Frequently Asked Questions
The book
What exactly do I get? One personalized hardcover, 8×8 inches, 24 pages, printed and posted to you — plus an interactive illustrated read-along and a personalized audiobook narrated with your child’s name. All three are included in the price. There is no separate ebook or audiobook to buy.
How much is it? $34.99 for the softcover, or $44.99 for the hardcover keepsake edition. Free shipping is included on every order. Add the matching colouring and activity book for $15 — it is $24.99 on its own. Two stories take 5% off the whole order and three or more take 10%, up to six books in one order. The basket shows your total before you pay.
Are there extra charges at checkout? No. Shipping is free on every order. Sales tax is calculated at checkout from your shipping address — the amount depends on your state, and several states charge no tax on books at all. There are no other fees.
Which stories can I choose? Robin Hood, Peter Pan, Aladdin and The Wizard of Oz, each with a boy’s and a girl’s edition. These are our own retellings of public-domain tales — they are not based on any film or stage version.
What ages is it for? Written for roughly 4–8 year olds, and lovely to read aloud to younger ones.
Making it
How does the personalization work? You upload one clear photograph of your child. We draw them as a watercolor character — their StoryLikeness™ — and then illustrate them into every page of the story as the hero.
Are the pictures AI-generated? Partly, and we would rather say so plainly. Commissioning an illustrator to draw one child into twelve watercolors would cost thousands of dollars and take weeks — which is why a book this personal has been out of reach for most families until now. An AI image model does that drawing step, working from your photograph and from scenes we wrote ourselves.
Everything around it is ours. The stories are our own retellings, the scenes and the characters are written by us, and every picture is checked before you ever see it. Then you see it: the character first, the whole book after, and nothing is printed until you have said yes to both.
What makes a good photograph? One child, facing the camera, good even light, face not in shadow and not obscured by hats or sunglasses. A plain phone photo is fine.
Can I read some of it before I buy? Yes. Every story page lets you read sample pages of the story with your child’s name already dropped in, before you pay anything. The sample shows the words, not your child’s illustrations — those cannot exist until we have their photograph.
Can I see the finished book before it’s printed? Yes, twice, and both times you can walk away with a full refund. First we show you your child’s character on its own — if it is not right, ask for a redraw, up to three times at no cost. Then we show you a preview of every page of the finished book. Nothing goes to the printer until you approve that preview.
What if I don’t get round to approving it? Nothing is printed. We’ll remind you a couple of times, and after a week we stop emailing and a person here picks it up — your book waits for you rather than being sent on your behalf. Approve it whenever you’re ready, or ask for a refund.
Does my child’s name appear in the story? Throughout, and on the cover, hand-lettered to match the artwork. The audiobook says it too.
Can I add a message from the giver? Yes — a name and a short dedication, printed inside.
Ordering, delivery and payment
Where do you ship? The contiguous United States, for now — the lower 48 and DC. We can’t yet ship to Hawaii, Alaska, Puerto Rico, the US territories or military addresses, because our printer’s delivery options there don’t work for a book at this price.
How long does it take? Your character usually appears within a few minutes of ordering, and the full book preview shortly after you approve it. Once you approve the preview, printing and binding take 4–5 business days and standard delivery a further 2–5 — about one to two weeks in all. The clock really starts when you approve, so the sooner you look, the sooner it ships.
How do I pay? Through Stripe — all major credit and debit cards, plus Apple Pay and Google Pay. We never see or store your card details.
Can I order more than one? Up to six books in a single order, and later books cost less. If you order again for the same child using the code on the back cover, you do not need to upload a new photo — we reuse their character so the two books match.
Changes, refunds and problems
Can I cancel or get a refund? Yes — in full, for any reason, at any time before your book goes to the printer. That covers both approval steps: if you do not like your child’s character, or you do not like the finished book when you see the preview, you get your money back. Just ask.
Once you have approved the preview and it has gone to print, the book is being made with your child’s name and face in it and can no longer be cancelled or returned.
What if I’m not happy with how my child looks? Ask for a redraw. You get three at no cost, and you never have to approve something you do not like. If we still cannot produce a version you are happy with, we refund you in full.
What if the book arrives damaged or wrong? We replace it free of charge. Tell us within 30 days of delivery and send a photo of the problem. This applies to damage in transit, printing faults, and anything that does not match the preview you approved.
I entered the wrong name or shipping address. Contact us immediately. Before the book goes to the printer we can usually fix it. After that we cannot, and a book delivered to an address you gave us incorrectly is not covered by the free replacement.
Privacy
What happens to my child’s photograph? It is used to create the illustrations and nothing else. It is automatically deleted after 14 days. We never sell photographs, never use them for marketing, and never use them to train AI models.
What do you keep, then? The illustrated character — not the photograph — for 365 days from its last use, so a second book can reuse it. Ask us and we will delete that too. Full detail is in our Privacy Policy.
Is it safe to upload a picture of my child? It is encrypted in transit and at rest, access is limited to the systems that build your book, and preview links are time-limited and unguessable. By uploading, you are confirming you are the child’s parent or guardian or have their permission.
Help
How do I reach you? Contact us through the form and we aim to reply within two to three business days.
