Kept Stories

Memory book ยท printable PDF

A grandparent memory book you print at home.

A memory book is a set of pages a grandparent fills with their own stories and photos. Kept Stories is one you print: 44 letter-size pages, 62 questions in 8 chapters, 5 photo pages and a family tree, for $9.

Get the book, $9See the book

Questions from the first two chapters of the book

Where and when were you born? What do you know about the day you arrived?

Print the free sample

What goes in a memory book

Memories need a prompt. A blank album stays blank; a page that asks "What did you do on a summer day when you were ten?" gets an answer.

So the book is built from questions: 62 of them, from where they were born to the advice they would pass on, each with wide ruled lines underneath. Five photo pages take a favorite picture with a line for who, where and when, and a family tree and a two-page letter to the grandchildren close it.

How to make the memory book

  1. Print itPrint the 44 pages on letter paper at actual size. Printed on both sides, that is 22 sheets.
  2. Add photosTape or glue a photo on each of the 5 photo pages, or leave them for your grandparent to fill.
  3. Bind itPunch the pages for a three-ring binder, or take them to a print shop to bind.
  4. Give it with a penWrap it with a good pen, and sit down together to answer the first question.

Where I come from

  1. Where and when were you born? What do you know about the day you arrived?
  2. What were your parents' names, and what did they do for work?
  3. Tell about your grandparents. What do you remember about them?
  4. Where did your family come from before that? Any stories passed down?
  5. What was your family known for in the neighborhood or town?
  6. What did your parents teach you that you still think about?
  7. Which relative were you most like, and how?
  8. Draw or describe the house you grew up in.

Growing up

  1. What is your earliest memory?
  2. What did you do on a summer day when you were ten?
  3. Who was your best friend as a child, and what did you get up to?
  4. What chores did you have? Which one did you dislike most?
  5. What was dinner like in your house? Who cooked, and what was your favorite dish?
  6. What games did you play, and what toys did you treasure?
  7. When did you get in the most trouble, and what happened?
  8. What did you want to be when you grew up?
  9. What music, radio shows or programs did your family love?
  10. What was the biggest event in the world when you were young, and how did it touch your family?

Questions people ask next

Is it a photo album?

No. It is mostly writing: 62 questions with lines for the answers. The 5 photo pages hold one picture each, with room to say who is in it.

Can we make one for each grandchild?

Yes. The file prints as often as your family needs. Four grandchildren means four copies, still from one $9 file.

What if my grandparent would rather talk than write?

Read the questions aloud and write the answers for them. The guide at the front of the book suggests just that.

The full book

  • All 44 letter-size pages in one PDF
  • Grandma and Grandpa covers in the same file
  • 62 questions with wide lines, 5 photo pages, a family tree and a letter to the grandchildren
  • Print as many copies as your family needs

The free sample and the question list stay free. The book adds every chapter with room to write. Printing and binding are up to you.

Kept Stories book

$9

One payment, PDF download
Buy the book
Format
PDF, 44 letter-size pages
Delivery
A download after payment; nothing is shipped
Refunds
If the file doesn't work or isn't what this page describes, write to us within 14 days for a full refund.

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