Why personalised books matter: what happens when a child sees themselves in a story

Watch a small child open a book and find themselves inside it. There is usually a pause, then a gasp, then a finger pressed hard against the page: "That’s ME!" It is one of the loveliest things you will ever see, and it is the whole reason we make our books.

A personalised storybook is more than a nice gift with a name printed in it. Done well, it gives a child a story they feel they belong to, and that changes how they read.

Children read more when the story is about them

Young children are naturally interested in themselves, their families and their world. A story where they are the hero meets them exactly there. They ask for it again and again, they turn the pages themselves, and they start to "read" it aloud long before they can read the words, because they know what happens to them next.

That repetition is a good thing. Hearing the same story many times helps children learn new words, notice patterns in sentences, and connect the sounds they hear with the letters on the page.

Being the hero builds a little bit of courage

In our stories, children do brave and kind things. They help a tiger cub find his roar, look after a frightened crane, or put their face in the water for the first time. When a child sees a picture of themselves being brave, it is easier to imagine being brave for real.

Parents often tell us their child talks about the story when something new or worrying comes along: "Like when I helped the dragon." That is the book doing its job.

It has to actually look like them

A name alone is not enough. Children notice everything: their freckles, the colour of their hair, their glasses, the gap in their teeth. That is why we paint every child from their own photo, in the same soft watercolour style as the rest of the book, so they look like they have always lived in the story.

You see your child’s first pages before you pay, so you know they look right.

A book they will keep

Toys get outgrown. A hardcover book with your child’s face and name in it tends to end up on the shelf for good, and then in a box of things that matter. Many families add a message on the first page, which turns a lovely story into a keepsake.

Tip: Try writing your message as if your child is reading it in twenty years. It is the page they will look for first.

Finding the right story

Our Stories page lets you filter by who is in the book (just your child, brothers and sisters, grandparents, or the whole family) and by the occasion. If you are not sure, tap "Help me choose" and answer two quick questions.