but geared for a specific relationship. For example, in
My Father and Me and My Mother and Me, the text consists of a series of
fill-in-the-blank statements set in two-page chapters that include
“Meals and Manners,” “Fun and Games,” “Time for Bed,” “Out
and About Together,” “Our Favorite Things,” “School Days,” and
“Good Days, Bad Days.” The parent and child work together to fill in
the blanks or check the most appropriate answer from a series of choices
listed on each page.

In My Baby Brother and Me and My Baby Sister and Me, the chapters
include “Waiting for My Baby Brother” (or Sister), “Welcoming My
Baby Brother” (or Sister), “Look at Him” (or Her), “Look at
Me,” “At Home Together,” “Out and About Together,” “Time to
Eat,” “Time for Bed,” “When We Laugh,” “When We Cry,”
“Our Likes and Dislikes,” and “When We Get Bigger.”

In all of the books, you can also paste photos or draw pictures.
Although each page of text is framed with cute and cuddly borders and is
well-spiked with family-oriented cartoons, the tone sometimes comes
across as a kinder, gentler census form. The “pocket for special
stuff” inside the back cover is also a rather tight fit for anything
thicker than a few sheets of paper. Minor flaws aside, these books
provide a solid framework for recording important facts and preserving
memories before time takes its inevitable toll. Recommended.