The Kids' Family Tree Book

by Caroline Leavitt

Overview

Dig deep into your family history with the updated edition of this popular, informative guide!
Who are my ancestors? What nationalities were they? What work did they do? Kids are always bursting with questions about their family history; they want more stories, more details, more facts. With these research ideas and creative projects, young would-be genealogists can get the knowledge they crave. Find out how to gather ancestry information on the Internet, interview family members, reach relatives through social media, check the National Archives for passenger lists of newly arrived immigrants, and uncover clues in old photos and records. Preserve the material you've gathered in an online scrapbook or create a crayon batik family tree. Keep the togetherness going by planning a family reunion, starting a family newsletter, and more.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781454923213
Publisher:	Union Square Kids
Publication date:	10/10/2017
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	112
File size:	5 MB
Age Range:	8 - 12 Years

About the Author

Caroline Leavitt is The New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of Cruel Beautiful World and several other adult novels. She teaches novel writing online at both Stanford University and UCLA Extension Writers Program, and works with writers privately. Caroline has appeared on the Today Show, Diane Rehm, German and Canadian TV, and more, and she has been featured on The View From The Bay. She lives in Hoboken, NJ, with her husband, the writer Jeff Tamarkin, and she has an acting-student son, Max.

Table of Contents

	Foreword	4
Chapter 1	Genealogy is You!	5
Chapter 2	Getting Started	9
Chapter 3	Your Family Tree	12
Chapter 4	Digging for Your Roots	19
Chapter 5	Getting Organized	27
Chapter 6	Searching Online	35
Chapter 7	Tracking Your Ancestors	40
Chapter 8	Heraldry	47
Chapter 9	Making the Connections	52
Chapter 10	Windows on the Past	56
Chapter 11	The Geography of Genealogy	60
Chapter 12	Family History Stories	66
Chapter 13	The Way they Were	71
Chapter 14	Family Traditions	76
Chapter 15	A Family Reunion!	81
Chapter 16	Keeping in Touch	88
Chapter 17	Back to the Future	91
	Afterword-Plant a Family Tree	95
	Index	96

Editorial Reviews

Gr 4-8-This upbeat overview includes many ideas for crafts and other activities. Unfortunately, it's far too vague to be of much benefit to serious students. Leavitt emphasizes fun over straightforward, specific explanations and examples. She skims the surface of (or ignores) such basics as family group sheets, censuses, online genealogy resources, etc. Many words are undefined or poorly defined, and there are several errors (the Von Trapps emigrated from Austria, not Germany; Jacques is the equivalent of Jacob, not John). Leavitt has nothing on adopted, blended, or other nontraditional families. Finally, the childish color illustrations will turn off the intended audience. The best genealogy title for children (and also extremely helpful for adults) is Ira Wolfman's Climbing Your Family Tree (Workman 2002), which is thorough, clear, interesting, and exceptionally useful.-Ann W. Moore, Schenectady County Public Library, NY Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.

School Library Journal

2017-09-18
Author Leavitt presents all the components of doing research into family history with easy-to-follow directions for a successful project. The volume begins with clear definitions about genealogy and why it is important to study. It moves on to give practical tips on getting started and how to map a family tree. It introduces young readers to the important documents that can assist in gathering family facts and describes the information they provide. It gives solid directions for setting up interviews with family members and how to reach out to those who are far away. This is followed up with strategies for using online resources, including warnings on how to stay safe on social media. The work of tracing ancestors from their countries of origin can be daunting, but Leavitt gives some help in this area as well and explores the role geography can play in family stories. There is good advice for collecting oral histories, and the chapter on exploring "The Way They Were" will appeal to many, as will the concluding chapters on family reunions and keeping in touch. All of this is presented in an encouraging, upbeat tone. Sidebars, charts, illustrations, and photographs add to the accessibility. The major drawback is that it assumes a known biological lineage with heterosexual parentage; there is no mention of the unique issues adopted children and nontraditional families might have in trying to put some of the instructions into practice. A short section addresses the challenges that face African-American descendants of enslaved people. A good if limited starting guide. (resources, index) (Nonfiction. 8-12)

Kirkus Reviews