If you have followed my blog you know how excited I am about the illustrated children’s story book we are working on about my great-great-grandmother, Mary Taylor. Even though we won’t have this project finished for Christmas it would make a great gift. (Our deadline is actually for my mom’s 90th birthday in March.) With the Mary book I try to imagine it being used as a bed time story for Mary’s many descendants.
Do you have a family story that would lend itself to a story with illustrations? The pictures could be simple drawings or you could set up a photo shoot and have “actors” dress up to illustrate the story. The text doesn’t have to be complicated or long, the illustrations will help tell the story. Publishing could be as simple as printing it on your computer and/or taking it to your local copy center to make copies and have it bound. Of course a print on demand service such as Blurb or Lulu would also work. I think this project would be a perfect way to share one of your family stories with the next generation. Plus I think that even the older members of your family will take the time to read a short illustrated story when they would never take the time to read a long family history book.
telling family tales 
Love all your ideas and beautiful work! — and this project of yours is especially interesting to me being that my newfound interest in genealogy has led me to discover that my late wife’s second great-grandparents were also members of the Martin Handcart Company.
After completion, sure hope your book might be available for purchase on Blurb (or elsewhere). Even though our grandkids are perhaps leaving the childrens book stage as they reach or near their tween years, think you’re absolutely right about this type of work appealing to all ages! So sure am looking forward to obtaining your book for our three adult kids and descendants to learn a bit about what their ancestors also experienced on that journey.
And now you’re inspiring me to try to put together something for my side of the tree!
Not sure how you do it all, but am most grateful for your most inspiring blog and all your project contributions!
Thanks for you interest in our Mary book and in your family history. We hope to make it available to purchase when it is finished on Blurb or wider distribution if we can work that out. I’m super glad that I’ve inspired you. That is the best news of all.