A personalised book about life underwater

Beneath the surface lies a whole world that most people have only glimpsed – through a diving mask, in an aquarium or on film. That makes the sea tempting and a little bit mysterious for a child. A book about life underwater lets your child swim among shoals of fish, hide in the seaweed and follow creatures that look as though they come from another planet. There are octopuses that change colour, fish with their own lights and whales as big as buses. It sparks curiosity about real animals and a wish to look after the sea.

Under the surface your child can find a sunken boat full of old things, swim into a forest of kelp where otters play or dive right down into the deep, where the fish carry their own lights. Perhaps a coral reef has turned pale and needs help, or a whale has lost its calf. In the idea Deep-sea treasure hunt, it's an old map that leads the way.

Start with your child's own experience of water. Have you been snorkelling on holiday, gone crabbing off a harbour wall, watched seals from a boat or stood for ages in front of the fish at an aquarium? Write it in. A water-loving brother or sister can become a dolphin, the family pet gets its own diving helmet and a parent who swims every morning can be the one who shows the way to the right cave. If your child is a little scared of water, the book can let them dive at their own pace, with a turtle staying close by.

For the youngest it's colours, bubbles and fish swimming every which way. Pre-schoolers like meeting one animal at a time and hearing what it eats. School-age children can be given a dive with a task – a treasure, a net to be cleared away, an animal in trouble – and ten-year-olds a story about the deep sea, where it's dark and cold and nobody knows for sure what's down there.

An octopus has three hearts and blue blood. It can also change colour in an instant to blend in with the seabed. Draw an octopus together and colour it in three times, once for each hiding place: sand, seaweed and rock. Then fill the bath and test which things float and which sink, like a little marine scientist. Whales, by the way, are mammals and have to come up to the surface to breathe.

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