My Family Tree and Me by Dušan Petričić… A Review

One of my other hobbies besides "books" is genealogy. I've been researching my family genealogy off and on for 20 plus years. My very first questions about my extended family were when I was about 12 years old. I have a piece of notebook paper with my grandparents names and their brothers and sisters and their children, all the way down to my parents. I put that aside for a long time and then got "the bug" again. What I wish I had done was NOT put aside my curiosity at that time, when all my relatives were alive and sharing the family stories. And so, I can appreciate this sweet book, My Family Tree and Me by Dušan Petričić which is being published by Kids Can Press this coming April 2015.

It's a beautiful and simple children's picture book that shows how a small boy came to be, starting with his great great grandparents. The front of the book is the boys' father's family, where you'll leaf through the pages of first the great great grandparents, accompanied by a beautiful color illustration of them and a small bit of prose, then the great grandparents with another beautiful drawing and description, then his grandparents, then his "uncle, aunt and dad", and finally his uncle, aunt and dad with their spouses including his mom and dad, all beautifully drawn out with a description of who they are. Flip the book over and you find the boy's mother's family, starting with his great great grandparents on his mothers' side and working down to his mother and her siblings, and their spouses and parents. In the center of the book is the WHOLE family! All the aunt's & uncles, grandparents on both sides, cousins, Mom & Dad and of course the little boy.

What did I think? I thought the illustrations were beautiful and the simple prose that went with it perfect...

                                                             "Thanks to them,

                                                               a long, long time ago

                                                               there lived my

                                                               great-grandfather,

                                                               who met and married my 

                                                               great-grandmother." 

What a great starting point to begin talking to your child about his or her family history! I like the idea of the flip book, with one side of the family at the front of the book and flipping the book over for the other side of the family. I love the idea of the whole family, both sides of the family in a beautiful illustration in the center of the book.

Just a little aside… The publisher provided an eGalley of the book for me to review. I wish I had a physical copy of the book to review because I think it would work so much better than the eBook. In the eBook as you start at the front of the book, when you get to the end of the boys' father's family and want to flip to the back of the book, you have to leave the book and go to the table of contents to start with the back of the book OR you have to quickly flip through the whole book to get to the back and then slowly start backwards. I found this a bit awkward. Can they fix this somehow in the final eBook? I'm not sure. So, I would buy the physical book instead of the eBook.

My Family Tree and Me is written for 3 - 7 year olds, 24 pages and is written and illustrated by Dušan Petričić, who is an awarding winning illustrator. I would give it 5 family tree leaves as a great book for that beginning genealogist child in your family! (3 leaves for the eBook).

Memoir Monday... Mom: A Celebration of Mothers from StoryCorps by Dave Isay & What StoryCorps is All About

Mom: A Celebration of Mothers from StoryCorps

by Dave Isay

Even though Mother's Day was yesterday, today we can still celebrate our mothers! StoryCorps has done that with their book, Mom: A Celebration of Mothers by StoryCorps founder Dave Isay. But before we talk about the book, you may be wondering what StoryCorps is all about. So, here's what they say about themselves...

StoryCorps is an independent nonprofit whose mission is to provide Americans of all backgrounds and beliefs with the opportunity to record, share, and preserve the stories of our lives. Since 2003, over 50,000 everyday people have interviewed family and friends through StoryCorps. Each conversation is recorded on a free CD to share, and is preserved at the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress. StoryCorps is one of the largest oral history projects of its kind, and millions listen to our weekly broadcasts on NPR’s Morning Edition and on our Listen pages.

The heart of StoryCorps is the conversation between two people who are important to each other: a son asking his mother about her childhood, an immigrant telling his friend about coming to America, or a couple reminiscing on their 50th wedding anniversary. By helping people to connect, and to talk about the questions that matter, the StoryCorps experience is powerful and sometimes even life-changing.

Right now StoryCorps has StoryBooths, which are sound proof recording studios, in New York, NY. ongoing, San Francisco, Ca. through Nov. 2010, and Atlanta, Ga. through Oct. 2010. There are also MobileBooths, which are traveling trailers set up to be able to record on the road in various locations. To see if a StoryBooth is near you, follow the link to Locations & Reservations! It's a great way to preserve the stories of our families and ourselves. You don't need to go to a StoryBooth to preserve those stories though, you can simply sit down with someone and share a story, write it down, record it yourself. StoryCorps has other suggestions for preserving those memories on their website, such as their downloadable Do-it-Yourself Guide. StoryCorps has a weekly broadcast on NPR. You can subscribe through iTunes, or you can listen to StoryCorps right from the NPR website.

Now about that book... StoryCorps has culled from over 30,000 recorded stories, stories that reflect what being a mother is all about and have included them in Mom: A Celebration of Mothers from StoryCorps. Here's what Publisher's Weekly wrote about the book...

