Customer Reviews

A Grandparent's Legacy: Your Life Story in Your Own Words

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

(review written by Nick's wife) I came across these memory books in a parenting magazine and loved the idea of having my children's grandparents fill them out. I even bought some for my grandparents to fill out for me.

After searching through everything Amazon has to offer, I ended up purchasing a variety of books. I chose Mom, Dad, Grandma and Grandpa, Tell Me Your Memories, A Grandparent's Legacy and Memories for My Grandchild.

A Grandparent's Legacy is probably my favorite of the books I purchased. It is laid out month-by-month with topics to discuss. The book measures 8" x 5" with a nice covered spiral binding and is about .75" thick. Each page has topics to discuss and lines for writing.

I was slightly disappointed in all the Tell Me Your Memory books. I'm not sure what I was expecting, but I really didn't think they would all be the same with a different cover page as they are. I was really disappointed in the size of the books. They are 4" x 5.5" with a 1" spiral binding. Each is about 1" thick. It is laid out for a full calendar year - each day having a different question or memory for the person do write about. The pages have a question at the top and are blank (no lines) below.

Memories for My Grandchild has the most flexible layout - meaning there is no guide for filling things out at a certain time. It is also the largest book, measuring about 8" x 10" and just less than 1" thick. It has a covered spiral binding. This is the only book with a pocket in the back to drop in any special items and a pull-out page to fill in the family tree. The pages in this book are lined as well.

The books all cover similar questions and memories. I haven't gone page-by-page to compare, but have been pleased with what I've seen so far. Since the books are so similar, I'm basing my overall opinion on the appearance and friendliness of the layout.

I bought 3 different grandparent books to review so I could reorder the best one and give to my parents and parent-in-laws to write in for my son. Here are my thoughts on this one: Positives are that it seems to have enough space to write and the questions seem good. Negatives are no envelope for extra pictures or memories, and not much space for photos (only 2 pages in the book for photos). It is designed to complete in a year, each chapter is a month and there are about 7-10 questions per month (some questions have 2-3 parts). I would recommend Memories For My Grandchild instead, which is what I am going to order and hope it gets here by the holiday.

I decided I wanted to give grandparent journals to the parents and in-laws for Christmas, and began reading the reviews for the many books. I have a rather comprehensive genealogy already done, so I wasn't too interested in getting the whole "family tree" aspect. Instead, I wanted insight into the person's childhood and adulthood, and perhaps some little personal nuggets that would really flesh them out for me, my kids, and generations to come.

At any rate, I still couldn't figure out which one I wanted (sometimes those "look inside" things are just useless, showing copyright pages and blank sheets!), and of course the local book stores don't have all of them. I decided the only way I could decide which was right was to buy them all, look at them, and return the ones I didn't like as well. So, I bought Grandmother Remembers a Written Heirloom for My Grandchild, A Grandparent's Legacy: Your Life Story in Your Own Words, A Grandparent's Book, The Grandmother Book: A Book About You for Your Grandchild, Grandparents Journal, Memories for My Grandchild. I'm planning to review them all as I make my decision.

A Grandparent's Legacy is hardcover, with a spiral binding which makes it easier to open flat for writing. It is the smallest size of all the books. The paper inside is a nice weight, with a flat finish which allows for all types of pens or pencils. What is different about this book is that instead of chapters, it has months. 12 months/chapters to fill out. The very beginning is 2 pages of the basics, full name, birth date, place, etc. A page of "favorites" follows. Then we start with January. There is no particular order to the questions. They are interesting questions, which delve into the memories and personality of the person filling it out. Unlike other books, they aren't standard "what was high school like?" type of questions. Samples: "What are the things you are most glad you tried?", "describe the most fascinating place you have visited" "describe a frightening or difficult experience from childhood" and "what are some things from your childhood that you are thankful for?"

I'm a little annoyed that it's split into months. What if I don't want them to stop at the end of the chapter? Do they really have to take a whole year to fill this out? On the plus side, I like the questions. I was a little taken aback, because they are a different tenor than in the other books, but they are nice questions. I think the subtitle (Your Life Story In Your Own Words") is a little misleading. This is less a life story and more a collection of memories of various events and family members. Nevertheless, I still like it. I might have a hard time deciding on which book to give!

