The blog
What to read, what to give, and what actually helps.
Written by the studio that has been drawing other people's families since 2020.
We make custom children’s books: you send one photograph, we draw your child as the character, and they are printed as the main character of a hardcover storybook. Along the way we have learned a lot about what makes one of these worth keeping and what makes it a nicely printed object, and most of it is not obvious from a product page.
So this is where we write it down. What to look for before you order a personalized book from anyone, what happens to the photo you upload, what to read to a child who has stopped sleeping or is about to start school, what to give the grandparents when they say they do not want anything, and what to give the person you share a life with, for an anniversary, a wedding or Christmas.
Before you buy
Guide
Custom Children's Books: How They Actually Work, and How to Pick a Good One
Every kind of custom children's book, what separates a keepsake from a name swap, and the questions worth asking before you order one.
27 min read
Guide
How to Choose a Personalized Book Company: 9 Questions Worth Asking First
How to choose a personalized book company: nine checks that separate a keepsake from a disappointment, and three red flags worth walking away from.
23 min read
Guide
How to Make a Custom Children's Book: The Honest Version
How to make a custom children's book: the four routes, what each costs in time and money, and the illustration problem that stops most people.
21 min read
Guide
What Happens to Your Child's Photo When You Upload It to a Personalized Book Site
What happens to your child's photo when you upload it to a book site, the license clause worth checking, and how to read a privacy policy in four minutes.
22 min read
Guide
Personalized Disney Books: What the Licensed Ones Personalize, and What They Can't
Personalized Disney books in 2026: who still sells the licensed ones, what they personalize, what none of them can do, and how to spot a licensed book.
21 min read
Guide
AI Storybooks for Kids: What the Generators Make, What They Miss, and When to Buy One Printed
AI storybook for kids: what the apps do well, why the face drifts from page to page, what they do with photos, and when a printed book is the better buy.
21 min read
Guide
What to Write in a Book for a Child, So It Still Means Something When They Read It Alone
What to write in a book for a child: the four things every inscription needs, 40 examples by giver and occasion, and where in the book it goes.
20 min read
Books for a child who...
Choosing a book
Children's Books About Cats, and Why the Cat Should Be Your Cat
Children's books about cats worth reading more than once, what makes a cat story work for a small child, and how a real cat changes the story entirely.
22 min read
Choosing a book
Books for a Child Who Is Afraid of the Dark: What Actually Helps at Bedtime
Books for kids afraid of the dark that actually help at bedtime, the kind that quietly make it worse, and six things to check before you buy one.
20 min read
Choosing a book
Books for Starting Kindergarten: What to Read in the Weeks Before
Books for starting kindergarten that make the classroom familiar before day one: what to read in the weeks before, and the mistake most parents make.
21 min read
Choosing a book
Books for a New Big Brother or Sister: What to Read Before the Baby Comes
Books for a new big brother or sister: what to read before the baby comes, when to start, and why the book should be about the older child.
21 min read
Choosing a book
Books About Kindness for Preschoolers, and What Actually Teaches It
Books about kindness for preschoolers that work: why a four year old cannot follow "be kind" as an order, what stories do instead, and the preachy ones.
22 min read
Choosing a book
Books for a Child Who Feels Left Out, or Ordinary, or Invisible
Books for a child who feels left out: what to read when they say nobody likes them, why reassurance backfires, and how to tell loneliness apart.
21 min read
Choosing a book
Books About Deployment for Kids: What to Read From the Goodbye to the Homecoming
Books about deployment for kids, stage by stage: what a young child understands, and which books help from the goodbye to the day the door opens.
21 min read
Choosing a book
Books Like Inside Out: Feelings Books for Kids Who Loved the Movie, Emotion by Emotion
Books like Inside Out, emotion by emotion: picture books for Joy, Sadness, Fear, Anger, Disgust and the four new ones from Inside Out 2, and what to say.
21 min read
Choosing a book
Dragon Books for Kids: The Best Ones for Every Age, and Why Children Fall for Dragons
Dragon books for kids by age, from first picture books to How to Train Your Dragon, sorted by what the dragon does, and which ones help a child be brave.
21 min read
Choosing a book
Princess Books for Kids: The Best Ones by Age, for the Princess Phase and Beyond It
Princess books for kids by age, from toddlers to chapter books: princesses who do more than wait, when the Disney ones fit, and picks for boys too.
21 min read
Choosing a book
Books About Dogs for Kids: The Best for Every Age, From the First Puppy to the Last Goodbye
Books about dogs for kids, sorted by age and by what the dog does: the friend, the troublemaker, the new puppy, the dog who dies. Every title checked.
