A book where your child is the main character
Not their name dropped into someone else's story. A story written around who they actually are — what they love, who's in their family, and what you want them to take from it.
Digital book $7.99, ready in under 30 minutes · A4 hardcover $29.99 plus delivery. You read the story and approve their character before anything is illustrated.
The difference
There are two ways to make a child the main character
The first way is to insert them. A story is written in advance, illustrated in advance, and your child's name and appearance are dropped into it. It works, and some of these books are genuinely beautiful — but the story itself is the same one every other child receives. Your child is in the book. The book isn't about them.
The second way is to compose the story around them. You start with the child — their age, what they're into, who they live with, the dog, the teddy that can't be washed, the thing they've been worried about lately — and the story is built from there.
That's what we do. Your child isn't cast in a role. The role is written for them.
If your daughter is obsessed with hedgehogs, the hedgehogs go in the book. Not as a detail on page four — as a reason the story happens.
What makes it theirs
The story
- Age — 0–2, 3–5, 6–9, or 10+, which sets the reading level and pacing
- Theme — quests, daily discoveries, celebrations, historical worlds, and more
- Subject — what the adventure is actually about
- Message — courage, curiosity, friendship, self-belief, whatever they need this year
- Language — English, Spanish, French, German or Dutch
- Illustration style and font — from watercolour to gouache to 3D animation
The child
- Their name and character — the hero the whole story is built around
- Favorite things — the toys, animals and obsessions that shape the plot
- Family and pets — parents, siblings, grandparents, the dog, all in the story and the artwork
- An optional photo — up to three reference photos, so the illustrated character actually looks like them
- A Pinch of Magic — the one specific detail that makes it unmistakably theirs
This is the field that does the most work. It's where you tell us the thing that only you would know.
She sings everywhere she goes. He won't sleep without the green dinosaur. She looks for rainbows after it rains. He's been nervous about starting school.
Small things. But they're the difference between a story about a child and a story about your child.
See it done
Every example below started as a handful of choices, the same ones you'll make. The Pinch of Magic is the line that turned each one into a story that couldn't belong to anyone else. These are demonstration books we made ourselves, not real customers' children.
You read it before anyone illustrates it
Here's the honest risk with a story composed from scratch: it might come back nearly right. The wrong tone, a detail misread, a sibling written out.
So you see it first. You read the full manuscript and edit anything that isn't right. Separately, you approve your child's character reference — the illustrated version of them that every page is drawn from. Only then are the final pages made.
Nothing gets illustrated behind a curtain and revealed at the end.
Read every word
The full story, before illustration.
Approve their character
The likeness, before it's used across 15 pages.
Change anything
It's a draft until you say otherwise.
A 30-page book, theirs alone
- 30 A4 pages — 15 story pages and 15 full-page illustrations
- Digital book, ready in under 30 minutes, $7.99
- Optional A4 hardcover, $29.99 plus delivery, ordered after you've approved it
- An optional personal foreword printed inside
- Available in five languages
Questions
How is this different from a book with my child's name in it?
Name-personalized books insert your child into a story that already exists — the same story every other child gets. We write the story around your child instead, using their age, interests, family, and the message you want it to carry. Every book is different because every child is.
Do I need to upload a photo?
No, it's optional. Without one, you describe your child and we build the character from that. With one, the illustrated character looks much more like them. You can upload up to three reference photos. Here's how we handle them.
Can family members and pets be in the story?
Yes. Parents, siblings, grandparents and pets can all appear in both the story and the illustrations. Several of our example books have a parent or a dog in the lead alongside the child.
Can I read the story before it's illustrated?
Yes, and we'd encourage it. You read and edit the full manuscript, then approve the character reference, before any final artwork is generated.
What ages does it work for?
Four bands: 0–2, 3–5, 6–9 and 10+. The band sets the reading level, sentence length and story complexity.
How long does it take?
Most digital books are finished in under 30 minutes. The story and character artwork each take a few minutes; the rest depends on how quickly you review and approve them. Your draft saves as you go.
Can I make one for a child who isn't mine?
Yes — grandchildren, nieces, nephews, godchildren. Add a personal foreword and it becomes a book only they could have been given. You'll need enough detail about them to make the story specific, which usually means a quick word with a parent.
What if the story isn't right?
Edit it. It stays a draft until you approve it, and nothing is illustrated before then. If something still isn't right afterwards, see our refund policy.
How much is it?
$7.99 for the digital book. The A4 hardcover is an optional $29.99 plus delivery, bought afterwards only if you want it.
Write them into it
Choose their age to start a saved draft. Shape the story, read every word, approve their character — then watch them find their own name on the cover.
Create their bookDigital book $7.99 · Ready in under 30 minutes · Nothing illustrated until you approve it