Throughout recorded interviews by everyday Americans are numerous memories of parents, and among the many mothers who share their stories in this collection are mothers of every variety—single, working, stay-at-home, with one child or a dozen. A couple describe an unexpected camaraderie between their mothers: one American, the other Ethiopian: My mom would speak in English, and your mom would speak in Amharic, and then they'd laugh and throw their hands up. A mother of 12 tells her youngest, age 12, about her oldest, a soldier killed in Iraq. Reunited at age 60 with the son she reluctantly gave away, Hilory Boucher tells him what happened as she rode away from a Boston home for unwed mothers: You were handed off to a social worker at a stop on the Merritt Parkway, with your pink bunny and your layette. Readers will encounter an emotional range from heart-wrenching to inspirational in these compelling maternal accounts. This is StoryCorps second book. Their first book, Listening is an Act of Love, is a collection of some of the more remarkable stories from their audio histories.

Do you have a story you'd like to share? Not sure what to say? For Mother's Day StoryCorps put together this special animated version of a conversation between a mother and son. "Joshua Littman, a 12-year-old with Asperger's syndrome, prepared some challenging queries for his mother, Sarah". It is such a touching conversation. So honest and poignant. And is an example of some of the wonderful stories you'll either listen to if you go to the StoryCorp website or subscribe in iTunes, or read if you pick up one of their books. Maybe this will give you an idea of something you may want to share...

Annie's Ghosts by Steve Luxenberg... a Review

Annie's Ghost by Steve Luxenberg

A Journey Into a Family Secret

About the Book...

Beth Luxenberg always claimed to be an only child, but a chance mention led to the discovery that she had been hiding the existence of a sister, Annie. The girls had grown up together, living in a series of cramped apartments until Annie's commitment to a mental institution at the age of twenty-one. Why was Annie committed? How had Beth so thoroughly erased her sister's existence? Why had she wanted to?

At the age of 80 , and in fragile health, Beth Luxenberg casually mentioned to a new doctor that she had a disabled sister that was sent away at age 2. She was being treated for what the doctors thought initially were anxiety attacks but later would be diagnosed as depression. With his mother's emotional & physical problems, Steve Luxenberg and his sister decided not to probe the question they were dying to ask- What Sister?! The sister remained a total mystery until after the death of Beth Luxenberg, when a letter arrived in the mail.... a letter from Hebrew Memorial Park, the cemetery where Beth Luxenberg's parents were buried. The cemetery was offering to plant flowers on the family grave sites (something they offered yearly).... and listed 3 graves... the 2 grave sites for Steve's grandparents and 1 grave site for an Annie! More research into the cemetery records revealed that Annie was the mystery sister and that she had not died at age 2... she had died at age 53!

So begins the detective story that would lead Steve as far away as the Ukraine and as close as Beth Luxenberg's personal papers. A book about family secrets, but also about family. Mental institutions, the Holocaust, friends and the love & sadness that makes up a family, Steve's journalism background helps him research his family tree, but also to write an interesting story. Not just a family memoir, more like a fictional story. The characters are real people though and the story of family, a story we can all relate to in one way or another, written so compellingly that it holds your interest. For anyone who's ever wondered about their heritage, who's ever wanted to research their genealogy, Annie's Ghost will fascinate you. Slowly piecing together the bits of information Steve gathers from interviews, records and letters, sprinkled with memories of his parents and a peak in to some of those letters written between them, you will find yourself turning those pages! And wondering if a family secret revealed would change your whole perception of your family? Thanks to Julie of FSB Associates for sharing this book with me! I was drawn in immediately! Would you like to learn more about Annie's Ghost? Here's a link to Steve's website! And an Excerpt of Annie's Ghost!

Annie's Ghost would make a great book club choice! Plenty of things to discuss! The secrets that families keep and why? There's a reading guide HERE!

A Little About Steve...

Steve Luxenberg, an associate editor at The Washington Post, has worked for

more than 30 years as a newspaper editor and reporter.

Steve’s journalistic career began at The Baltimore Sun, where he worked for 11 years. He joined The Post in 1985 as deputy editor of the newspaper’s investigative/special projects staff, headed by assistant managing editor Bob Woodward. In 1991, he succeeded Woodward as head of the investigative staff. Post reporters working with Steve have won several major reporting awards, including two Pulitzer Prizes for explanatory journalism.

From 1996 to 2006, Steve was the editor of The Post’s Sunday Outlook section, which publishes original reporting and provocative commentary on a broad spectrum of political, historical and cultural issues.

For more info on Steve, the book or a look at his personal blog, please visit his website

*P.S. This Book is Kindle Ready!