Their Day, Their Book
Each story is built from what your child shares about today. Over weeks and months, those bedtime stories become a book of their childhood — the first day at nursery, the lost tooth, the time they were brave. It's a personalised children's book that grows with your family, made in the UK for UK bedtimes.
What Makes a Custom Children's Book Truly Custom?
Most custom children's books work from a fixed template: your child's name and maybe their hair colour are dropped into a story that thousands of other children also own. It's lovely — but the story itself was never really theirs. A truly custom children's book starts from the child, not the template. With Once Upon Today, your child chooses the animal hero, the place the story happens and the feeling to explore, and the tale is woven around a real moment from their real day. No two families ever receive the same story, because no two children have the same day.
How It Works, Night by Night
At bedtime, you and your child spend a minute or two reflecting together: what was the best tiny thing today? Was anything a bit tricky? You share that moment, pick the hero, the setting and the feeling, and the story is ready in moments — gentle, sleepy and shaped around whatever the day held. Read it aloud on screen, play it in a parent's own recorded voice, or download it as a beautifully set PDF.
Printable Keepsakes
Download any story as a beautifully set PDF to print at home, including a cut-out story card layout and a large-print edition that's easier for tired eyes and reading aloud. Share it with grandparents, tuck it into a memory box, or build a shelf of bedtime stories that only your family has.
A Book That Grows with Your Child
A printed custom book captures one moment and stays the same forever. A Once Upon Today library grows: the stories your child needed at four are different from the ones they'll ask for at seven, and every one is saved privately to your family library. By the end of a year, you don't just have a book — you have a record of their year, told kindly, one night at a time.
Shared with the Whole Family
Both parents can join one private family library, track which stories each child has read, and add narrations — even in a parent's own voice. Children with their own sign-in can read under their own name while parents keep the grown-up controls.
A Personalised Christmas Book, Ready Tonight
A printed personalised Christmas book is lovely — but it arrives once and gets read for a week. An Unlimited Year of personalised stories for kids is a Christmas gift that keeps going: a brand-new story from their own day, every night of the year, each one printable as a keepsake.
How It Works
- 1Talk About TodayYour child shares a highlight, a wobble or something they overcame
- 2Reflect GentlyIf the day was hard, they think about what they might do differently or how they wish it had gone
- 3Choose the HeroPick an animal hero, a place, a theme and a feeling to explore
- 4Drift Off TogetherRead the story page by page, or listen to it narrated — in your own voice if you like
Questions Parents Ask
- Is this a printed book delivered to me?
- No — stories are digital and ready instantly. You can print any story as a PDF at home, including a large-print edition for easier reading.
- How is this different from other custom children's books?
- Instead of a fixed template with your child's name dropped in, each story is written fresh from their real day and feelings — a custom story book for kids that no one else has.
- Can I make a book for more than one child?
- Yes. Add a profile for each child and their reading progress is tracked separately.
- Can my child help make the story?
- Yes — and we recommend it. Choosing the animal hero, the place and the feeling together turns the making into part of the bedtime ritual.
- Can I give it as a Christmas gift?
- Yes — Unlimited Year (£39.99) makes a thoughtful personalised Christmas book alternative: a new story every night for a year, with printable keepsakes.
- Can I make my own children's book over time?
- Yes. Every story you create is saved to your private library, and together they become a growing book of your child's early years.
- How much does it cost?
- 10 stories for £4.99, or unlimited stories and printable keepsakes for £39.99 a year.
10 stories for £4.99, or unlimited for £39.99 a year