The most recent product to come down the pipes at the Parent Bloggers review network is a personalized book for children from Printakid. The folks at Parent Bloggers sent me a coupon code to order one of these books for free so I could let you all know whether I think they're worth it.
Here's how Printakid works:
1. Go to their Web site.
2. Choose from one of their stories.
3. Enter the child's name and physical characteristics (hair color, eye color, skin color, etc.) into their online form. You also have the option of adding the child's parent's names and the names of their friends.
4. Wait 2-3 weeks and a personalized book arrives.
I chose the Robots of Sedna space adventure because I'm a geek. In the space for Annabella's friends, I put Huck and Milo's names so they could be part of the story too.
The hardcover book is high quality with great illustrations, bright colors, and nice thick pages. The story is part Battlestar Gallactica, part Futurama. Annabella is the spaceship's captain, Milo is the pilot, and Huck is the science officer. This last part makes complete sense if anyone's ever seen the science experiments Huck's always performing on Annabella's Barbie (poor, headless Barbie.)
In my opinion, the writing isn't fantastic. It's hard to write a good children's book! But the truth is that my opinion is not the one that really counts here. Annabella, Milo, and Huck are all thrilled to be characters in the book, which makes it a definite favorite at story time.
My biggest complaint about the Printakid books was the fact that the company's logo is in several places on the book, including the front cover.
The book is 22 pages long and costs $24.42 (not including shipping). You can also order the book with a CD for $34.99, or a calendar for $5.69. Printakid also allows you to add a personalized message at the beginning of the book, which is a nice touch.
It's out of my price range for a birthday gift for the kids' school friends, but for very special friends and relatives, I'm definitely going to keep Printakid in mind.
My grandmother had gotten a book like this for me when I was little. I loved it so much and it is now one of my son's favorite books.
Posted by: duffgirl | September 07, 2007 at 10:44 AM
Do you know there's an other company in Quebec that does the same thing, with extrardinary story telling and graphics? You can see them at http://www.akidstory.com or http://www.jesuisleheros.com. Have a look, it's really worth it!
Posted by: Patrice Audet | May 04, 2009 at 11:14 AM
A good name is easier lost than won.
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