I do not often see family history books for young children. In fact, I do not recall ever seeing one written for preschoolers or early school-aged children. This week I did read one, called The Adventures of James - A Trip to the Cemetery, written by Starr Hailey Campbell.
Quoting from the book's back cover:
Most people might think a trip to the cemetery ghoulish. For James, it's a wonderful adventure he shares with Grandma and Grandpa as he learns about headstones, graveyards, and national holidays honoring the dead. James' grandma is a family historian. Share in James' excitement as he learns about the care of headstones, rubbings and making of a cemetery kit.
This is a truly wonderful, easy to read and educational book to share with every child on your gift list.
The book may indeed appeal to younger children. It is a small format book, almost small enough to slide into a man's shirt pocket. Every other page contains a picture. When open, the book always displays text on the left and a picture on the right.
The story in The Adventures of James describes a young boy's trip to a cemetery with his grandmother. The purpose of the trip is to look for a certain tombstone, apparently as part of a genealogy research trip. The book explains that some people take pictures of tombstones while others transcribe the information etched on the stone. James helps in the search by looking for certain letters on the desired tombstone, even though he is not yet old enough to read the words. Along the way, he learns about all the different tombstones in the cemetery, including military tombstones, ornate stones, and others.
If you have a young child who occasionally accompanies you on cemetery trips, or one who you would like to take along, you may enjoy reading this book to him or her. The Adventures of James certainly prepares the child for what he or she will encounter at the cemetery.
Starr Hailey Campbell certainly is qualified to write such a book. I do not have all her credentials in front of me, but I do know her as a Director of the Federation of Genealogical Societies and as an officer of the Utah Genealogical Association. She also has two grandsons and apparently has written this book for them and for other genealogists' children and grandchildren.
The Adventures of James - A Trip to the Cemetery by Starr Hailey Campbell sells for $7.50. It is available directly from the publisher at http://www.creativecontinuum.com/store.asp
