5 of the Most Popular Personalized Children’s Books. Updated as of May 2024

We explored some of the most popular personalized children's books so you don't have to! Here’s a list of 5 personalized books every child should read. These personalized books for kids are perfect for giving your little one extra confidence, teaching them kindness, and encouraging their imagination to run wild. From personalized baby books to personalized kids books, these stories make each reading experience unique and special.


#1 The Little Girl/Boy Who Lost Her/His Name - Wonderbly


One of Wonderbly's oldest titles, The Little Girl/Boy Who Lost Her/His Name begins with your child waking up and realizing their name (which was hanging on their bedroom door) is missing. The book takes your child on a magical adventure down a magic rainbow trail under their bed. Along the way, they meet and help different animals and mythical creatures that each gives him/her a letter in their name. You can even change out the characters for each letter from a couple of choices. 


With beautiful illustrations, and wonderful values and concepts, The Little Girl/Boy Who Lost Her/His Name is an amazing book to help little ones learn their name, learn about other animals and even learn more about the world we live in. 


Here’s an example of a great life lesson from the book -  on how not to judge or stereotype people by their names or appearances:


" ‘So...people think you’re bad,’ the girl said, ‘when you’re really kind?’
‘Right! But people hear my name, and just make up their mind.’ "

While this book makes a great keepsake, there's not much depth to the actual story. While the characters and illustrations are wonderfully imaginative, the base plot of the book is fairly standard and unimaginative. That being said, The Little Girl/Boy Who Lost Her/His Name makes an extremely thoughtful gift, and there's little doubt that it will be treasured for many years. 


#2 You Can Change The World! - I See Me


You (or your kid) Can Change The World reinforces the idea that every action and choice we make affects the world - so why not make it positive? In heartwarming explanations, the book takes your child through all the ways they can make a difference in the world. From being kinder to taking care of the earth, your child will learn many different ways to make the world a more caring, loving, and kinder place to live (we could all do with a little more of that, to be honest!)


As beautiful as this book is, it is not very long, so you may want to consider that before choosing this particular title. You can also include a keepsake box, a gift bow, and even a photograph of your child inside the book. You Can Change The World ends with some wise words from Mahatma Gandhi -


“Be the change you wish to see in the world”


#3 Around The World - Shutterfly


Shutterfly’s Around The World transports your child from country to country across the world and showcases how people live and work in different countries. The book is a great way to teach kids about different countries and introduce your child to a multicultural reality. Kids are encouraged to love others, even if they are different. Here are a few great lines from the book:


“Although we may be very different, 
In appearance, homeland, and name, 
The love we feel in our hearts, 
Is what makes us all the same.”

Although this book does a good job of opening up the complicated topics of race and ethnicity, the book only touches the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the intricate and beautiful nuances of culture. Without any further explanations, knowledge, or conversation with your child, the book could actually reinforce stereotypes - so tread carefully with this one! 


#4 When You Grow Up - Hooray Heros


This book from Hooray Heros has two editions - a daddy and a mommy edition. The book can also be personalized to include ten different professions for your child, including an astronaut, a pilot, a doctor, a rockstar, a coder, a teacher, and many many more. This book is a heartfelt letter from a proud daddy or mommy that wants their child to grow up to be whatever they want to be. 

With gorgeous illustrations, the book can be further personalized to have the mommy or daddy appear on every page of the book. These lines sum up the book well:

 

“ I’ll pull out all the stops to see you achieve
Anything you set your mind to.
Just believe in your heart and let it guide you.”

 

The core idea from the book is to let your child know that you’re going to be there to cheer them on no matter what career or life path they end up choosing - and When You Grow Up does that exceptionally well! 


#5 The Orangey-Tan - Manimal Tales


Yes. Yes. We are shamelessly plugging ourselves - but that’s only because we (and so many of our customers) think The Orangey-Tan is an amazing book that teaches kids about difficult topics like politics, elections, racism,  and perhaps the most complicated, incomprehensible topic of all - Mr. Orangey-Tan himself. 


