A yearbook is a book published by a school each year that captures memories of that school year through photographs, quotes, and records of activities. Most middle schools and high schools create yearbooks so students can remember their classmates, teachers, sports teams, clubs, field trips, and special events long after the school year ends.

Creating a yearbook involves a lot of work. A team of students (often called the yearbook committee or yearbook staff) photographs events throughout the year, interviews classmates, designs page layouts, and writes captions. They have to meet strict deadlines because the finished books need to arrive before summer vacation starts. At the end of the school year, students eagerly get their yearbooks and spend hours passing them around, asking friends and teachers to sign them with messages and memories.

The tradition of school yearbooks started in the 1800s at American universities and eventually spread to high schools and middle schools. Today's yearbooks might include sections for each grade level, candid photos from dances and assemblies, sports team rosters, club pictures, and those slightly awkward individual portrait photos where everyone tries to smile naturally. Years later, people often pull out their old yearbooks, laugh at the hairstyles, remember forgotten friends, or feel nostalgic about simpler times.