A personalised book about the forest

The forest is a playground without a fence. There are rocks to climb, logs to balance on, anthills to watch from a sensible distance and paths that lead somewhere you don't know. Many children know the woods from nursery outings or Sunday walks with a flask of hot chocolate. In a forest story, your child becomes the one who finds the way, reads the tracks and works out what's rustling behind the fir tree. It suits children who already love being outdoors, and children who need a little coaxing to put their wellies on.

In a forest book, your child can follow deer tracks to a clearing where nobody has been for a long time. They can pick blackberries until their fingers turn purple, or find a stream and build a dam out of stones. Your child might get lost for a little while and remember to follow the water downhill back to the path. It can all end at a wooden shelter, with sausages on sticks and a crackling fire.

The forest also leaves plenty of room for a touch of magic: a rock that looks like a troll, a tree stump with a door in it, a squirrel's nest where someone has left their scarf behind. Your child can build a den of branches on the ground, or climb even higher in a tree house.

Everyone has a forest of their own, even if it's just a little wood behind the school. Tell us about the place you usually go: the rock with its own name, the tree that blew down, the stream where wellies always end up wet. Write in who comes along – the nursery group, a grandad who knows every bird, the dog running on ahead – and what's in the rucksack. If your child has found something special, like a feather or the lacy skeleton of a leaf, that very thing can become the book's treasure.

A child who isn't three yet gets the forest through their hands: soft, rough, wet, cold. At pre-school age it becomes a walk with a little riddle along the way. An eight-year-old can follow a trail of tracks and talk to the animals they meet. For the oldest readers it might be a night in a tent, with sounds you don't recognise and courage that grows.

Take the book outside and look for the things you've read about. If you find a tree stump, count the rings together – each ring is roughly one year of the tree's life. And talk about how the woods are there for everyone to enjoy, as long as we leave the animals in peace and don't damage what's growing.

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