20 min read
Choosing a book
Books About Grandparents: 23 Picture Books, Sorted by the Situation Your Family Is In
Books about grandparents sorted by situation: far away, forgetting, loss, raising grandchildren, toddlers. 23 real picture books, with ages.
21 min read
Gifts and occasions
Gifts
Grandparents Day Gifts: What to Give, and When It Actually Is
Grandparents Day gifts that get kept, the date most people get wrong, and what to give from a child too small to make anything themselves.
24 min read
Gifts
Gifts for Grandpa From the Grandkids, Beyond the Novelty Socks
Gifts for grandpa from grandkids that actually get kept: why grandfather gifts go so much worse than grandmother ones, and the four kinds that last.
22 min read
Gifts
Gifts for Grandma From the Grandchildren, Including the One Who Has Everything
Gifts for grandma from grandchildren that she keeps: why most personalized gifts miss, and what to give when she says she does not want anything.
23 min read
Gifts
Personalized Birthday Gifts for Kids: What Survives Past the Following Week
Personalized birthday gifts for kids that get kept instead of shelved, how the four gift rule works, and what to give a child who has plenty.
22 min read
Gifts
Christmas Gifts for Kids Who Have Everything (Without Adding to the Pile)
Christmas gifts for kids who have everything: how the four gift rule fixes the pile, and the presents that are still around next Christmas.
23 min read
Gifts
Mother's Day Gifts From a Toddler, When the Toddler Has No Money
Mother's Day gifts from a small child with no money: what a two or three year old can give, what mothers want, and how to make it come from the child.
23 min read
Gifts
Father's Day Gifts From the Kids, Beyond the Mug and the Tie
Father's Day gifts from kids that are not a mug: what a small child can really give, and the one thing fathers say they want and never ask for.
20 min read
Gifts
Big Sister and Big Brother Gifts: What to Give the Child Nobody Is Visiting
A big sister gift, or a big brother one, for the day the baby arrives: why the timing matters more than the gift, what to bring and what to avoid.
20 min read
Gifts
Christening and Baptism Gifts: What Is Appropriate, and What Survives
Christening gift ideas that get kept: how much to spend, whether money is acceptable, and why the traditional silver gift almost never gets used.
22 min read
Gifts
Kindergarten Graduation Gifts: What to Give a Five Year Old Who Just Finished
A kindergarten graduation gift a five year old wants and parents keep, plus the honest answer for teachers buying twenty-five of something.
23 min read
Gifts
Disney Gifts for Grandma, From the Grandkids: What a Disney-Loving Grandmother Actually Keeps
Disney gifts for grandma that she keeps: the four kinds that last, ideas from toddlers to teens, for a grandma who can't travel, and the dates.
20 min read
Gifts
Christmas Eve Box Ideas for Kids, by Age, That End the Night in Bed
Christmas Eve box ideas by age, from toddlers to big kids: what goes in, what to leave out under four, when to open it, and the one thing that lasts.
20 min read
Gifts
Gifts for Grandchildren: What Only a Grandparent Can Give, by Age and From Far Away
Gifts for grandchildren that outlast the toy box: what only a grandparent can give, ideas by age, for grandkids far away, and what grandparents spend.
21 min read
Gifts
Christmas Gifts for Grandparents Who Have Everything, Except Enough of the Grandkids
Christmas gifts for grandparents who have everything: what they are actually short of, and gifts with the grandkids' hands in them, near or far.
20 min read
Gifts
A Gift for the Whole Family: Who It Is Really For, and the Ideas That Get Used
Gift for the whole family ideas that get used, not shelved: who it is really for, what works at each age, and what to skip in a house with small kids.
20 min read
Gifts
Christmas Messages for Grandchildren: What to Write at Every Age, So It Gets Kept
Christmas messages for grandchildren by age, from a toddler to a grown grandchild, with a three-part formula for writing one they will keep.
20 min read
Gifts
Christmas Gifts for Mom From Kids: What Each Age Can Really Do, and How to Make It Theirs
Christmas gifts for mom from kids, sorted by what a child of each age can really do, and how a partner makes a store-bought gift feel like theirs.
21 min read
For the two of you
For the two of you
Christmas Gifts for Couples That Are Still Around Next December
Christmas gifts for couples that stay out of the drawer: the four kinds that last, and sentimental ideas for a husband, wife or boyfriend, with dates.
