Grandma: Her Stories. Her Words Hardcover – September 1, 2011

I was given this book at a "Grandma" shower for my first grandchild. My initial reaction was, "Oh no, homework!" (I'm still haunted by those unfilled baby books form my own children's births). But after a few months I picked this book up and began looking through it. What a great time I had recalling things like where I played, what my room was like, where did my ancestors come from and WHY. My favorite page so far asks about any famous, or infamous, apples on the family tree. I've had the book a year now and still haven't written anything on the pages. But I have myriad notes tucked inside about things I want to include. It is a work in progress. It's not just a family legacy for my grandchildren. (I wish my parents, both gone now, had left me something like this). I find myself rejoicing in all the things, big and little, that made me who I am, and the unique and wonderful amalgamation that is our family.

This book is one of three versions I purchased-one for my Grandmother, another for my father, and a third for my mother.I'll start from the top:A. DESIGN:Beautiful exterior design. The color chosen for each group (Grandmothers, Moms, Dads) is appropriate, and the cover design is clean and simple. The linen covering for the cover of each book gives it a distinguished feel, far from many of the cheaply-made alternatives that can be found in the "Customers Who Purchased This Item Also Purchased..." recommendation bar along the bottom.There are only two issues with the design. First, the barcode that adheres to the back of the book is peeled off easily, but pulls some of the book's color off with it as it goes. Second, the books are so SMALL! This is really the main reason why they're rated at a three-star level. Between the photos and the product description, I felt as though it should have been made clear that these books are really no larger than a postcard. to discover this fact, you either have to order the books and discover it when they arrive in a tiny package, or scroll down and read into the product specs.Also, the size is especially inconvenient for mothers, fathers and Grandmothers who are older and need more space to write (both due to handwriting and the length of their stories) that's not such a great design choice. Each question only allows for a few lines' worth of answers...can you truly expect your family members to provide a recounting of the bits and pieces of her life with only a dozen closely spaced lines?B. INTERIOR COPY:Questions seem interesting and story-inspiring. There isn't much in the way of uniqueness, but the fact that the books are providing a start for family members to capture each others' stories is what really makes these books special. Again, a larger book would allow for an expansion of those stories instead of shortened, clipped versions. Text is clear and clean. Easy to read.C. PRICE:I felt that these books were a bit overpriced, but not overpriced enough that I wanted to go through the trouble of sending them back.D. OVERALLThese books seem well-made, well-designed and thoughtful. Whoever you purchase them for will definitely enjoy them (providing they're OK with the idea of having to come up with the stories to answer the questions). Most of all, you'll truly enjoy the opportunity to delve into some of your family stories. The only items to be aware of are1. The tiny size of these books.2. The limited writing space3. The barcode that takes some of the book color with it when peeled free.I'd only purchase these items again if the price were lowered. At even $5 or $6, I'd feel that the value was better. At $10, they seem overpriced to me.

I was so pleased with these books when I finally got them. I ordered the Grandma, Grandpa, Mom & Dad versions for this holiday season so they could be filled out and returned to my daughter. Two of her grandparents are 92 years old so I thought it would be a nice keepsake. True to other reviews, these books are small but this is what I liked about them. Sometimes other books have too much space and people feel overwhelmed about filling them out but these have 2 short pages for each question and the questions are good! They are just big enough to be able to tuck articles, pictures or other small keepsakes in. They will also be easily stored and not like "coffee table" books that never fit on a shelf or in a photo box. I look forward to the special day when I can gift her a set of these from us and she will be able to read about our lives and how much we love her.

The book is So small it's basically worthless. I should've paid attention to the size.

This book is smaller than it looks like pocketbook size, it's really tiny, I bought it for my grandma (obviously) she didn't complain about how small the print is, but I know she's worried about it because she doesn't want to write in it, she's using a tab to write her life stories on instead. If this book was normal size, she wouldn't hesitate. The book contains writing props and a few pages to fill the props in, the paper is also glossy, so using a liquid based ball point pen probably wouldn't be best because it would smudge. The book arrived in time for christmas and my grandma was happy to have it, but I wish the book as a whole would have been bigger.

Gave this to my Gran for Christmas as she is CONSTANTLY telling us 5 hour long stories that seem to have no end. She adored it.The only problem I see with it and why I only give this 3 stars?It is short (as in, no more than 25-30 pages?), the questions are textbook, and the space given to fill in the story she writes is quite small. The book itself is also quite small. The pictures I saw of it were deceiving, leading me to believe it was of "normal" size. However, wrapping it took no more than a scrap of paper.I would recommend this to those of us with grandparents in the vein of Grandpa Simpson, as a place to write down those mountains of stories. However, I would advise caution as using it as a "main gift" as it rather a small book with not much substance.I also bought the Dad and Mom books as well, for my parents and my husband's parents. They are exactly the same, with similar questions in all of the books (changing the he to she, and so on), same size, and same lack of pages/small entry space.

Love this book! All Grandma's should complete one of these for their grandchildren. I originally received one from my son and daughter-in-law to complete for my granddaughter. Brought back memories including funny family stories, made me think of what's next, what I'm thankful for, what my values are that I want to pass on, etc. I have a 93 year old woman that I visit and when I told her about it she was so enthusiastic, I bought this one for her to complete for her grandchildren. She was delighted.