Why the theme Eating well makes a good book
An adventure that suits the child
At the dinner table there's a lot that children don't get to decide for themselves, and perhaps that's why a new taste can feel so huge. A picture book moves the tasting from the plate to the imagination. There your child can be an explorer investigating a piece of broccoli as if it were a tiny forest, or a chef who decides what goes into the pot. Nobody nags and nobody counts mouthfuls. The book gives you something to talk about the next time an unfamiliar dish appears, and perhaps a little more curiosity than last time.
Saucepans, markets and brave mouthfuls
The story can take place almost anywhere there's food: at a market with stalls that smell of cinnamon and lemon, in a kitchen where your child and Grandad are making soup, at a picnic where every box hides a surprise. A journey can lead to a country where people eat with chopsticks or with their hands, and the vegetable aisle in the supermarket can become a jungle to explore. It's not about clearing the plate, but about daring to look, sniff and take a tiny bite, and about it being perfectly all right to think something tasted odd.
Your own plate
Write in what your child already loves – fish fingers, porridge with honey or Mum's lentil soup – so there's somewhere safe to land. Tell us what feels difficult right now, too: mushrooms perhaps, or anything green. If there's a dish that belongs to the family, something Grandma makes or that you eat when visiting relatives in another country, it can have a page of its own. And the cat begging under the table is very welcome to join in.
Tasting at your own pace
For 0–2, food becomes words, colours and sounds: crunch, slurp, yum. At 3–5 your child will recognise themselves in a brave little taste, and at 6–9 it can become a cooking contest in which your child has to invent a brand-new dish. At 10+ the book can bring in food from different parts of the world and the stories behind it.
After reading, let your child help rinse, peel or stir the pot. Set out a tasting plate of teeny pieces where saying no thank you is allowed, or draw a menu for your own restaurant. A visit to a farm also shows where some of our food comes from.
Your child is the hero
You fill in the child's name, age and what they like, and upload a photo. The story about trying new food 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.
From eBook to hardback book
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.
How the story could begin
The restaurant sits at the very top of an oak tree, and you are the chef. The worktop is a broad branch, the saucepans hang from ropes, and outside the window the guests are already queuing. First comes a hedgehog who wants something crunchy. Then a mole who only eats things that are orange. Last of all comes a giraffe, so tall she has to poke her head in through the roof. “I'd like something I've never tasted before,” she says. You search the larder. Right at the back is a jar you've never opened, with a label that says “Taste carefully”. You unscrew the lid. It smells strange, a little sour and a little sweet at the same time. The giraffe waits. The hedgehog waits. Even the mole has stopped chewing. You dip the spoon and lift it slowly to your mouth.










