Storybook Family
Built on child-development research

Your home. Your child. Their very first stories.

Picture books starring your kid — and the coffee machine, the pot, the stroller they see every day.

The full preview is free — no payment, no account.

A child on a step stool watching the coffee machine say good morningA child leaping over a garden puddle — the star of every pageA child watching the big blue pot make lunchA child reaching for the scooter waiting by the door

Backed by research

Not just cute. Proven to help little brains learn.

Kids learn words better from familiar objects

Toddlers transfer new words from books to real life more easily when illustrations show realistic, familiar things — like your actual kitchen.

Ganea, Pickard & DeLoache (2008), Journal of Cognition and Development

Personalized books boost engagement

Children learned new words better and stayed engaged longer when the book starred them by name.

Kucirkova, Messer & Sheehy (2014), First Language

Self-linked memories stick

Children remember information better when it’s connected to themselves — their name, their face, their world.

Cunningham, Vergunst, Macrae & Turk (2014), Child Development

How it works

A parent and child pointing together at their everyday favorite things on the kitchen table
1

Tell us about your child

Name, age, and the everyday things they love — the coffee machine, the red stroller, the big blue pot. One clear photo of your child is optional.

A child choosing a picture book from a cozy reading-corner shelf
2

Pick a research-backed story

We recommend topics matched to your child’s age and learning goals, each with the science behind it.

A watercolor brush painting a picture-book page starring the child
3

We paint their story

A cover and eight warm illustrated spreads starring your child and their familiar favorites. Read it here or download the PDF — hardcover printing is coming later.

Straight off the easel

Read a page before you make one

These spreads use the exact page layout, type, and watercolor treatment your book is printed with — art on one page, the story on the other, nothing cropped.

Leo padded into the kitchen in his sock feet. “Good morning,” puffed the coffee machine, and it brea…

Leo padded into the kitchen in his sock feet. “Good morning,” puffed the coffee machine, and it breathed out one small cloud of steam, just for him.

Page 3 of 16

At lunchtime the big blue pot burbled a bubbly song. Leo stood on his very tallest tiptoes to watch…

At lunchtime the big blue pot burbled a bubbly song. Leo stood on his very tallest tiptoes to watch the soup go around, and around, and around.

Page 4 of 16

The kinds of stories families will share here

Example stories — community publishing isn't open yet.

Browse all stories
Cover art for V. and the Very Loud Vacuum

V. and the Very Loud Vacuum

Fears & courage

S. · mom of a 3-year-old

Vera would scream every time the vacuum came out. We made it a shy monster who just wants to help clean up crumbs.

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Cover art for Our House Is Coming With Us

Our House Is Coming With Us

Big changes

D. · dad of a 4-year-old

We were moving across the country and Theo was anxious. The book showed his bed, his lamp, and his red chair packing their own little suitcases.

41
Cover art for M. and the Tiny New Roommate

M. and the Tiny New Roommate

New sibling

A. · mom of two

Before his sister arrived, Milo’s book showed him teaching the coffee machine, the dog bowl, and the stroller how to welcome a baby.

58
Cover art for Grandma Lives in the Phone (and in Our Kitchen)

Grandma Lives in the Phone (and in Our Kitchen)

Family bonds

K. · dad of a 3-year-old

Grandma is in Japan and we’re in Texas. In Emi’s book, Grandma’s dutch oven recipe travels through the phone into our real kitchen.

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Every family is a storybook family.