Jane Drake and Ann Love, sisters and co-authors of several activity books for kids, have teamed up with Vancouver illustrator Scot Ritchie to produce a pair of memory scrapbooks, the third and fourth in a series. (The first two, My Grandfather and Me and My Grandmother and Me, were published last year.)

These books are fun. Large, colourful, and filled with a wide variety of activities, they are meant to be completed by a child and his or her mother or father. Activities include multiple choice questions, circle-the-picture answers, fill-in-the-blanks, spaces to draw a picture or paste in a photograph, and lists of favourite or least favourite things. There are even a family tree template and a pocket at the back to hold memorabilia.

The books collect a wealth of data ranging from celebrations and activities to stories, games, and simple biographical information. The illustrations show activities from the lists and are varied and often humorous. Different racial groups are well represented and the list of holidays to celebrate includes Kwanzaa, Eid (a Muslim festival celebrating the end of the fast of Ramadan), and Hanukkah.

These activity books – two of the best I’ve seen in a long time – have a broad appeal, engaging both parents and children. They preserve a snapshot of childhood, and I predict many will end up in family archives.