Dorling Kindersley Publishing can generally be counted upon to produce books that are fascinating to children, and My Millennium Record Book is no exception. Recommended for children ages 8Ð12, this hardback helps kids produce their own scrapbook commemorating the millennium. It gives young historians the opportunity to write, glue, and draw information about themselves and the world around them at the turn of the century.
Each two-page spread in My Millennium Record Book offers bright, eye-catching photographs that often seem to float in space on the page. Superimposed on the layouts are photographs of note paper in various forms, which provide space for children to write both personal information and news items. For example, the first spread is a record of such vital statistics as height, weight, and shoe size. It also provides an opportunity for the record keeper to inscribe top secrets, hopes and ambitions, and lucky charms. On later pages, a child has the opportunity to enter other personal information about family, friends, and favorite things. One charming spread has photographs of picture frames and instructs the reader to glue in family photos.
The center section of My Millennium Record Book is devoted to actual firsts of the new year, such as visitor, phone call, e-mail, and letter delivery. Children can record things that went wrong with the change of millennium and draw their interpretation of the Y2K bug. The reader can list headlines from January 1, 2000, as well as New Year’s resolutions. There are spaces for both descriptions of, and inscriptions by, friends. Finally, the reader has a chance to make predictions about the new millennium and write a time capsule letter for a future reader.
Another clever feature of the book is a pocket in the back to store souvenirs of millennial celebrations.
My Millennium Record Book is a great way to help a young person organize thoughts and facts about an important event in world history. It’s easy to imagine the reader returning in later years to compare predictions with actual events and reminisce about how things were when he or she was young. Sarah McMenamin Kim is a teacher and mother in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
