personalized books

Nothing beats cuddling up with your lil one to read their favorite book, except, perhaps, reading a book about them. One of the first words a pre-reading child recognizes is their own name and with the personalized books created by Frecklebox they can do just that. Among the five stories to choose from ($20 for soft cover and $35 for hard), the Nature Namebook follows a little girl who is learning to spell her name. As she looks at her natural surroundings, she sees her name in beautiful photographs of blowing leaves, starry nights and seashell filled beaches. The collection also includes birthday books, a zoo book and a fairy tale.

With cute stories and stunning photographs, the books are sure to become permanent fixtures in your bedtime reading rotation and will be treasured as your tot grows old enough to read on their own.

A is for Apple, B is for Bear and C is for Cat. Sound familiar? After a while, all the alphabet books start to look the same. Sweet Art Design has a new twist on an old story.

Parents seeking to raise a multilingual child may find this book ($27) an entry to the languages of love — French, Spanish and Italian. Each letter is presented to the reader in English and another tongue with crafty and vivid illustrations that catch the young reader's attention. "Qu'est–ce qui commence avec la lettre B? What starts with the letter B? Un balloon qui flotte haut dans le ciel. A balloon that floats high in the sky."

While I try not to judge a book by its cover, which is available in green, pink or blue, the lovely binding declaring it "Chloe's Alphabet Book" makes it irrésistible.

More than a fun read, this story is a tribute to the lil one in your life. My son's eyes light up each time we open the hardbound book because he is the main character. And, the places and references in the story are all too familiar to him — the local playground, a Giant's baseball game and The San Francisco Zoo. To learn how to tailor a book to your child, read more