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.

★★★★★ 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
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
30 pages · 10 chapters
  • Their very first keepsake
  • One sweet beat per spread, big art and few words
  • Reads aloud in about 5 minutes
  • All family types · all three storytelling styles
Digital PDF$19
Hardcover$64
Bundle$69
Start The Essential
The Deluxe
Every detail · the extended edition
42 pages · 16 chapters
  • 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
Your storytelling style

Three ways to tell it. Same story.

Same chapters, same magic. You choose how it’s written: a rhyme to sing, a simple book for little hands, or a richer story the whole family enjoys.

Keepsake Story, Richer, parents enjoy too

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.

Fuller chapters with warmth and wit, the version grown-ups love reading aloud.
A sample book

Meet Iris & Sam.

A fictional couple, a real example of what your book will feel like. Told in our Nursery Rhyme style, written to be read aloud.

Cover illustration of Iris and Sam
A personalized fairytale
What Led Us
to You
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 so wide,
Lived Iris, with books always close by her side.
She loved cups of tea and helping plants grow,
Making flowers bloom wherever she’d go.

Across that same city lived Sam on his own,
With a toaster that somehow burned everything brown.
No matter the setting, it always went bust,
But Sam ate it anyway, right down to the crust.

They both thought their lives were as happy as could be.
But stories have chapters no one can foresee.

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 morning, two phones gave a ding.
A dating app quietly changed everything.
They planned to meet later for coffee at four.
Sam got there so early he waited an hour.

He checked the front door every minute or two.
At five after four, Iris stepped into view.
The coffee arrived, and the hours flew by.
Neither wanted to say their first good-bye.

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 write it and email you when it’s ready to read, usually within a day. Take as long as you like to read it over, make edits, and choose how you want it illustrated. From there, a digital PDF is delivered within about one business day, and hardcovers are printed and shipped (see below).
When will my hardcover arrive?
Every book is printed one at a time, just for you. After you approve your story, printing and binding takes about a week, and then it’s handed to the carrier. Shipping is tracked and usually takes another 5–8 business days, so plan on roughly 2–2.5 weeks from approval to your door. We’ll email you when it goes to the printer and again with tracking when it ships. If you need it for a specific date, order about a month ahead to be safe.
What if I order the bundle?
You get both the digital PDF and the hardcover. The digital copy is delivered first, within about a business day of approving your story, so you have something to share and enjoy right away while your printed keepsake is being made.
Can I choose how the story is written?
Yes, there are three storytelling styles. Keepsake Story is our warm, richly written voice that parents love reading as much as their kids do. Little Reader uses short, simple sentences written for a four-year-old to follow on their own. Nursery Rhyme tells the whole story in gentle rhyming verse, made to be read aloud at bedtime. Same story, same details, three very different feelings. You’ll see a preview before you decide.
Can I choose how it’s illustrated?
Yes. After you approve your story, you’ll pick from four illustration styles, Storybook (detailed and classic), Simple & Sweet (soft watercolor, gentle lines), Sketchy & Loose (hand-drawn and full of energy), and Bold & Graphic (thick outlines, bright flat color), each in four color palettes. You’ll see personalized previews of your own book in every style before choosing.
Does my child have to be born already?
Nope. The book works just as beautifully before they arrive, many parents make it during pregnancy and give it on the day. If you don’t have a name yet, we use a stand-in (like “Peanut”) and you can update it later.
Will the characters actually look like us?
Yes, within the illustration style you choose. We use the photos you upload to draw characters that resemble you, and we keep them consistent from the first page to the last. You stay illustrated; the world around you is built from your real moments.
Do I get to read it before it’s printed?
Always. Nothing is printed until you’ve read your full story and approved it. You can edit any chapter, change the title, and choose your illustration style first. It’s your book, and you see it before anyone else does.
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 details 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.