When I was young I didn’t keep a journal, I was a spy!  I read Harriet the Spy and was instantly copying her notebook antics.  She kept a notebook, I kept a notebook.

Recently there have been more books written in the diary form and my niece is all over them.  She is 9-years old, and though I haven’t been able to persuade her to start a journal of her own, she LOVES reading other peoples diaries.  More precisely she likes to read novels written in a diary format.

Here are three of her favorites:

Diary of a Wimpy Kid
Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules
Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Last Straw
All diaries with accompanying cartoons.

Dear Dumb Diary (the entire series) by Jim Benton
The Diaries of Jamie Kelly in Mackerel Middle School.  She starts her diary  because her class is doing a unit on journal-writing.  I guess she like is because I am counting at least eight books in the series

The Diary of Melanie Martin: or How I Survived Matt the Brat, Michelangelo, and the Leaning Tower of Pizza

A couple of amazing journal/novels we are reading are:

The fantastic thing about these books (and others in the series’) is that they are totally interactive.  All the phone numbers work and the web addresses actually have clues and information in the story useful for solving the mysteries.

Unfortunately she is not interested in any of the non fictional diaries yet.  No Anne Frank or Zlata, and strangely she is not at all interested in the Princess Diaries.

And I have to say there is an impressive number of diaries out there for your young ones to actually write in.  A lot of them come with prompts on the pages and a fill-in-the-blank motif but some are the traditional blank books with tiny locks with popular characters on them.  Here are a couple of the more creative diaries I’ve seen.

I am thinking of doing a lot more outdoor activities this year.  Hiking, camping, rock climbing are just a few of the things on my summer to-do list.  As I think about packing for these expeditions I am thinking about keeping records and journaling along the way.  I was doing a little research along these lines this week and I found this fantastic company.

From their Home Page:

Nomad Writing Journals are a product of our passion for outdoor activities and the desire to remember, in great detail, each and every adventure. These detailed writing journals grew out of our passion for traveling and outdoor activities such as hiking, climbing, bird watching, fly fishing, paddle sports and live music. Keeping detailed entries in your Nomad Journals will serve as a diary of special moments you can share with family and friends over the years. We provide you with cues to record every detail of your trips and activities as a diary would, while still providing plenty of space to record your observations. Just click a tab to see specific Nomad Writing Journals.

Man I am psyched about this place. In addition to just blank journals they have journals that are tailor made for just about any outdoor activity, complete with prompts to keep you writing about anything from kayaking to outdoor music festivals.

I’ve ordered a blank journal already to shove into my backpack as a collection book during my summer adventures.  The measurements they give are for a book that is a bit smaller than half a sheet of standard 8.5×11 paper (fold a sheet in half and see if the size suits you). The journals come in either nylon or leather covers that can be refilled with new books.  The covers can even be personalized with your name or logo.  they sell these as promotional or corporate gifts but I imagine it would be just as easy to put your own, personal stamp on one.

They even sell waterproof versions of the book refills!

Do you adventure with you journal?  If so I wanna know what sorts of equipment you use.  What sort of Journal?  Do you have an indestructible pen?  Is there a technique you use to store your whole kit?  Leave a comment and share your tools and experiences.