Review – Amazing Pages personalised children’s books

Both my girls love books and having stories read to them. We have a few personalised books which are amongst Jessica’s favourites – she loves seeing the cartoonised versions of herself in the stories and they are often requested by her at bedtime. The latest book in her collection of personalised books is one from Amazing Pages – the story of Jessica and the Shy Mermaid, which featured a photo of Jessica in the illustrations instead of a cartoon version.

Finding a photo that was just right for the book had been a little tricky. Jessica was facing slightly sideways in the first one I submitted. This wasn’t ideal, and I was contacted by James from Amazing Pages with some guidelines on what was needed (which are also on the website) to help me find a better photo. I had hundreds of photos of Jessica – but finding one where she was directly facing the camera without wearing a hat, or having her hair all behind her back, or without anything obstructing her face was a lot more difficult than expected! Thankfully, I did manage to find one which was just right and I loved the way it was incorporated into each illustration in the final book.

Jessica was very excited to see her own face looking back at her from the book. I loved the fact that the use of a photo meant that even two-year-old Sophie could see it was Jessica in the story: “look, Mummy, it’s Jess-sha!” she squealed, as soon as she saw it.

We loved reading the story of how Jessica met a mermaid on the beach and helped her to find her lost voice. There were a few extra little details included – Jessica’s best friend E was mentioned, as was her favourite toy and the place where we live. The book was good quality, with easy to read text, brightly coloured illustration and nice thick paper pages and at 35 pages long, it was the ideal length – long enough to make for an interesting story, but short enough to hold both the girls’ attention throughout.

Amazing Pages currently have three personalised book options available – [Child’s Name] and the Shy Mermaid, [Child’s Name] Space Patrol Alien Catcher and [Child’s Name] and the Lazy Llama. The Shy Mermaid and Space Patrol Alien Catcher books are aimed at children aged up to seven years old, and the Lazy Llama book is for girls aged up to five. I’d love to see some more story options available, especially for boys as The Space Patrol Alien Catcher is currently the only one available.   The books can be personalised with either a photo or an illustrated version of your child (created using the online customiser). Prices range from £16.99 to £23.99 depending on the book chosen and the options selected. This is similar to other personalised books I have purchased and seems a reasonable price given the quality. If you are trying to find a personalised book for your child, Amazing Pages are definitely worth a look.

Disclaimer: I was sent a free personalised book from Amazing Pages to review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.