Buyer’s guide
How to choose a personalised children’s book
Prices checked on each company’s UK website on 29 September 2026.
We make Tandem books, so we are not neutral. This guide says what each company does well as well as what to check, and every figure comes from their own website.
A personalised book can be the present they keep for years, or one they read once. The difference is rarely the name on the cover. It is whether the pictures look like them, whether the story is about them, and what it costs once you get to the end of the checkout.
Six things to check before you buy
Does it actually look like them?
Most shops let you pick a character: skin tone, hair, glasses. A few draw the child from a photo. If you use a photo, ask what happens to it afterwards.
Is the story about them, or just their name?
Many books are one story with the name and the character swapped in. Look for a story that changes with the child: where they live, what they love, who is in their life.
What does it cost with delivery and extras?
The headline price is rarely the price you pay. Hardcover upgrades, cover colours, gift boxes and delivery can add £10 to £20. Go to the last page of the checkout before you compare.
What one hardcover gift really costs
One present, added up to the last page of each checkout.
Tandem · any of our books
- Hardcover
- £27.99
- Cover
- Included
- Your name on the cover
- Included
- UK delivery
- Free
- Total
- £27.99
Wonderbly · We Love Grandma-O-Saurus!
- Hardcover (picked for you by default)
- £39.99
- Cover colour, 3 of the 4 choices
- +£2.50
- Deluxe gift box
- +£9.99
- UK delivery
- +£4.99
- Total
- £57.47
Wonderbly’s cheapest hardcover with delivery is £31.98. Ours is £27.99, delivered.
Can you read the whole book before you pay?
Most good shops let you read every page first. Some charge for a proof. You should see every word before a printer does.
Does a person check it before it is printed?
Every personalised book is made to order. A person reading the finished book is the best protection against a mistake on page twelve.
Who made it?
Look for named authors, illustrators or people who know young children well. Somebody should be able to tell you who made it.
At a glance
Scroll sideways to see every column
| Company | Hardcover with UK delivery | Looks like your child | The story | Free full preview |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tandem | £27.99 | Drawn from a photo | Written for them | Yes |
| Wonderbly | £31.98 to £44.98 | Pick a character | Partly changes | Yes |
| Hooray Heroes | From £36.98 | Pick features | Fixed story | Yes |
| Librio | Priced in the builder | Pick features | Fixed story | Yes |
| Magical Children’s Book | £38.93 | Drawn from a photo | A new story from a theme | No, a £6.99 proof |
Standard prices for one hardcover, before offers. Wonderbly’s range is £26.99 to £39.99 plus £4.99 delivery. Hooray Heroes is £32.99 plus £3.99 delivery. Magical Children’s Book is £26.99, plus the £6.99 eBook you must buy first, plus £4.95 delivery.
The companies, one by one
Wonderbly
What it does well. The biggest choice of titles, from babies to grown-ups. Lost My Name, the book that started it in 2013, builds its story from the letters of the child’s name. You can preview the whole book, and it has more than 90,000 Trustpilot reviews.
What to check. Prices run from £19.99 to £54.99 depending on the book and format, and delivery is £4.99 on top. Three of the four cover colours cost £2.50 more, and gift boxes are £6.99 to £9.99. The child is a preset character. Their checkout says they cannot always offer refunds.
Best for: The widest choice of titles and occasions
Hooray Heroes
What it does well. Very detailed character choice: skin tone, eye colour, hairstyle, hair colour, and freckles and glasses on some titles. You can preview every page, and standard delivery is £3.99.
What to check. Softcovers start at £24.99 and hardcovers at £32.99. The story itself is fixed; the name and the look change. Most books are 28 pages.
Best for: Choosing exactly how the character looks
Librio
What it does well. Printed in the UK on 100% recycled paper, with a soft-touch cover. A full preview before you buy, and a 4.8 Trustpilot score.
What to check. Softcovers are £24.99; the hardcover price only shows inside the book builder, and delivery is added at checkout. The story is fixed; the name and the look change.
Best for: Buyers who care most about paper and print
Magical Children’s Book
What it does well. The child is drawn from a photo, and a new story is written from a theme you choose. You can add up to five characters and edit the words and pictures yourself.
What to check. Hardcover only. You buy a £6.99 eBook first as the proof, then the £26.99 hardcover, then £4.95 delivery. No authors or experts are named.
Best for: A photo likeness you want to edit yourself
Tandem (us)
What it does well. Your child is drawn from your photo, and the photo is never kept. The story is built around where they live and what they love right now. You read the whole book free before you pay, and one of us reads every book before it is printed. £19.99 softcover or £27.99 hardcover, delivered free, with nothing extra to add.
What to check. We are new, so there are only a few titles so far and no reviews of the books yet. We only deliver in the UK.
Best for: A story that is really about the child
Questions people ask
What is the best personalised book for a grandchild?
Is Wonderbly worth it?
What should I write in a personalised book?
How long do personalised books take to arrive?
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