Roots for Kids: Finding Your Family Stories

Description

“Begin with a story, and then keep adding the stories of the people who came before. Suddenly you have a genealogy!” So writes Susan Provost Beller in Roots for Kids: Finding Your Family Stories, which provides children with a novel and fun way to learn about themselves and their family history through the collection of family stories.

Every family has its own stories—stories that define who you are, that help you touch the past and make your ancestors come to life. This book helps children of all ages find those stories, using many stories of the author’s own family as examples.

In the process, children will also examine their ancestors’ nationalities, their family’s food traditions, and the origin of their surnames and given names. They will pick up skills essential to genealogy research: how to ask questions, construct timelines, create family group sheets, and organize information.

Each beautifully illustrated chapter ends with an activity related to the subject of that chapter. Younger children will have fun doing these activities with their parents, while older children can work on them on their own.

Roots for Kids: Finding Your Family Stories celebrates all the wonderful stories and family traditions that make you who you are and that tie your family, past and present, together.

For children who want to learn even more about their families, and who are ready to research in documents, the author has written a companion volume, Roots for Kids: A Genealogy Guide for Young People. 3rd Edition.

“Beller encourages curiosity and individuality, giving readers ideas plus hands-on tools to start on the road to discovering and documenting family history . . . . The cover and illustrations by Kate Boyer beautifully complement the text and really enhance the reading experience. Do take a look at this book if you want to get the younger generation interested in family history!”–Marian B. Wood, Climbing My Family Tree, Sept. 21, 2020.