How to Create the Perfect Personalized Book for Your Grandchild
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A step-by-step guide to designing a one-of-a-kind keepsake they’ll grow into.
Not Just a Book—A Museum of Them
Some gifts are meant for now. Others are meant to last.
The Museum of [Child Name] is designed to do both. It brings joy in the moment—with beautiful images and a grand unveiling—but also becomes a piece of family history. This isn’t a bedtime storybook; it’s a curated gallery of iconic artworks, each one reimagined with your grandchild as the subject. It’s quirky, visual, and completely unique.
In this guide, we’ll walk you through how to create one: from picking the right photo to writing a dedication that will mean something now and twenty years from now. If you’ve already read our Ultimate Guide to Personalized Baby Books, this is your next step.
Step 1: Know What You’re Creating
Unlike traditional personalized books, The Museum of [Child Name] is not a linear story. It’s a keepsake that imagines your grandchild across time, style, and imagination:
- As a Roman bust, chiseled and noble.
- As a dreamy impressionist child in a Monet-style garden.
- As a space-faring explorer in a retro-futurist poster.
Each page features a different artwork or historical visual style, accompanied by a short, engaging blurb. These aren’t stories with beginning, middle, and end—they’re snapshots. Each one introduces a real piece of art history, redesigned with your grandchild at the center.
Think of it as an art museum catalog for someone who hasn’t even started preschool yet.
Step 2: Choose the Right Photo
This is the most important part of the entire process. The image you upload will be used across all the art styles, from ancient sculpture to modern surrealism. It doesn’t have to be perfect—but it should be clear.
Photo Guidelines:
- Lighting: Natural light is best. Avoid shadows across the face.
- Expression: Neutral or lightly smiling. Avoid exaggerated expressions that may look odd in stylized formats.
- Framing: Face should be clearly visible. Try for a front-facing shot, or slightly turned.
- Avoid: Hats, heavy filters, pacifiers, or sunglasses. Hair should be visible.
If you're unsure, choose a few and ask a friend or parent which one feels most like your grandchild. That's usually the winner.
Step 3: Write the Dedication (Up to 150 Words)
At the front of the book, you have space for a personal note. It can be sweet, funny, heartfelt, or all of the above. The key is to make it timeless.
Tips for Writing Your Dedication:
- Use their name early in the message.
- Keep it future-proof: Write for the child at one year old and at eighteen.
- Mention a trait or hope: Curiosity, imagination, joy, bravery.
- Add your voice: Whether that’s poetic or playful.
Sample Dedications:
Sentimental
To our dearest Olivia, You are already a work of art. May this book remind you that wonder and curiosity are always part of you. Love, Grandma & Grandpa.
Lighthearted
To our tiny time traveler, You’ve already conquered nap time. Now you're conquering art history. Never stop exploring. With giggles, Grandpa Max.
Legacy-Oriented
One day, you’ll ask about these pictures. When you do, we’ll tell you they mattered because you mattered. With love, Nana Rose.
Step 4: Review the Preview
After submitting your child’s name, photo, and dedication, you’ll receive a preview of your book. It will be send to you by email within 2 days. Each book is hand made, so it takes some time as all worthwhile things do. This is your chance to confirm everything looks right before printing.
Check for:
- Correct spelling of the child’s name.
- Consistency and clarity of the face likeness.
- Whether the dedication appears as intended (check for typos or formatting issues).
Don’t worry if it isn’t perfect on the first try. Wyrd Story offers manual revisions to help ensure the likeness feels just right.
Step 5: Delivery & Gift-Wrapping Options
Once approved, your book will go to print. Production and shipping usually take 7–10 business days depending on your location.
Delivery Tips:
- Shipping directly to the child? Add a gift message in your order notes.
- Want to elevate the moment? Pair the book with a matching print of one of the artworks.
- Ordering for both sets of grandparents? Many families get one copy to give, and one to keep.
Why This Gift Works (Even Years Later)
Your grandchild might not remember the moment they received this book. But they’ll grow up with it on a shelf, in bedtime routines, or on display. And at some point, they'll ask, “Why am I in a painting by Van Gogh?”
That’s when this book does something no other toy or outfit can: it tells them a story about how loved, unique, and creatively imagined they always were.
Ready to start?
Make their first gallery show one they’ll never forget.
Still wondering if it's the right gift? Here are the top 5 reasons personalized books are perfect for grandparents.