At What’s Good to Read we just love books. Books are fantastic, they can contain a wealth of knowledge, help improve education, can entertain for hours and they feature some fantastic stories for every single age group. We also like giving and receiving gifts, especially personalised gifts – and what gift is better than a personalised book? A book personalised for the recipient with their name on the cover and even woven throughout the story will bring a smile to anyone’s face and will certainly be one that will be remembered.
But where is a good place to get a personalised book that can be customised for the person (or people) that you want to give it to in a way that will appeal? That’s easy – the answer is Wonderbly. Wonderbly is a website where you can create customised personalised books for book lovers, adding names, dedications and even a character with a likeness of the recipient – making your child or loved one the star of the story in their own cherished book. And what better way is there to encourage reading in children than when their name is on the cover and within the story? An excellent way for young children to relate to the books and tales within them.
Wonderbly were very kind at let us sample their books. There is a lot of choice on their website for different age groups from birth to grandparents, families to siblings and couples to friends, all suitable for different occasions including new baby, birthdays and even weddings.
After a good look through the Wonderbly website, we decided that the book we would go for was one for the kids share from the Where Are You? Series. We chose the 36-page Where Are You? Save the Multiverse! in jumbo hardcover format that can be personalised with the names of 1 to 3 children (we had ours personalised with two names).
The Where Are You? Series of books are search-and-find books (think of the Where’s Wally books and you will be on the right track). Whilst recommended for readers 4-10 years old, they really are suitable for anybody from 4 to 94 as they are fun and interesting, who doesn’t like a good search puzzle? We sat together as a family trying to find the characters of the kids hidden within the very busy pictures.
Customising the book is extremely easy. You start by selecting how many children you want it personalised for (1, 2 or 3). You then add the youngest child’s name (first and last name). Then select if they are a boy or girl. Then you can select their skin tone (there are nine different types to choose from) before selecting a hair style and colour. You then repeat for any additional children being added. Once done you can then select what format of book you require – Softcover Journal, Softcover Jumbo, Hardcover Jumbo or Premium Hardback. You then select you cover from the three options – Galactic Green is the default and is free, Interplanetary Pink and Rocket Booster Blue have an additional charge of £1.50. And finally, you can add a free personalised dedication or message (up to 400 characters) that gets printed on the first page of the book (there is no extra charge for this).
Once you have added all the required customisation you can preview every single page of the 36-page book to make sure that you are entirely happy with it before adding it to the cart and making payment. You also have the option to have it gift wrapped for an extra charge. There is a shipping charge of £3.99 for standard delivery or £6.99 for speedy delivery (24 hours faster than standard) if shipping to the UK. Payment is made by Paypal. Once ordered, your personalised book is printed and shipped within 48 hours.
So what is this book actually about? In Where Are You? Save the Multiverse! our personalised characters have to save the world from Dr. Auric Fishfinger (what a fun name), an evil criminal mastermind. You need to visit five different universes (book universe, animal universe, food universe, shrunken universe and superhero universe) with your personalised characters (they change their look and outfits for each mission) and hunt for your characters and missing objects or people within the two page spreads featuring very busy colourful scenes. Our two intrepid characters had their own missions to complete.
Once you are successful in working your way through the story, completing all the missions and saved the world from the evil Dr. Auric Fishfinger, the fun doesn’t stop there – each universe has a further 10 puzzles each to go back and solve!
Overall, we are very impressed with the Wonderbly Where Are You? Save the Multiverse! personalised book. Its 36 pages provide an enjoyable entertaining story with absolutely hours and hours of puzzling pleasurable fun trying to find all the images within the larger pictures (some we spotted straightaway, others we were convinced that what we were looking for wasn’t actually there before persevering and finally spotting them).
If it is an excellent quality book printed in vivid colour on thick, high-quality paper sourced from sustainable forests (FSC-certified), it feels and looks quality and would make an excellent gift to be treasured. Not only is the book of great quality, but it is also an excellent way of getting the kids to share, working together to solve the puzzles whilst losing themselves in the story.
These personalised books at first glance seem quite expensive, starting from £24.99 going up to £54.99, but after receiving ours (hardcover jumbo format at £36.99) we can definitely assure you that it is worth the money for a number of reasons. It is personalised which is always going to be at a premium, but the personalisation involves a lot more than just putting a name of your choice on the cover.
- Personalised cover. The book can be personalised with up to three names, so is perfect for families and siblings.
- The name of each child (first and last name) is integrated into the story and puzzle missions throughout the book.
- Each person has a customised character so that their likeness is also represented on the pages, making it much more fun and engaging to each child.
- A personalised dedication can be added to the first page.
- Choose from hardcover or softcover and different book sizes.
- Luxurious quality thick paper used to give it that quality gift feel.
- Available in different languages: English, French, Italian, Spanish and Japanese.
- You can preview all pages before buying.
- Printed and shipped within 48 hours of ordering.
We feel that this is a wonderful book. It has a good story that children will enjoy reading but even more so they will enjoy their name on the cover and throughout the story. And then there are the search-and-find puzzles to solve that add hours of entertainment to the book, a book that can be taken anywhere to be read and worked on – it would make the perfect travelling companion.
If you are looking for a gift for any occasion, one that not only provides great entertainment but one that would make an excellent keepsake then the Wonderbly books are a good choice. The whole family has enjoyed working through this book – the kids have enjoyed looking through on their own and working together, and it certainly gets everybody spending time with each other.
An excellent addition to any child’s bookshelf, providing it is put down long enough to make its way there. A personalised book that will be cherished.
Will you be able to find yourself?
Rating: 5/5
RRP: from £24.99
For more information or to buy, visit www.wonderbly.com.
