We were very kindly gifted books from In The Book for purposes of this review.
In The Book creates personalised storybooks for children. The creators of In The Book believe in the power of reading and the profound positive effect it has on our imagination and learning. With that in mind, they add magic to every book they create to help children develop a love for reading which will stick with them for life.
All of their books teach children about the world around them. What’s most fun about these books is that the child is involved in the story by personalising the book specifically to the child. It transforms an ordinary book into a lovely keepsake.
In terms of environmental impact, their books are made from environmentally friendly paper, and their paper suppliers are FSC approved.
We are really impressed with the quality of the books we received, both in how they are made and how the personalisation is incorporated into the stories.
Our shopping experience
My two younger kids (aged 7 & 11) happily shopped the In The Book website and each selected a book. I am really impressed by the huge variety of books they have on offer. There are books for all ages and all interests. Out of the many custom books I’ve reviewed over the years, In The Book by far has the largest selection of personalised books available. We were shopping the website for well over an hour – I didn’t think they’d be able to choose one. Lol
In the end, my daughter went with a Pooh Bear book and my son went with a book about a pet dinosaur. Both books have personalisations in them, which I will discuss in detail below. The process of entering the custom information was super simple and easy to use as was the check out process.
Some books are hugely customizable where you can create an avatar to look like the child and have them be the star of the story. Other books have the child’s name appear on the top of every page but not in the actual story. Some books allow you to upload a photo at the back. And they all let you add a custom note on the front page.
In The Book has options for gift boxes and some books come with a soft toy. The books we ordered each arrived in a beautiful gift box which was neatly packaged into a packing box.
Me and My Pet Dragon Personalised Book
My 11-year-old loves dragons so he settled on the Me and My Pet Dragon book. He also loved the idea of creating an avatar of himself to star in the story. Along with adding his name we also got to choose the name and colour for his dragon. He had a really good time going through the customisation options.
Personalisation options on this book include:
Style the illustrations to look like you and your choice of dragon
Names are featured throughout the story and on the cover
A message can be included on the opening page
Add your picture to the back page of the book
Luxury gift box available to make the gift extra special
I added a photo of himself and me for the back page. I also wrote a note to him that is on the opening page. The story itself is really cute and fun, we had a good laugh reading it.
Another fun aspect of this story is that they have his name all over the story, not just in the actual text but it also appears on the box the dinosaur comes in, and around the house. It was like a treasure hunt spotting his name. This is a truly personalised book experience.
We opted for the hardcover version with a gift box which added a real sense of occasion. The box is well made and nicely presented. It’s narrow and just barely larger than the book itself. I blurred out my son’s name in the photos, that is why aspects of the images are blurry, including the box that the dinosaur arrived in.
Winnie the Pooh Soft Toy and Disney Story Book
What can I say, when my daughter saw a Pooh Bear soft toy, that made up her mind on which book she wanted! You can buy the book on its own or as part of this gift set. The gift set option includes a custom book, soft toy and a large beautiful gift box.
This Disney Winnie the Pooh book has less customisation options than the dragon book my son chose. Rather than appearing in the story, the child’s name is printed on the top of each page, and on the cover. You can leave a note for the front page but not a photo.
Highlights of this book set include:
Your child’s name embossed in gold on the cover
Cuddly Winnie the Pooh plush toy
Include a special message on the title page
Beautifully illustrated, hardback Winnie the Pooh storybook
Presented in a splendid luxury gift box
This set comes standard as a hardcover book, and with the gift box and soft toy. It would make a really gorgeous and special gift. The story is a classic and we enjoyed sitting and reading it together. Pooh bear has been bouncing around the house with my daughter ever since and is an instant favourite. Again, I’ve blurred out my daughter’s name, hence the blurred aspects of the photos. The small box in the first photo is my son’s gift box and the large box is my daughters.
Final Thoughts
We are thrilled with our new books. The experience of creating them was fun with lots of great choices and customisation options. The quality is excellent. It’s well worth getting the hardcover books. I love the personal note I was able to add in each book as well. The gift boxes adds a luxurious sense of occasion to the gift.
