Guides
Personalised Story Books: A Parent’s Guide to Choosing a Good One
Name-only or photo-illustrated? What age? What does it cost and what happens to the photo? A practical guide to personalised story books, with real…
The parents’ guide to personalised books
Personalised story books where your child is the hero
Honest guides, gift ideas and page-by-page examples — so you can choose a personalised book your child will ask for again and again.
- Real example pages, not mock-ups
- Practical advice for every age
- Updated for October 2026
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Guides
How Photo-Personalised Books Work, Step by Step
What happens between uploading one photo and reading a picture book with your child in it: the choices you make, what the AI draws,…
Gift Ideas
15 Personalised Book Gift Ideas, by Age and Occasion
Personalised book gift ideas that suit the child: which story for which age, birthdays, Christmas, a new sibling, grandparents, and last-minute options.
From one photo to a whole picture book
This is the difference between a “name-only” personalised book and a photo-illustrated one: the child on the page actually looks like your child — on every single page.
Turn the pages of the real book →Pick a fairy tale, add your child
Classic stories children already know by name — each one retold with your child on every page.
Personalised tale
Little Red Riding Hood
Through the woods to grandmother's house
Make this book with your child →
Personalised tale
Cinderella
One ball, one glass slipper, one midnight
Make this book with your child →
Personalised tale
Jack and the Beanstalk
A vine that grows past the clouds
Make this book with your child →
Personalised tale
The Little Mermaid
Curiosity that reaches from the deep to the shore
Make this book with your child →
Personalised tale
Rapunzel
A tower, a lantern-lit sky and hair as long as the story
Make this book with your child →
Personalised tale
The Unicorn and the Rainbow
Seven colors, one brave little heart
Make this book with your child →
Personalised tale
The Nutcracker
A gift under the tree that wakes up at midnight
Make this book with your child →Latest articles
Guides
Illustration Styles for Personalised Books, Compared
Storybook, watercolour, pencil, gouache, cartoon or photo-real: what each illustration style looks like in a personalised book and which children tend to like it.
Gift Ideas
A Book for a New Big Brother or Sister
When a baby arrives, the older child gets overlooked. A personalised book with them as the hero, and the baby in the story, is…
Reading Together
Personalised Bedtime Stories: Using a Book About Your Child to Calm Evenings Down
How a bedtime story starring your child can make the end of the day easier: a simple routine, which tales are calm enough for…
Fairy Tales
Personalised Peter Pan Book: Inside the Sample, Page by Page
A page-by-page look at a personalised Peter Pan in which the child flies to Neverland and rescues the lost children. Who it suits and…
Fairy Tales
Personalised Little Red Riding Hood: We Read the Whole Sample Book
A page-by-page look at a real personalised Little Red Riding Hood book: how the story is softened for small children, who can play grandma,…
Guides
How to Take the Right Photo for a Personalised Book
The photo decides how much the book looks like your child. Light, angle, distance and what to avoid, plus a two-minute way to take…
Reading Together
Why Children Love Books About Themselves, and What the Research Says
Why does a child who drifts off after two pages sit still for a book about themselves? The research on own-name recognition, self-reference and…
Guides
Name-Only vs Photo-Illustrated Personalised Books: Which Should You Buy?
Name-only books change the words; photo-illustrated books draw your child into every picture. Where each one is better, where it falls short, and who…
Guides
Is It Safe to Upload Your Child’s Photo for a Personalised Book?
Eight plain questions to ask any personalised book company before you upload your child's photo, and how to take a photo that gives away…
Gift Ideas
Personalised Books from Grandparents: Putting Grandma and Grandad in the Story
Which fairy tales have a part for a grandmother or grandfather, how to make the book when you live far away, and the photo…
Gift Ideas
Personalised Christmas Books: Which Story, and When to Order
Planning a personalised Christmas book? The Nutcracker, a Christmas Eve tradition or your own family story, plus a realistic timeline for printed copies.
Fairy Tales
20 Fairy Tales Your Child Can Star In, and Who Each One Suits
Twenty classic tales retold with your child as the hero. What happens in each retelling, the age it suits, and which family members get…
Questions parents ask
What is a personalised story book?
A picture book in which your child is the main character. The simplest versions change the name in the text; photo-illustrated books go further and draw your child’s own face on every page.
What age are personalised books best for?
Most children enjoy them from about age 2 to 9. Toddlers love spotting themselves in the pictures, while 5–8 year olds enjoy longer adventures and hearing their name in a classic tale.
How long does a personalised book take to make?
With an online photo-illustrated service such as I Am In The Story, a digital book is usually ready in a few minutes. Printed books add printing and delivery time, so order gifts at least two weeks ahead.
Is it safe to upload my child’s photo?
Choose a service that says clearly what happens to photos. A good one uses them only to illustrate your book, never for advertising or model training, and deletes one-off uploads once the book is ready.
About this site
I Am In The Story Blog is the editorial blog of the team behind I Am In The Story. We write about choosing, gifting and reading personalised books — and when we mention our own books, we say so.