When I was much, much younger, my uncle bought me a personalised story book as a gift which I still treasure to this day and so I've been thinking of buying Lara her own personalised book for a while. Unique Editions contacted me to see if I would like to review their personalised story books just in time for Lara's 2nd birthday!
A personalised story book is a unique gift. A book tailored to your child which can feature images and text relating to them and, if you choose to, the book can even their relatives and friends. We chose to order Lara a book called 'The Enchanted Garden of Lara' which we were told, could feature Lara and one close family member. Given Lara's fascination with all things gardening and her subsequent idolisation of her Grandpa, we thought it would be ideal if Grandpa could feature in the story too.
My initial impressions of the website weren't great. Unique Editions is, I presume, a French company and the site is translated into English for UK customers. The translation of the website (and the text inside the books) is ever so slightly formal and the site has an overall feeling of a very small company with some things yet to learn about a commercial website (or maybe that's just the web developer in me coming through?). Despite this, I found is incredibly easy to choose my book and to follow the instructions for personalising it.
To personalise the book you have to provide photos that will look good when trimmed and cropped. They have some very clear guidelines, recommendations and examples to help you get the best from your personalisation. Add to this the names of the people you want to mention and then they can generate you a preview of the finished article.
Unique Editions have a number of different story books for children from 0 to 10 years old but for children below 5 there is only one option which is a bit disappointing. Thankfully the Enchanted Garden is perfect for Lara.
Delivery took about 10 days from the point of ordering and we were kept up to date with progress throughout.
When the personalised book arrived I was really impressed. I hadn't expected the book to be quite as good quality as it is. Each page is brightly coloured, clearly printed on good quality paper and bound with a thick spiral ring. The beautifully-written tale of Lara in her garden features Lara as a snail, bumblebee, caterpillar and butterfly during her journey of adventure.
Lara loves the book. The moment she realised who the book was about, her eyes lit up and the biggest smile I have ever seen creeped across her face. I'm not sure Grandpa was as flattered though to be idolised as a bumble bee!
Unique Editions personalised books are priced in Euros so the GBP price can fluctuate but at present the books cost around £23 including postage.
The world of personalised children's books has come on a long way since 'Me and the Yellow-Eyed Monster'! Lara's Unique Editions book is a really very special gift that I hope she treasures as much as I have my own personalised story book (pictured below).
A personalised story book is a unique gift. A book tailored to your child which can feature images and text relating to them and, if you choose to, the book can even their relatives and friends. We chose to order Lara a book called 'The Enchanted Garden of Lara' which we were told, could feature Lara and one close family member. Given Lara's fascination with all things gardening and her subsequent idolisation of her Grandpa, we thought it would be ideal if Grandpa could feature in the story too.
My initial impressions of the website weren't great. Unique Editions is, I presume, a French company and the site is translated into English for UK customers. The translation of the website (and the text inside the books) is ever so slightly formal and the site has an overall feeling of a very small company with some things yet to learn about a commercial website (or maybe that's just the web developer in me coming through?). Despite this, I found is incredibly easy to choose my book and to follow the instructions for personalising it.
To personalise the book you have to provide photos that will look good when trimmed and cropped. They have some very clear guidelines, recommendations and examples to help you get the best from your personalisation. Add to this the names of the people you want to mention and then they can generate you a preview of the finished article.
Unique Editions have a number of different story books for children from 0 to 10 years old but for children below 5 there is only one option which is a bit disappointing. Thankfully the Enchanted Garden is perfect for Lara.
Delivery took about 10 days from the point of ordering and we were kept up to date with progress throughout.
When the personalised book arrived I was really impressed. I hadn't expected the book to be quite as good quality as it is. Each page is brightly coloured, clearly printed on good quality paper and bound with a thick spiral ring. The beautifully-written tale of Lara in her garden features Lara as a snail, bumblebee, caterpillar and butterfly during her journey of adventure.
Lara loves the book. The moment she realised who the book was about, her eyes lit up and the biggest smile I have ever seen creeped across her face. I'm not sure Grandpa was as flattered though to be idolised as a bumble bee!
Unique Editions personalised books are priced in Euros so the GBP price can fluctuate but at present the books cost around £23 including postage.
The world of personalised children's books has come on a long way since 'Me and the Yellow-Eyed Monster'! Lara's Unique Editions book is a really very special gift that I hope she treasures as much as I have my own personalised story book (pictured below).
