Readers will learn how to:
– Choose items already in their family’s possession for presentation in a scrapbook
– Find and identify family photographs
– Locate and interpret historical documents about their ancestors
– Discover new information from old postcards, keepsakes and other family artifacts
– Put their ancestors in historical perspective
– Tell the story of their family in different ways
– Take their research beyond the limits of a heritage album

The book is beautifully put together, as you might hope for a book about scrap-booking. The illustrations are relevant and pleasing to the eye, and the design echoes that of a scrapbook.

However, while the book does carry a heavy scrap-booking theme, there are quite a few tips and how-tos in regard to genealogy research as a whole. There’s a timeline of the history of handwriting, of genealogical milestones, instructions on how to care for your documents and photos (archival materials only, acid free, and keep your newspapers, paperclips, and staples away from your photos and documents!), and commands to double-check and cite your sources.

I would say this book is largely a very visual, entertaining “getting started in genealogy book.”

However there are sections dedicated to picking themes for your books, how to organize them prettily and properly, what paper to use, a section on rubber stamping, stickers, and ways to save money during your family history scrap-booking journey.

The book stretches beyond the promised subject matter in a pleasant way. I would say it’s a worthwhile read for beginners, as well as those vetted in the world of genealogy, who are ready to begin scrap-booking as a way to showcase their years of intensive research.