A personalized illustrated origin story

The story of how your family began — written just for them.

Tell us how you met. We’ll write and illustrate a beautiful children’s book about the love story that made your family — whether your baby is here, still on the way, or you’re giving this as a gift for someone who’s expecting.

★★★★★ The Shrek Principle · a kid’s book adults will actually want to read aloud
Read the sample book ↓
Watercolor illustration of Iris and Sam — the parents from the sample book — in soft picture-book style
From the sample book
Every family. Every origin. Every kind of love.
👩‍❤️‍👨 Mom & Dad
👩‍❤️‍👩 Mom & Mom
👨‍❤️‍👨 Dad & Dad
🤍 Single Mom
🤍 Single Dad
Your version
How it works

Three steps. One small forever thing.

No design skills. No writing. Just the bones of your story, a few photos, and about ten minutes.

01

Tell us how you met

A warm, guided questionnaire — not a wall of blank fields. We ask the right questions and you fill in the small, specific, weird, wonderful details that make the story yours.

02

Upload a few photos

Two to four pictures of the parents, plus optional snapshots from key moments. Our illustrators draw stylized characters that look like you and ground every scene in your real story.

03

We make the book

A 16, 24, or 36-page hand-illustrated fairytale, delivered as a digital PDF or a real printed hardcover. Heartwarming on the surface. Quietly funny underneath. Yours forever.

Choose your story

Three lengths.
One unforgettable story.

From short and sweet to every detail — choose the length that feels right. Digital for instant keepsakes. Hardcover for the long shelf.

The Essential
The origin story · short & sweet
16 pages · ~600 words · 6 questions
  • Their very first keepsake
  • One sweet beat per spread — big art, very few words
  • Reads aloud in under 3 minutes
  • All family types · all three tones
Digital PDF$19
Hardcover$54
Bundle$59
Start The Essential
The Deluxe
Every detail · the extended edition
36 pages · ~1,800 words · 20 questions
  • For families who want every detail
  • Deeper character chapters & extra memories
  • Bonus epilogue page they fill in someday
  • The keepsake for the long shelf
Digital PDF$44
Hardcover$89
Bundle$99
Start The Deluxe
The Shrek Principle

Three tones. Same magic.

A children’s book that adults will actually enjoy reading aloud. Sweet on the surface. Knowing winks underneath. You pick the dial.

Balanced — Sweet with a smirk

He got about a third of the way through before he started crying. Iris said yes before he got to the question. Sam will tell you it was very romantic. Iris will tell you it was a Tuesday. Both of them are technically correct.

The Shrek default — touching at face value, with dry winks underneath.
A sample book

Meet Iris & Sam.

A fictional couple, a real example of what your book will feel like.

Cover illustration of Iris and Sam
A personalized fairytale
Once Upon
a Us
The Story of Iris & Sam
(and the Arrival of Olive)
✦ ✦ ✦

For Olive —

Before you were you, this was the story.
Now you’re here, and it’s the best part.

Chapter One

Before You

Once upon a time, in a city that was loud but tried its best, there lived a woman named Iris.

She liked her tea too hot, her novels too long, and her plants slightly more than was strictly reasonable.

Across the very same city, in a kitchen with a stubborn toaster, there lived a man named Sam.

The toaster burned the toast. Sam ate it anyway.

Both of them were perfectly fine on their own.
(Both of them would later disagree with that.)

2
Two-panel watercolor of Iris reading by a window and Sam at his toaster — two parallel lives.
Iris and Sam in a cozy coffee shop, both holding the exact same brown hardcover book.
Chapter Two

The Meeting

One Saturday in October, a small machine made a quiet decision.

Iris’s phone buzzed. You and Sam matched.

Sam’s phone buzzed too. He stared at it for a long moment, then went and ironed a shirt he hadn’t worn since a wedding. They agreed to meet at four o’clock.

Sam arrived at three.

(He’d say it was so he could find a good seat. We all know it was nerves.)

At five past four, the door swung open. Iris walked in — slightly out of breath, slightly windswept — and holding the same book.

She stopped. He stopped. A barista, sensing fate, charged them for a third coffee neither of them ordered.

5
Read the full Iris & Sam story →

or start your own story →

The perfect baby shower gift

Buy it for them.
They fill in their own story.

You pick a tier and check out. The expecting couple gets a private link to fill in their story themselves — in their own words, with all the details only they know. When they’re done, we write and illustrate the book. You get the credit for the most thoughtful gift at the shower.

01

You choose & give

Pick The Essential, The Classic, or The Deluxe. At checkout, select “I’m buying this as a gift.” You can add a personal message.

02

They tell their story

The couple receives a private link and fills in all the details — how they met, the little things only they know, their baby’s name (or the nickname they’re using until the big reveal).

03

The book is made

We write and illustrate their book, personalized with everything they gave us. It ships to them — a keepsake they’ll read to their child for years.

Give as a baby shower gift →

Works whether the baby has arrived or is still on the way · No spoilers required

FAQ

Questions people ask.

How long does it take to make a book?
You’ll spend about 10 minutes telling us your story. We’ll generate a preview of the first half in a few minutes — you can read through it page by page and tweak before you buy. Final books deliver as a digital PDF instantly. Hardcovers ship in 7–10 days.
Does my child have to be born already?
Nope. The book works just as beautifully before they arrive — many parents pre-make it during pregnancy and give it on the day. If you don’t have a name yet, we use a stand-in (like “Jellybean”) and you can update it later.
Will the characters actually look like us?
Yes — within the watercolor fairytale style. We use the 2–4 photos you upload to generate stylized characters that resemble you, kept consistent across every page of the book. You stay illustrated; the world around you gets grounded in your real moments.
What if our story isn’t exactly G-rated?
That’s sort of the point. Tell us the real version. Our content team applies tasteful guardrails so the finished book stays kid-safe, while keeping the wit, the timing, and the specific details that make it you. The Cheeky tone in particular is built for this — every line lands twice.
Can I make this as a gift?
Absolutely. Gift Mode asks broader questions that a close friend would realistically know, with the option to send the couple a private link to add their own “Secret Ingredients” before the book is finalized. Then it ships to them — surprise included.
What about same-sex, single, blended, and adoptive families?
Every family type is a first-class option in the flow, with no “other” afterthought. Pronouns and story framing adapt fully. The story belongs to your family, however that family came to be.