A personalised book about Halloween

Halloween is the night when you're allowed to be a little bit scary and a little bit scared at the same time. Children can dress up as anything they like, walk through the dark with a pumpkin lantern and knock on the neighbours' doors. For many it's a game with fear, where you decide for yourself how close to the spooky stuff you want to get. A book about Halloween gives a child exactly that control: the skeleton turns out to be friendly, the dark has lights in it and the child is the one brave enough to open the door.

A Halloween book can follow the child through the whole evening: choosing a costume and face paint, carving a pumpkin, going round the neighbourhood with friends. The pumpkin's insides can become soup and the seeds can be roasted in the oven, a calm start to an evening that is allowed to grow. It can also swing into the magical – a house where the bats are throwing a party, a witch who has forgotten her spells, a skeleton who only wants someone to dance with.

The spookiness stays at a level you can laugh at. If your child wants more ghosts for the rest of the year, there is a haunted house theme of its own.

Write in what your child is dressing up as, and it can appear in the pictures. If you made the costume yourselves from a sheet or a cardboard box, describe it with all its wobbly edges. Include the friends or siblings who come along, the street you usually walk and what your child loves – or doesn't love – about the evening. If your child is scared of the dark or of masks, the story can take that seriously and let them set the pace.

If you don't celebrate Halloween but would like a book about dressing up and pumpkins, that works just as well.

Halloween falls on 31 October and grew out of old autumn customs from Ireland and Scotland, where people carved lanterns from turnips long before pumpkins took over. The very next day is All Saints' Day, when in many countries people light candles on graves to remember those who have died – a quieter, older tradition that can be lovely to talk about.

For the very youngest, more pumpkin than ghost is best. Four- and five-year-olds often enjoy a teeny shiver, and from school age the story can carry more suspense. Afterwards, talk about what is pretend-scary and what is real, or draw a map of your street with the houses that usually have a lit pumpkin on the step.

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