When personalised books go wrong for Black children, it is often the hair. The face is close enough and the skin tone is near, but the hair is a generic "curly" option, or an afro on a child who has had a low cut since birth, or two puffs on a child who wears four. It matters more than it sounds. Children notice their own hair in a picture, and so does every grandmother. Why it happens Most personalised books use a character builder. You choose a hairstyle from a set, and the set is drawn once by an illustrator. A good builder has several textured styles, but a list is still a list: it cannot know whether your child's locs are shoulder-length or just started, whether their puffs sit high or low, or whether their braids have beads. What to check before you buy Is your child's actual style in the builder, or only something near it? Look for the style itself, not just "curly" or "afro". Does the hair keep its shape from the side, not only from the front? Some pages show a child turned away. Can you see pages with your child in them before paying? A preview of a generic character tells you less than it seems. If the book works from a photo: does the photo show the hairstyle you want in the book? How we do it Our book draws your child from one photo, so the hair comes from the picture rather than a menu. We read the style (a low cut, a short crop, an afro, puffs or buns, twists, braids, cornrows or locs), how high it stands, its outline from the sides as well as the top, and how many sections there are. Beads, bows, clips and earrings are read too. Every page is drawn to match that, so the child on the cover has the same hair as the child on the bridge. It is still an illustration in the book's style, a likeness rather than a portrait. So before you pay, we draw your child into two real spreads and show you. If the hair is not right, swap in a clearer photo and we draw it again. Choosing the photo Use the hairstyle you want in the book. If they are getting fresh braids for their birthday, wait and photograph those. Show the whole head. No hats, hoods or hands in the hair, and nothing cropped off the top. Good light from the front. Strong sun from one side can make dark hair look thinner than it is. Face the camera, more or less. One child in the photo works best. Where a builder is fine If a builder already has your child's style, it is a reasonable choice, and the shops that use builders usually have more titles and faster delivery than we do. Our comparison of the main brands sets them side by side. Can I choose a different hairstyle from the one in the photo? The book draws the hair in the photo, so the simplest way is to use a photo with the hairstyle you want in the book. Will beads, bows and clips appear in the book? Hair accessories in the photo, such as beads, bows and clips, are read along with the hair, so they appear in the book too. What if the hair comes out wrong? You see two finished spreads before you pay. If the hair is not right, go back and use a clearer photo and we will draw it again, or email hello@glibooks.com and we will look into it.