A personalised book about the beach

At the beach, children get to do things they can't do anywhere else: dig as deep as their arms will let them, build something and watch a wave take it away, find pebbles and shells that feel like real treasure. Everything is big and open, and there are hardly any rules. A book about a day by the water carries the feeling of the summer holidays and sun cream with it, even on a grey November evening. It also lets your child meet the sea at their own pace – wading out a little further, peering down among the seaweed or daring to put their head under for the very first time.

A beach book can begin with crabbing off the jetty, a bit of bacon on a line and a bucket that is soon crawling. It can be about a packed lunch that a gull manages to steal, and how your child works out where the bird has hidden it. It can hold the first swim without armbands, or a treasure hunt with the map drawn in the wet sand. And it can end in the evening sun, with salt in your hair and sand in every single pocket.

Nothing has to be dangerous to feel exciting. A wave that's a bit bigger than the others is enough, or a crab shell that turns out to be empty.

A lake or a river counts just as much as the sea. Describe the place you usually go: the rocks, the jetty, the kiosk with the ice creams, the red spade that always comes too. Who swims furthest, and who only wants to sit on the blanket? If the dog has a habit of running straight into the waves, or your child has just learned to float, it belongs in the story. Perhaps there's a rock you always jump off, or a spot where you always eat strawberries on the blanket. If the beach was part of a longer trip, a book about a holiday would suit you too.

For the very youngest there are short words to say out loud: splash, sand, sun, wave. From about three, your child follows a whole day at the beach, from laying out the towel to the drive back home. A child of six or seven can solve the riddle of the message in the bottle by talking it through with a crab under the jetty, and an eleven-year-old can have suspense around an old lighthouse or a storm rolling in.

Set out pebbles and shells from the summer while you read, and sort them by colour or size. You can also talk about why the sea tastes salty and a lake doesn't: rivers carry tiny amounts of salt from the rocks into the sea, and when the sun warms the water, the water rises into the air but the salt stays behind.

You fill in the child's name, age and what they like, and upload a photo. The story about the beach 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.