I just got this book along with a Mothers Legacy, and a Fathers Legacy. I think these three books are the best things I have bought all year long. I just wished that my grandmother was alive to have done one of these for me. When we are young we do not understand how wonderful grandparents are, and all the information they carry in their minds. This book has a way of getting all of that information out. Simple questions it ask as "what did your family do for family gatherings for Christmas?", "where did you meet grandpa/grandma?" Just questions people seem to never ask until its to late. You have heard of "baby books" well this is just like a baby book but for grandparents. While your at it check out the other two books also. I promise you won't be sad that you did!! One will only wonder "WHY DIDNT I BUY MORE?".
aloha

I've been gathering stories and info from my Grandparents who are in their 80s and nearing 90s. This is a great book for Grandparents aged 60 or so. It just seems a bit too modern for what I would ask my older Grandparents. One that fits my needs better is Our Story: A Grandparents Record Book.

I'd still recommend this book, especially to new Grandparents these days.

I have purchased many of these books (Grandfather Remembers: Memories for My Grandchild, For My Grandchild: A Grandmother's Gift of Memory (AARP), Grandmother Remembers: A Written Heirloom for My Grandchild, A Grandparent's Legacy: Your Life Story in Your Own Words, Memories for My Grandchild, A Grandparent's Book, Grandparents' Memory Book: Did You Really Walk Five Miles to School?) because it's impossible to tell from reviews which ones will be good and the "Look Inside" is often unavailable or unhelpful. I will look at all of them and keep the one I like or make my own, depending on the results.

First Review of the bunch:

Overall, the book is nice quality. It's spiral bound with a hard cover and the paper is good. This book is small, however. It's much smaller than the other books of this type (About 4" x 7"). The space allotted is often the wrong size. For example, a yes/no question might have two or three lines and a question which requires lengthy explanations won't have enough lines. The book is divided into months for whatever reason, which makes finding a specific type of question difficult.

Many of the questions reference religion/scripture. Almost the entire month of December is devoted to questions about Christmas. This doesn't bother me because I do celebrate Christmas, but if you or your relatives do not, then this whole section is rather worthless.

Some of the questions are a little sexist. I don't know if it's because they expect grandparents to have grown up in a different era or what the deal was. Example: Where did your father go to work every day and what did he do? How did you mother spend her day? Describe your father in his working clothes. Describe your mother in her best dress.

Also, if your parents are divorced, like mine, then all of the love questions might be a bit awkward, but I suspect this will be the case for most of these books.

I was extremely pleased with this book. I ordered two for my parents (soon to be grandparents) and a different one for my grandmother. The book is really high quality. A lot nicer than I was expecting and looks expensive. I really like the layout and it is a lot more in depth than most. My parents have immediately started working on it. It might be a little too lengthy or in depth for an older grandparent. I bought "Grandmother Remembers" for my 90 year old grandmother. It is shorter, simple, and to the point. With her failing eyesight and health, I felt it was a more appropriate book. But for someone who is still capable of filling out the journal style layout of this book, it is definately the way to go. I haven't looked at a whole lot of other ones, but if you get this one, I don't think you will be disappointed.

I don't usually write reviews but this book was perfect for my Mom. I was a little concerned when ordering about it being a spiral bound book but it actually make it easer to write in. I love it!!

I purchased A Grandparent's Legacy: Your Life Story in Your Own Words and a special pen for my daughter to give to my mother for Valentine's Day as a gift. The beauty of it it is, my mother intends to fill it out with her life stories and give it back to her granddaughter as a gift. Truly, a gift that keeps on giving!

The book is not too heavy or bulky, and the pages will give ample space for most responses to the writing prompts. It encourages storytelling, not just basic genealogical information. It's a book to journal in that is likely to become a treasured gift when filled with memories.

Too much filling in the spaces, and alot of personal questions to answer. My mother is 84 and the book was suggested by her granddaughter for the great granddaughter whos is 6. She cannot remember all the answers to the questions from her youth.
this is more geared to a younger person to fill out.