A personalized book about Father's Day

Father's Day is one of the few days when a child gets to be the one giving rather than receiving. That is a big deal: hiding a present, keeping a secret, carrying in a tray without spilling a drop. A book where your child plans and runs the day lets them feel capable and generous. It also becomes something dad can read aloud year after year, hearing himself tell the story of a day they shared. The book works just as well for a stepdad, a grandad or a family with two dads.

In the UK, Ireland and North America, Father's Day falls on the third Sunday in June; in Australia and New Zealand it is the first Sunday in September. Whenever it comes, the story has room to spill outdoors: a day that starts in bed and ends in the garden.

The book can begin with breakfast in bed and then set off – a treasure hunt for a secret present, a bird box knocked together in the shed, a walk as the sun goes down, an evening when dad learns your child's favourite game and loses spectacularly.

If dad has a hobby of his own – birds, football, bread left to rise overnight – it can become the day's adventure, with your child, for once, the expert.

What makes the book yours is the little things. What do the two of you do when you are home alone together? Does dad have a joke he always tells, a hat he never takes off, a dish he cooks every Friday? Put it in. Brothers and sisters or the dog can come along if they belong in the picture. If your child calls him something other than dad – a nickname, or a word in another language – write it that way.

If the book is to be a present from your child, there is more about that under Father's Day.

The youngest readers get short sentences with lots of repetition: Dad is sleeping, you are creeping, Dad wakes up. A pre-schooler follows the treasure hunt clue by clue, while children between about six and nine like a twist in the tale, something that goes wrong and is saved at the very last moment.

An older child can read the book to dad themselves. That becomes a tradition of its own: the child reads and the grown-up listens. Afterwards, ask what your child thinks dad is best at. The answer is rarely what you expect. Then put the book in a box with the drawings and cards from the same day, so it is all in one place when your child is grown up.

You fill in the child's name, age and what they like, and upload a photo. The story about Father's Day 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 hardcover book, printed and sent to your door, or straight to the child as a gift. Do add the audiobook or the coloring 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.