memoir · mentor texts

An Exquisite Touchstone Text for Memoir

Stacey Shubitz

I’ve long enjoyed reading aloud from What You Know First and When the Relatives Came when teaching memoir. I now have another text, Grandma’s Scrapbook written by Josephine Nobisso and illustrated by Maureen Hyde, that has been added to my list of favorite memoir touchstone texts.

While Nobisso’s book is not new (It was published in 1990.), it’s new to me.  The language in Grandma’s Scrapbook is exquisite.  It is written with the cadence that defines the way in which memoirs ought to be written.

Here are some examples of the incredible prose, and accompanying illustrations, from Grandma’s Songbook:

I suggest reading this book aloud a few times to your class, along with whatever other touchstone texts you wish to share with them when you begin a memoir unit of study.  Grandma’s Scrapbook contains the kind of writing most novice memoirists aspire to write.

A review copy of Grandma’s Scrapbook was provided by Gingerbread House Books, who also provided permission to include the above images in this post.

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Published by Stacey Shubitz

Stacey Shubitz is a K-6 literacy consultant and former elementary teacher. She is the author of CRAFT MOVES and other professional books on writing workshop. Her forthcoming book, MAKE THE SCHOOL SYSTEM WORK FOR YOUR CHILD WITH DISABILITIES (Guilford Press, 2026), empowers parents to navigate the special education system.

2 thoughts on “An Exquisite Touchstone Text for Memoir”

  2. We have been fortunate enough to have Josephine come to our schools every year for the past several years and do workshops with our teachers and students. I would say she has been coming for the past 10 or so years. SHe is wonderful. So glad you loved her book. She is a fabulous author and she is just as fabulous in person too!

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