Turn one favorite photo into a children's book
You do not need a perfect photoshoot. One clear photo, a name, an age, and a few details are enough to build a story that feels like it belongs to your child.
Start their book: upload the photo, see a free preview
Which photo to pick
Face toward the camera, eyes open, decent light. That is the whole list. The photo from the birthday party where they are mid laugh works better than the posed one from the studio, because the book needs to know what their face does, not how it sits still. Phone photos are fine. Skip sunglasses, hats pulled low, and the picture where a cousin's elbow covers half their face.
The details go further than the photo. Age, what they love right now, and one or two true things from this month: the word they cannot say yet, the bedtime line you both repeat. Those are what make the story theirs instead of a template with a name typed in.
What we do with it
We draw your child as the hero, on the cover and on every one of the ten spreads, in the illustration style you pick. Ten styles, from Dreamy Watercolor for bedtime to Bold Cartoon for a kid who runs everywhere. Then a story is written around the details you gave. Then a person checks every page before anything is printed or emailed.
You see the cover and a spread for free before paying. If it does not look like your child, swap the photo or tweak the details and preview again. Nobody is charged for a preview.
Printed or digital
The printed version is a 6 by 6 inch board book: chipboard pages, matte laminate, rounded corners, 20 pages. It is $49 and ships within the United States in about two weeks. The digital story PDF on its own is $19 and arrives by email. If you order the board book, the matching PDF is a $10 add-on and we send it first, which is the one to pick when the birthday is closer than the mail.
Making books for two children? Two board books are $89 together with free US shipping.
About the photo afterward
The photo is used to make the artwork for your order. It is not used to train anything, sold, or shared. The full version, in plain words, is here.
Upload the photo and see the preview. If you want the step by step first, here is how a photo becomes their book. For the board book itself, page count and construction, see the personalized board book page.
Questions parents ask
Do I need more than one photo?
No. TinyStar is built around one clear photo of your child plus the details you type into the order form.
What makes a good photo?
Face toward the camera, eyes open, decent light. A phone photo is fine. Avoid sunglasses, hats pulled low, and anything covering part of the face.
What happens to the photo afterward?
It is used to make the artwork for your order and nothing else. It is not sold, shared, or used to train anything.
Can I see the book before I pay?
Yes. You get a free preview of the cover and one spread. If it does not look like your child, change the photo or details and preview again. Nothing is charged until you approve.