I've been wanting my students at school to make "About Me" types of scrapbooks, but then you all discovered altered books for me -- and the "how am I going to pay for the books" question was answered -- Thanks! I bought a pile of used children's board books at the local thrift store.
It always works best for students to see an example, so I made one. A board book has an advantage in that you can paint pictures on the pages without them wrinkling up. You have to sand and gesso the shiny pages first, or the paint doesn't stick. At least that's what someone told me -- so that's what I did! A newbie like me believe everything she is told. . . (my safety net)
The overall effect is something between a scrapbook and a collage. The collage pages are more in the spirit of altered books ("the craft for creative recyclers"), but, to me, using some photos gives it additional purpose. Here's a link to my first altered book (my style is a little "tight" compared to a true altered book artist!). It now sits on top my bookcase with the pages fanned out, and looks quite decorative!