I love it when a product leaves one of the kids totally spellbound and that is exactly what happened when I showed Juliette the fabulous personalised storybook called "Juliette and Fairy Girl's Unicorn Hunt" that we were sent to review, featuring herself in the starring role ! Featuring herself not just in the fabulous illustrations, cleverly incorporating a photo of her face into each page (fourteen times, no less!), but also in the information - big sister Sophie gets a mention, as does our address. The first page also features a printed dedication to her with a little message from Mum & Dad - definitely a book that she will treasure for years to come.
The website explains, "This is the perfect book for any girl looking for a fairy adventure ! Produced in partnership with Bang on the Door, it uses a mixture of beautiful illustrations and photography to transport the child into their very own Fairy Girl world. The story follows the child's adventures when Fairy Girl leaps out from behind a foxglove in search of her missing unicorn. With a wave of her wand, the child spirals into Fairy Girl's magical world and meets her friends Pony Girl, Ski Bunny, Football Babe and Balloon Girl. Where do the sparkling tracks lead and will Fairy Girl find her unicorn?"
The story is great fun and, as it has a repetitive rhythm, Juliette (who can't read yet) loved joining in and completing the ends of the sentences she recognised with the names of the animals Fairy Girl was trying to find. She also loved recognising her name in the text, not to mention seeing her photo magically transformed in the illustrations. Pretty mindblowing stuff for a 5-year-old ! Juliette was over-the-moon, proudly showing her book to any visiting friends and family and even asking to take it to school, where she wowed her friends at storytime apparently !
She also has great fun trying to spot the animal tracks in each picture and using the final double page, showing all the Bang on the Door characters that feature in the book, as a "spot the picture" game, trying to find them all in the pictures. It's great to have these extra games as, believe me, this book will be pulled out time and time again to be read at bedtime !
The book is soft-backed with a laminated cover and contains 32 pages, each measuring 20.6cm x 21.7cm and made of thick glossy paper. The colours are vibrant, even on the photo, and the printing is very high quality, with the photos expertly merged into the illustrations. It is quite expensive if you compare it to similar non-personalised story books but this is a totally unique and enchanting gift that any little girl (and the rest of their family) will love and cherish forever. You're paying as much for the magical moment when your little girl discovers herself whisked away into the story as for the book itself !
If you'd rather buy for a little boy, they needn't feel left out because there is also a boy's version, SuperSox and the Vanishing Teddies. In fact, they have personalised books for just about anyone, including babies, adults and even pets, so if you want a really memorable present idea, I highly recommend you go and have a look. You can even have a sneak preview and look inside the book.
I'll definitely have to get one for Pierre and Sophie now so that they don't feel left out - and possibly even for Mike the Madhouse Daddy too !
star rating : 5/5
RRP : £19.99
for more information : https://www.itsyourstory.co.uk/
EXCLUSIVE DISCOUNT CODE : 20% discount off all books on site with the code is MADHOUSE20 valid until 15/12/2010.
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This looks lovely - will bare this in mind for our baby!
ReplyDeletePersonalised books are great and this one looks excellent!
ReplyDeleteI've just reviewed Blue Friesian personalised magazines too, which are another great keepsake to create :-)
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