How it works
From a few words to a bound book.
- 01
Tell us about your child
A first name, an age band, and a handful of appearance words picked from chips: brown braids, deep brown skin, round glasses, a yellow coat. You can add up to three more details, like a hearing aid or a favorite striped shirt.
This is the entire input. No photograph, no last name, no birthday, no upload of any kind.
- 02
Pick a story seed, or write your own
Six warm starting points are offered, from the moon whale to the library under the tide. Or type your own idea in a sentence, which is where the best books come from, because you know what they have been talking about all week.
Every idea is read for tone before writing starts, first against a word list and then by a model.
- 03
The book is written, then painted
One model call writes the whole book at your child's reading level, including what each picture should show. Then each spread is painted in turn, carrying the same character sheet, so the hero is the same child on every page.
You watch pages arrive. Around thirty seconds a page. Leave the tab open or come back to it.
- 04
Read it, or hold it
The book opens in the reader as a real spread: story on the left, picture on the right. Any page can be re-painted if it is not right. When you are happy, order it as a hardcover for $29.
Print orders are handled by a person here today. Anders reads every proof before it goes out.
Reading level
A book for a three year old is not a shorter book for a nine year old.
2 to 4
Short lines, strong rhythm, one idea per page.
- Page length
- 25 to 40 words
- Voice
- very short sentences, present tense, repeated phrases welcome
5 to 7
A real plot, a small problem, a warm ending.
- Page length
- 45 to 70 words
- Voice
- short sentences, past tense, one gentle surprise per page
8 to 10
Longer paragraphs, more world, a little wit.
- Page length
- 80 to 120 words
- Voice
- fuller sentences, past tense, some dialogue, a dry joke is allowed
The output
What a finished spread looks like.
Mia and the Moon Whale
Mia could not sleep. The rain had stopped and the whole street was shining. She knelt on her bed and pressed her nose to the cold glass, and that was when she saw it. Something enormous and silver was swimming slowly down the middle of the road.
For Mia, who never wants the window closed.
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Questions