The Orangey-Tan follows the story of how your child and other manimals (they speak!) set out on a mission to rid Manimal Land of the rightfully elected, but evil Orangey-Tan who is locking up manimals that are different than him and his rich friends. The book teaches kids to stand up for what's right, and takes your child on an adventure that ends with them being the hero of the story!


While Sue (the author) has received a fair amount of backlash for writing a political book for kids, there has also been an overwhelmingly positive response from parents and grandparents about how we need to talk to our children about politics (Sue has a blog about this that you can read here). The truth remains that there are few, limited, and unimaginative ways that exist to help your child make sense of the increasingly divided and political world we find ourselves in. That's where The Orangey-Tan excels! So if you're looking for something to help your child find their voice against the injustices we see today, The Orangey-Tan is exactly the title you're looking for. 


Here are a few lines from The Orangey-Tan that we’ll leave you with:


“We should never take our freedoms for granted,
It’s easy for injustice to spread once planted.
It is the duty of all of us to say, ‘This is not OK’,
And we must all resist, each in our own way” 

General Questions

Manimal Tales is a publisher of beautifully illustrated personalized books. We have personalized books for children and adults. From birthday books to new baby tales, and from bedtime stories to ABC books, we have custom books for all occasions!

We even offer PhotoStories, our personalized picture books with photos.

At Manimal Tales, we fervently believe every child should be the hero of their own story!

Personalized books (or custom books as they are sometimes referred to) allow the reader to become the hero of the story - literally.

The main character in the story is the reader / receiver of the book, and is represented by an avatar that looks like them. There are usually lots of additional personalized details printed in the stories, including the receiver's name, age, family members and more.

Our PhotoStories offer a whole new level of personalization by allowing you to add your own photos into the story and have them printed out with the book.

Browse through our collection of custom books to see which ones work for your loved ones!

It's super easy to personalize your own book!

Browse through our collection of personalized stories and select the titles you want. On the product page, add the details required to personalize the book (name, age, family members, photos etc.). You can then preview the entire book before you buy, so you know exactly what you're going to get!

Once you're satisfied, add the book to your cart, enter your payment details and your unique, one-of-a-kind personalized book will arrive on your doorstep in 6 to 9 days!

The short answer is that it depends on the personalized book title in question!

All books will have your loved one as the main protagonist and their name will be printed on the book cover as well as in the story.

In some of our books like Dreamland and What Will I Be? the (the An ABC Story) your loved one's name is printed on every page.

In our Manimal Tales series, in addition to your child's name, you can select an avatar that looks like your child.

In our custom baby tales, Your Baby's Story and Your Baby's Story (Sibling version), you have to enter names and select avatars for the parents and the siblings as well.

And for our PhotoStories, you can further customize the books by uploading and adding your own photos directly into the book. The stories have been written to incorporate the photos as part of the story itself.

Whichever personalized book you do choose, we guarantee your loved one's will love our custom tales just as much as we do!

We have books for all ages and occasions! On the menu bar at the top of the page you can filter through our collections of personalized books by a variety of different criteria.

We have personalized books for:

- Birthdays

- New babies / baby showers

- Bedtime books

- Back To School / ABC books

- Seek & Find books

We also offer custom books with engaging stories about:

- Friendship and bravery

- Standing up for your beliefs

- Animal rights and adventure

We have personalized books across all ages:

- 0 to 3 years

- 3 to 6 years

- 6 years and above

- Adult stories

Lastly we have our PhotoStories, which allow users to upload photos and have them become part of the story!

- Happy Birthday Personalized PhotoStory

- Your Baby's Personalized PhotoStory

Nothing beats getting a book with your name on it!

Personalized books are treasured and loved by all, and make great keepsakes.

We offer custom books for all occasions, ensuring you will always find a book to meet your needs.

You can always reach us by filling out our Contact Form.

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