Warm sunshine on her face as she steps into the park. Her friend beside her, carrying a basket of picnic food. The dog trotting on ahead, sniffing every patch of grass. That is how our three-year-old's park book opens, and she is not on her own in it. A friend of hers came along, and so did one of our dogs.
Yes, a personalised children's book can include your child's best friend or the family dog. An Almia book carries your child plus up to two others, people or pets, each from one photo. Who you pick decides what the story is about.
Can a best friend or a pet be in a personalised book?
Yes. In an Almia book, once your child's character is approved, an "Add someone new" step lets you bring in a friend, a pet or a family member from one photo each. You write how each one appears in the story.
The form gives a few examples to start you off: Dad, Mum, Grandma, or the dog by name. People and pets count the same, and there is room for two, in any mix. A friend and the dog. The dog and the cat.
Your child is still the hero. The others are who they go with. So a personalised children's book with a pet in it is not really a book about a dog. It is a book about your child and their dog, which is a different thing and a much better one. A friend works the same way. Two kids at a pond is a friendship.
What do a friend and a dog add to a story?
Someone to share it with. In our park book, her friend carries the picnic basket, and when she spots a turtle on a log she has someone to show it to.
What we handed over was small. She loves going to a big park near us, and she loves the ducks and the turtles there. Those were the interests we gave the book: going to the park, ducks, turtles. The theme was fun with family and friends. Then the two companions, one photo each.
What came back was ten scenes. The first has the three of them walking into the park in warm sunshine, the dog out in front, her friend carrying the picnic basket. A picnic on a blanket under a big shady tree, the dog lying beside them. Then the pond. The dog sits on the bank while she reaches towards a yellow duckling, two mallards swimming behind. A turtle is sunning itself on a log, and she points it out to her friend. A duck walks up out of the water towards her.
Later she and her friend sit on the bank with a row of ducks and the dog. She claps as the ducks dabble, her friend kneeling beside her. At sunset the two of them hold hands by the pond, with the dog and a duck beside them. The last scene is the three of them walking home along the path.
Picture the same park without them. Still lovely, and a girl alone in it. Nobody carries the basket. Nobody gets shown the turtle. At sunset there is no hand to hold. The companions are what give the story something to do.
Interests are one way in. A day that actually happened is another, and a personalised book about a real day shows what goes into one of those.
The book's own tagline: "A picnic, a pond, and friends to treasure."
Will the dog look like your dog on every page?
Yes. You give one clear photo of the dog, with just the dog in it, and they look like themselves on every page they appear on.
In ours, the dog is a fluffy, golden, curly-coated dog, out in front on the first spread and walking home beside the other two on the last.
Your child knows their own dog, and so do you. So check the dog on the first page and again on the last. You read every page in the free preview before you decide, and you pay nothing until you order.
Who should you put in a personalised book with your child?
Pick whoever your child would actually want beside them on that adventure. If you cannot decide, start with the one they talk about most.
| Who comes along | What it adds to the story | Good for |
|---|---|---|
| A best friend | Someone to share the picnic with and show the turtle to | A child who talks about one friend all the time |
| The family dog or cat | Someone trotting on ahead, and someone to look after | Outdoor adventures, and a child who is never far from the dog |
| A brother or sister | A team of two | Siblings who already play together |
| A parent | The ordinary things the two of them do together | Father's Day, Mother's Day, or a routine worth keeping |
| A grandparent | The one thing only the two of them do | A grandparent giving the book, or a child who sees them often |
| An auntie or uncle | The favourite thing they always do together when they visit | A gift from an auntie or uncle, with them in the story beside the child |
A parent in the book makes its own kind of story, and ours was a book about her and her dad. If a grandparent, auntie or uncle is the one giving it, a personalised gift from a grandparent, auntie or uncle covers putting yourself in the book.
You do not have to fill both places. A child and their dog is a whole book. One companion they adore will do more for the story than two they could take or leave. For the park book we used both: someone to share the picnic with, someone to show the turtle to.
What photo do you need for a friend or a pet?
You need one clear, recent photo of each friend or pet, with only them in it and their face easy to see.
For a dog or a cat, that means the pet on their own, not on somebody's lap. For a friend, it means the friend on their own. The photo step is there to stop a photo with more than one person in it, so skip the group shot from the birthday party and pick one of just them. A still moment in good light beats a blur chasing a ball. If you are new to books made from a photo, how photo-personalised books work is the place to start.
Once you save a friend or a pet, they can come along in any future book without you uploading their photo again. That is how a dog becomes a regular. The obsessions change from book to book; the dog does not have to. How many personalised books one child can have follows a real run of them, and the companion who keeps reappearing in it.
A friend is another family's child, and a saved friend can turn up in later books too, so ask their parents before you add them. A quick text is enough. You would want to be asked.
A note on the book itself
We are Almia. Every book is built from scratch around the child it is for, and around whoever they bring along. There is no stock story about a girl, her friend with a picnic basket, a curly golden dog and a turtle on a log. That one was built for her.
If your child has a friend they talk about every day, or a dog who goes everywhere with them, you already know who comes along. Add them once and they can be in any book after that.
The specifics: hardcover, 26 pages, 170gsm silk paper, matte-laminated cover, A$59.95 plus A$16.00 delivery. It arrives in 7 to 10 business days in Australia and 10 to 14 in New Zealand, tracked. We currently deliver to Australia and New Zealand, with global delivery on the way. And you read the whole book free before you pay anything.
Frequently asked
Can a pet be in a personalised children's book?
Can my child's best friend be in their personalised book?
How many people or pets can be in a personalised book?
Will the dog look like our dog on every page?
What photo do I need for a pet or a friend?
Ellen & Diego, Founders of Almia
