One year old, and already the hero of a book
A personalized first birthday book, written around the baby's first year and drawn from their photo, made to be read to them now and kept for later.
A first birthday is a party the guest of honor will not remember, which is why the gift should be something they can hold later. A personalized first birthday book takes the baby's photo, draws them as the hero, and tells the story of their first year: the first laugh, the first tooth, the crawl across the kitchen floor.
You supply the milestones and the names of the people who were there, and we write and illustrate it fresh. The keepsake hardcover has a dedication page for the date and a printed bookplate, and it is the kind of book that gets read at bedtime this year and taken out again at every birthday after.
A first-year record they can read themselves
Baby books full of blanks rarely get finished, but a story does. This one turns the year into a picture book with the baby at the center, so the milestones you would have written on a form become pages you read aloud. Because it is drawn from a photo, the one-year-old in the pictures is unmistakably yours. And unlike the balloons, it lasts long enough for the birthday kid to read it back to you at six.
Five ways this book could go
Use one as it is, or tell us your own. The story is written fresh either way.
A year of firsts, told as the baby's own expedition from crib to kitchen to the big wide backyard.
The night before the first birthday, the stuffed animals plan the party and argue about the cake.
Everyone who held the baby this year takes one page to tell what they saw them do.
The family dog and the baby become best friends, one dropped snack at a time.
Baby's first steps, retold as a brave crossing from the couch to the arms waiting on the other side.
Your idea
The stuffed rabbit, the trip to the lake, the sourdough that never rose. Type it in and it ends up on the page.
Start the bookReady tonight, printed in about ten days
Tell us about them
Name, age, what they love, the occasion, and a photo or two. Up to three people or pets in one book, any age.
See the first pages free
We write and illustrate a story around them in the style you picked. Change anything before you pay.
Read it, then hold it
The digital book is yours in minutes. Add the Keepsake Hardcover with your dedication printed on the first page.
Gifting tips
- Collect the firsts from both parents and the grandparents; each remembers a different one.
- Write the dedication as a letter to the baby to open on their tenth birthday.
- Order the hardcover as the gift and share the digital edition with the grandparents the same day.
- Watercolor and cut paper look right in a nursery and keep the keepsake feeling.
One price per book
The Storybook
- Up to 24 pages in any art style
- Their photo becomes the hero
- Online, PDF and a link to share
Keepsake Hardcover
- 8.5″ square premium hardcover
- Dedication and bookplate printed inside
- Ships in 7–12 business days
Not sure of their photo or their favourite things? Send an e-gift and let them make it.
First birthday book questions
Is a book a good first birthday gift?
It is one of the few first birthday gifts that is still around at the fifth birthday. The child will not remember the party, but they will keep finding the book, and eventually read about their own first year in a story with their face in it. Parents also like that it is not another toy to trip over.
How do I fit the whole family in?
Three people or pets can be characters, so the baby, a parent and a grandparent, or the baby, a sibling and the dog. Everyone else gets a mention in the story or a line on the dedication page. If both sides of the family want in, two hardcovers with different casts is a happy solution.
Can I make it if the birthday was last month?
Yes. The book is about the first year, not the party, so it works as a late gift or a keepsake you make for yourself. Order the digital edition to read tonight, then the hardcover. Many parents make one for each birthday, which turns into a shelf of years.
What reading level is right for a one-year-old?
Choose the simplest level. That gives short lines, rhythm and repetition that read well aloud and hold a toddler's attention. The book grows with them: at three they will point at their own face, at five they will start reading the words, and by then the story of their first year is a favorite.
