Genie Road Trip

So, one of my genealogy related projects this month was a preschool storytime for work which meant I had to track down great books to interest kids in talking about their families and their stories. My fabulous find for the year was The Matchbox Diary by Paul Fleishman and illustrator Bagram Ibatoulline. It’s wonderful!

This picture book begins with a great-grandfather asking his great-granddaughter to pick anything in a memory filled room and he would tell her a story. She picks an old cigar box and so begins the diary he started as a child in Italy before he could read or write and continued as his family immigrated to the United States. The story is hard and beautiful, the art work amazing and detailed. It’s a perfect book to share to talk about the immigrant experience and family stories. It is a bit long for a storytime but my fabulous children’s librarian reminded me that you can skip around with this age group, so a few properly placed paperclips made it just right.

For my craft portion of the day I gave them all  plain boxes to decorate and keep their memories in. They decorated with markers, puffy letters, and assorted bits o’stuff we keep in the closet—in other words glue stick fun!

Other great picture book picks:

• The Arrival by Shaun Tan—a wordless fantastic masterpiece about the immigrant experience.
• Grandpa Green by Lane Smith—a great-grandfather’s life story in topiary.
• All Kinds of Family by Mary Ann Hoberman and illustrated by Marc Boutavant—on the broad concept of family.

Do you know of other good family history related reads for kids? Please pass them on!

Happy hunting,

Jess

A colleague and I took a road trip over to Howell Carnegie Library last week to attend their program “A Healing Place” – Memories of the Michigan State Sanatorium, Howell State Hospital, and Hillcrest Center. The turnout was tremendous (as in we were standing in a hall way for the duration and many were turned away) emphasizing the importance of the “Hill” or the “San” to the history of both Livingston County and the state. I was interested because of my great-grandparents experiences in between 1916 and 1920 while my colleague had more recent ties. It was a fascinating night that included a short dvd created for the program on the history of the site and ample time for stories and reminiscing. I really hope that they manage to offer an encore of the program because I think they only scratched the surface and could easily fill a large venue.

Thanks for a fabulous program!

Happy hunting,

Jess

Photo: I don’t know who these ladies are but the picture is likely taken by my Great Grandmother, Cora Packer, during her stay in at the “San” in 1916.

This is one of my favorite shots.
You’ll be missed “Grandma” Lorraine! (1932-2014)

Happy hunting,

Jess