Personalized Kids’ Books

Sat, July 12 2008

You know those personalized books you see advertised in coupon booklets? The idea seems really cute. I know I’ve seriously considered doing something like that for my sister before. PersonalisedStories.com offers children’s books as well as DVDs, music, singing stuffed animals and more.

I took a look but thought the site is lacking for a 5 year old girl. While she might like the Scooby Doo book or stuffed animals (of which she has plenty!) I thought the products were aimed for younger crowds – she’s 5 – or boys. They have a lot of superhero stuff (Spiderman, Batman) and sports but most everything else has religious undertones. There are some ballerina books but I know my sister wouldn’t like those.

There are Flinstones and LooneyTunes books but those seem a bit dated. Someone her age might not enjoy them as much as something like Dora, Blue’s Clues, or SpongeBob. There is a song section – which does include Disney Princesses (which she loves) – but these are quite a bit pricier than the personalized books. There’s also a Dora DVD which is, again, pretty pricey.

I like the idea of personalized books but think it’s hit or miss depending upon the child in question. I think younger toddlers and boys will be more at home with the books as there’s less choice for girls. Both genders would enjoy the singing stuffies but I’d probably pass on the music and DVDs – regular music and DVDs can be purchased for fractions of the price.

The other thing I see is that, while there are big names in the store, there’s a lot of generic junk that seems a little “cheap.” I think there’s definitely room for more products which use updated characters; overall, there is not a ton of variety and there is definitely room for expansion.

If there’s a little one you like to spoil, personalized stories might just be the way to go!