Crafting a Personalized Children’s Book
NOTE: Have you ever wanted to write and make a personalized children’s book for a very precious child whom you know and love? Creating, writing, and crafting such a book can be a positive, enjoyable, and rewarding experience. When you add a note of collaboration with a relative, you may be able to add “memorable” and “historic” to the experience. Certainly, with scrapbooking still being so popular, finding a wide variety of materials to craft the book is easy.
After giving my sister the idea and encouragement for her creating a book for one of her five grandchildren to help Lanie to become more familiar with the faces and names of relatives who live far away, I had an idea for another children’s book–a very personalized one. While I especially thank my sister, Mary Elizabeth, for putting the pages of this little book together, you will read on the final page of this document other names whom I thank for helping to make possible this endeavor.
Recently, my sister hand-delivered both her book and my book to Lanie. I am grateful that Mary was able to make this special delivery of the two homemade books directly to the little hands of Lanie, whose favorite page currently is the one with elephant photos.
Sticking with my primary goal of having a text-only blog, you will find only a brief description of photos which are included in the actual book. Since the number of available copies of this “limited run” book is only two, I thought I should share the text of the book with more of you on my Wordwalk blog.
Near the end of this children’s book, you will find that I am sharing a special bit of news from my nephew Eric’s family.
* * *
* photo on cover: close-up photo of two-year-old Lanie, my grand-niece
title page (decorated with stickers of sunflowers):
Lanie’s BIG and Little Book
for my pretty, little grandniece,
when she becomes a BIG sister
to her little brother–
With Love, Aunt Alice and Zoe
August 28, 2015
* page 1: photo of moose
page 2:
A moose is a very BIG animal.
This moose weighs about 1000 pounds.
Lanie says, “I like that BIG moose.
His name is Moose-taccioli!”
* page 3: photo of a giraffe and photo of a sunflower
page 4:
A giraffe is a very BIG animal.
A giraffe is the tallest land animal in the whole world.
This giraffe is about 17 feet tall,
and she weighs 1,825 pounds.
Lanie says, “I like that BIG giraffe!
Her name is Girasol.”
(In Spanish, “Girasol” means “sunflower.”)
* page 5: photo of a buffalo
page 6:
An American buffalo is a very BIG animal.
This buffalo weighs one ton.
Lanie says, “I like that BIG buffalo!
His name is Boulder.”
* page 7: photo of an elephant and photo of Lanie riding an elephant on the carousel at the mall
page 8:
An elephant is a very BIG animal.
When Lanie’s daddy was a little boy,
he rode this Asian elephant at the Denver Zoo.
Who likes to ride the elephant
on the carousel at the mall?
Lanie says, “I do! I like that BIG elephant!
Her name is Ella Grayce.”
* page 9: photo of camel
From the ground to the top of the camel’s hump
measures seven feet.
page 10:
A camel is a very BIG animal.
A Bactrian camel has two humps.
When Lanie’s daddy was a little boy,
he and Auntie Alice rode a camel at the Indianapolis Zoo.
When Lanie’s daddy was in Kuwait,
he rode a wild camel!
Lanie says, “I like that BIG camel!
Her name is Camilla.”
* page 11: photo of Gunny
page 12:
This BIG dog was a very special buddy.
He loved to run like a greyhound.
Lanie says, “I love that BIG dog!
His name is Gunny.”
* page 13: photo of Lanie (wearing a BIG hat, holding her stuffed Monkey, and standing, by vehicle)
page 14:
This girl is smart, pretty, and sweet.
She is two years old.
Her name is Lanie.
She is a BIG sister.
* page 15: photo of baby boy
page 16:
Lanie’s brother is little.
He weighs exactly seven pounds
and measures almost twenty inches.
Lanie says, “I love my little brother!
His name is Caden James.”
* page 17: photo of Grandma Mary, making book
Lanie’s BIG and Little Book
was crafted, with love, for Lanie,
by Grandma Mary (“Mammar”).
* page 18: photo of Auntie Alice and Leader Dog Zoe
Lanie’s BIG and Little Book
was written, with love, for Lanie,
by Auntie Alice and Zoe.
Zoe says, “Good night, BIG sister!
Good night, little brother!”
* page 19 (decorated with sunflower stickers):
Acknowledgements
A BIG thanks to :
Lanie’s mommy for the photos of Lanie;
Lanie’s Daddy for the photo of Caden James;
Kristen for the photo of the sunflower;
Cindy for her project support;
Lanie’s Grandpa Ric (“Pappar”) for his photo of Mary;
and Lanie’s Grandma Mary (“Mammar”) for the photos of
the giraffe, the camel, the elephant, and Gunny!
A special, little thanks to Lanie
for turning the pages of this book!
* * *
Blessings and much happiness to the new family of four–Eric, Marissa, Lanie, and Caden!
Enjoy the Labor Day weekend!
To all relatives and friends in Clinton, Indiana, this weekend–
enjoy the Little Italy Festival and the CHS Class of ’65 Reunion!
Alice and Zoe
September 2, 2015, Wednesday
alice13wordwalk 
Alice, this is sweet. I wish I’d thought to do that for my nephews and niece when they were small. Now, Isabella’s a tween, and Dylan and Tristan are teen-agers so they’re way too old for something like this.
Thank you for giving me the idea to write the first special book for Lanie, Alice. Although this kind of project is not something I usually pursue, I enjoyed the learning process and was happy to have the opportunity to put my newly-found knowledge to good use in your delightful BIG and Little Book for Lanie. Most importantly, Lanie loves both of her personalized books! She can name all of the people in the books, including her Auntie and Auntie’s puppy (Zoe). Lanie has very quickly learned to identify by name the buffalo, moose, giraffe, and elephant! Your creativity is greatly appreciated by Lanie and her “Mammar.”
Big Hugs from Mary and Little Hugs from Lanie
Alice, the big and little book concept was so creative and cute! I love it! I think you may have started a fun family tradition, Alice and Mary. Kudos for both!
Carole–Thanks for your nice comment. This evening, I have been thinking of the Little Italy Festival, in Clinton. This evening is one of the couple of times of the year when I become a little homesick for “Back Home Again in Indiana.” Talk with you soon–Alice and Zoe
What a special gift from two giving hearts and what a wonderful way to help Lanie on her road to reading and writing. She’s so lucky to have such strong, smart women in her life.