A one-year-old will not follow a story. They will, though, stare at faces, listen to a familiar voice, and later point at a picture and say their own name. A personalised book for a baby works on that, and on the fact that it is still on the shelf when the story starts to make sense. What matters at this age The picture looks like them, at their size. A baby drawn at a five-year-old's height with a baby's face is one way these books go wrong. A grown-up they know is named in it. At this age the story is something done together, on a lap. It lasts. Paper pages and a baby's mouth are not friends, so think about who will be holding it. It grows with them. A book that only makes sense at one is short-lived; one that still reads well at four gets kept. Drawn at their own size When you order, we ask your child's age, and we draw them at that age's height beside the grown-up, so a one-year-old is not stretched to the height of a school child holding an adult's hand. That is also why we never guess an age: if it is missing, we ask for it before your book is made. Who reads it with them The second character in our story is a grown-up reading buddy whose name and relationship you choose: Mama, Daddy, Grandma, Grandpa, an auntie, an uncle, a godparent. The buddy is drawn as the book's own grown-up character, not from a photo. For a baby, naming the person who will actually do the reading makes the book theirs twice over. Being honest about the format Ours is a hardcover picture book in the UK, the US and Canada, and a paperback in Ghana, with paper pages. It is not a board book. For a baby who chews, it is a book a grown-up holds, and one they grow into: the story is written for 0 to 6. If you want something made for the very youngest, some brands, such as Wonderbly, have books recommended for 0 to 3. Our comparison of the main brands has the details. Photos of babies Recent, because babies change fast. A photo from the last month or two. Face visible and roughly towards the camera, eyes open if you can manage it. Just the baby, in daylight, without a hat pulled low. Is a personalised book a good first birthday present? Yes, if it is drawn at their size and it will still read well in a few years. Ours is written for 0 to 6, so it stays on the shelf as they grow into the story. Is your book a board book? No. It is a hardcover with paper pages (a paperback in Ghana), so for a baby it is one for a grown-up to hold. Will my toddler look like a toddler in the book? We ask their age and draw them at that age's height beside the grown-up. You see two finished pages before you pay.