What a happy delight! Seattle based Sasquatch Books sent me two beautiful journals to review: “The Next 1000 Days: A Journal of Ages Two to Six” by Julie Metzger and “This is Me: A Girl’s Journal” by Nikki McClure. Both books will be published in August.
“The Next 1000 Days” is full of pictures, captions and blank space. There are about 23 pages for each age. When children are younger, parents can document favorite foods, books read and new words and capabilities. Once kids get older, they can use newfound literacy skills to take ownership of the remaining pages and to read what Mom or Dad has already written.
Capturing a child’s emerging handwriting is so much fun and “The Next 1000 Days” would be a great way to do it. There are also special places for self portraits.
“This is Me: A Girl’s Journal” is for older kids, perhaps six-years-old and up. It has a wide variety of prompts, too. I like this because blank pages can be really intimidating, especially to emergent writers. Some kids do fine with traditional diaries, but often times a question, checklist, or space to draw a picture can really garner a better response. This journal has the perfect balance between open-ended and closed-ended responses. It is also colorful and pretty; important attributes for a girl audience.
My niece is heading off to Girl Scout Camp next week and I’m going to mail “This is Me” off to her just in time. This is a journal begging for a young girl’s heart!
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