21 min read
For the two of you
Paper Anniversary Gifts About the Year You Actually Had, Not Just the Wedding
Paper anniversary gifts about your first year, not just the wedding: why year one is paper, and ideas for him and for her, many of them free.
20 min read
For the two of you
Sentimental Wedding Gifts: What Gets Kept, From Guests, Parents and Each Other
Sentimental wedding gifts that get kept, the best ideas from guests, parents and the couple themselves, and when it is fine to skip the registry.
23 min read
For the two of you
Ways to Tell Your Husband You're Pregnant, Sorted by Who He Is
Ways to tell your husband you're pregnant, sorted by who he is: quiet, funny, unwrapped or long distance, plus how to catch his face when he hears.
22 min read
For the two of you
Disney Gifts for Adults That Mean More Than Another Mug
Disney gifts for adults who already own the ears and the mug: the four kinds that last, ideas for her, him, a couple or grandma, and the Christmas dates.
20 min read
For the two of you
Disney Wedding Gifts the Couple Will Still Use, Keep, or Frame in Ten Years
Disney wedding gifts the couple will not get five of: the honeymoon registry first, the Disney gifts that get used, and keepsakes of their own fairy tale.
20 min read
For the two of you
Disney Anniversary Gifts, From the Up Kind to the Kind Only the Two of You Would Understand
Disney anniversary gifts that do what the opening of Up does: your own story, ideas by year, for her and for him, and how to celebrate at the parks.
20 min read
For the two of you
Disney Pregnancy Announcement Ideas, for Your Partner First and Then Everyone Else
Disney pregnancy announcement ideas: tell your partner first at home, then everyone at the parks, with PhotoPass tips, captions and the ride rules.
21 min read
For the two of you
Christmas Pregnancy Announcement Ideas: Tell Him First, Then the Family at the Table
Christmas pregnancy announcement ideas in the right order: him first, then the family at the table, with card lines, captions and the early weeks.
20 min read
For the two of you
Gifts for a Dad to Be, Before the Baby Arrives and After
Gifts for dad to be, before the birth and after: useful and sentimental ideas, from his wife or from family, and what most lists forget about him.
20 min read
For the two of you
First Christmas Married Gifts: What to Give Each Other, and What to Give the Newlyweds
First Christmas married gifts that come back out every December: ideas for him and for her, what family can give the newlyweds, and when to order.
20 min read
For the two of you
Why I Love You Book: The Four Kinds, and How to Write Reasons Worth Keeping
Why I love you book: the four kinds (fill-in, personalized, picture book, handmade), how to write reasons that are specific, and 50 prompts to borrow.
20 min read
For the two of you
Christmas Messages for Husband: What to Write Beyond "Merry Christmas, Love You"
Christmas messages for husband built from a real Christmas: romantic, short, funny, long distance, first year or thirtieth, and how to write your own.
20 min read
For the two of you
Christmas Traditions for Couples: How to Start Ones You Will Actually Keep
Christmas traditions for couples by when they happen and by situation: first Christmas, two families, no kids, long distance, a baby on the way.
20 min read
For the two of you
Valentine Messages for Wife: What to Write Beyond "Happy Valentine's Day, Love You"
Valentine messages for wife built from a real marriage: romantic, short, long, funny, long distance, one year or thirty, and how to write your own.
21 min read
For the two of you
Sentimental Valentines Gifts, Sorted by How Long You Have Been Together
Sentimental valentines gifts for him and for her, made of a memory, a place or your own handwriting, and sorted by how long you have been together.
21 min read
Reading together
Reading together
Best Books for 3 and 4 Year Olds, and Why the Difference Matters
The best books for 3 year olds and 4 year olds: what changes between three and four, and how to pick books they will ask for again and again.
22 min read
Reading together
Why Kids Love Seeing Themselves in Books, and What It Actually Does
Why kids love seeing themselves in books: the mirror idea behind personalized stories, the age window where it works hardest, and when it stops.
25 min read
Reading together
The Bedtime Routine That Actually Ends the Stalling
A bedtime routine that ends the stalling: why children stall, the four steps that stop it, and the exact scripts for water, the toilet and one more page.
22 min read
Reading together
Christmas Eve Traditions for Kids, by Age, and How to Borrow Iceland's Book Flood
Christmas Eve traditions sorted by age, from toddlers to ten year olds, plus what Iceland's book flood really is and how to borrow it with small kids.
20 min read
Every book here starts with one photo.
Send us one, and we will draw your child as the character in about thirty seconds. It costs nothing and you see them before you decide anything.
Try it on a photo