Skip to main content

A personalised birthday book for a first birthday, and every one after

Not a story with their name dropped in. A brand-new story about their day, from the first clap of the morning to the hush before the candles, with your child in every picture.

Start their birthday book

See where the story is heading before you confirm.

Cover of Clap, Clap, Pause: Rachel sits on her bed in star pyjamas, clapping, beside her teddy Pom and a bunch of balloons
Clap, Clap, Pause, made for Rachel, 3

Look inside

A real book, made for Rachel

Rachel was 3. These are pages from Clap, Clap, Pause, in Expressive Storybook Ink.

  1. Rachel sits up in bed in her star pyjamas, clapping, while Pom the teddy watches from the shelf
    Page 1
  2. Rachel peeks round the kitchen door with Pom, where Mum stands at the counter by a jar of spoons
    Page 4
  3. Rachel claps beside her blown-out cake as Pom, in a party hat, claps back
    Page 10
"Clap, clap... pause!" That's Rachel's clap, and nobody else can clap like that. Her birthday! She waits, still as a mouse. Will anything answer, in all of the house?

See how Rachel’s book was made

Why this story

What it does for them

For one day a year, a small child gets to be the whole point. Not for tidying up or trying hard, just for being exactly who they are. This book is built from the things that make your child them, so the day is about the person, not the presents.

Every birthday has a held-breath moment. The lights go down, every face turns toward the birthday child, and for one second they hold every wish there is. We write the book to land right there, so it ends where the day feels biggest.

It doesn’t need a big party either. A quiet breakfast with one candle, a picnic in the park, a living room full of cousins: tell us how your day goes and the story goes there. Years from now it’s more than a story. It’s a page-by-page record of exactly who they were at three, or five, or seven.

By age

How the story changes with age

  • Ages 2 and under

    For a first or second birthday: short, bouncy lines with sounds to join in on: a clap, a pop, a whoosh. One simple thread from waking up to the candles, with plenty of repetition to chant together.

  • Ages 3–5

    A small wish or mystery to carry through the day, a few funny surprises on the way, and the candle moment they’ve been waiting for since page one. Rachel’s book, made when she was three, is this kind.

  • Ages 6+

    Room for a quiet thought about getting older: what they can do now that they couldn’t last year. The wish stays a secret, and the last page leaves a line for the grown-up reading it.

How every story changes by age

Make it yours

The same moment, a hundred different stories

A few ways it could go. Yours starts with one sentence about your child.

  • Oliver’s seventh birthday, when the whole family finally gets to see his magic trick.
  • A half-birthday picnic in the park, because six months deserves a cake too.
  • Lucía’s birthday breakfast, with one candle in the pancakes and Grandma singing down a video call.
  • Turning five on a camping trip, with the cake balanced on a cooler box.
  • A birthday that starts with a lost party hat and ends with the best hat of all.

Not quite this moment?Write your own. A book for any moment, big or small, in a sentence.

Write your own

Yours to choose

What you can personalise

  • Their photo

    One clear photo. We draw your child as an illustrated character who looks like them on every page.

  • Up to 3 people they love

    A parent, grandparent, sibling or friend, from a photo or a few words of description.

  • 6 art styles

    From glowing watercolour to bold gouache and handmade paper worlds.

  • A dedication

    Your own message at the start of the book, such as “To our birthday girl: you make every year better than the last.”

  • Read-aloud

    Every paid book comes with a narrated version to play at bedtime.

Start their birthday book

See where the story is heading before you confirm.

Before you start

Questions parents ask

Is it right for a first birthday?

Yes. Books are made for ages 1 to 8, and for the youngest readers the writing is short and rhythmic, with sounds to join in on. A first birthday book is one for a grown-up to read aloud, and one to keep for when they are old enough to ask for it again.

Can I have it ready in time for the party?

The digital book is made once you confirm the story, so start a little before you need it rather than the night before. A printed copy needs time for printing and delivery, so order that one well ahead of the day.

Can someone outside the family give a personalized birthday book?

Yes, with the parents’ help, because the book needs a photo of the child. Buy a gift code and send it to the family. They add their own photo and choose the story, and the child gets a book that looks like them.

Can we make one every year?

Please do. Each book is a brand-new story, so a shelf of birthday books slowly becomes a record of who they were at each age.

More ideas

Other moments worth a book

From the blog

See every story idea

Their moment, their story

Add a photo and check the idea. Before you confirm, you will see where the story is heading, and you can ask for up to three changes.

Start their birthday book

Digital books from A$12.99, printed copies shipped to India, Australia, NZ, the US and Canada. See pricing