A personalised book about a name day

A name day is a smaller celebration than a birthday, and that is exactly what makes it lovely. It often turns up in the middle of an ordinary week, and suddenly there's a flower on the breakfast table and a little flag in the window. For a child it's a discovery: my name is in the calendar, and there's a day that belongs to me. A book about a name day gives the name a story of its own. It can also tell why your child was given the name they have – something many children want to hear again and again.

A name-day book can be about the day itself: the breakfast, the flower, the flag, perhaps a cake or a small present. But it can also make the name the main character – an adventure in which the letters lead your child around town, or a journey back in time to the person your child was named after.

Perhaps your child meets someone else who shares the same day, and they discover they are completely different in every other way. The book can also play with how the name sounds and looks: when Grandma calls it across the garden, when it's written with a stick in the snow, when it's made to rhyme with something silly.

This is the question that makes the book personal. Write in the story behind the name, if there is one: a grandmother who had the same name, a song you loved, a word from another language, a name you simply couldn't let go of. Write in which date you celebrate. If your child has a nickname the whole family uses, include that too, because it often has a little story of its own.

If your child's name isn't on any name-day calendar, as is true of a great many names, you can choose a day of your own. It can become a family tradition and part of the story.

In Sweden, as in Poland, Greece and many other countries, almost every day of the calendar has one or more names. The oldest come from the calendar of saints' days, and the lists have changed many times over the years as new names have become popular. A little flag on the breakfast table is a common way to mark the day in Sweden, but a single flower goes a long way too.

For the youngest, the book is about hearing their own name many times, ideally in a rhythm you can clap. Children who are learning to read love hunting for their letters on every page, and older children are often curious about what the name means. Look it up together after reading and write the answer at the back of the book.

You fill in the child's name, age and what they like, and upload a photo. The story about a name day is written for your very own child, and the thirteen pictures and the cover are drawn from the photo in the style you choose. Brothers and sisters, parents, grandparents or the pet can come along, up to five characters. If you would like to include something that has happened lately, a trip or a lost tooth, just write it and it is woven in.

The eBook is ready a few minutes after payment. Read it, change the text and ask for new pictures until you are happy. Then order it as an A4 hardback book, printed and sent to your door, or straight to the child as a gift. Do add the audiobook or the colouring pages. Start creating the book or read more about the prices. Would you like to see a finished book before you decide? Browse our example books.