Christmas gift for a 12-year-old: a personalised children's book

A 12-year-old can tell straight away when someone is talking down to them. This book doesn't. It has one or two short paragraphs per page, richer language, dialogue and suspense that carries through to the final spread. Your 12-year-old is the hero in the pictures, and the story can be both funny and serious.

Create a book for a 12-year-old

Hardcover in time for Christmas: order by 29 November

Taking a 12-year-old seriously

At 12, a child's body and friendships are changing, and that can feel both exciting and uncertain. They want to be listened to, have space of their own and make their own decisions. Many also have a strong sense of fairness and care deeply about animals, the climate and anyone who feels left out. They may have moved on to books for teenagers, or reading may have taken a back seat to other interests. A book for a 12-year-old needs language that doesn't feel childish, a hero who is allowed to have doubts and a story with room for both humour and serious moments.

Would you like to see a finished book before you decide? Browse our example books.

Themes that take 12-year-olds seriously

With aeroplanes, the hero can sit in the cockpit, read the instruments and land in thick fog when the pilot needs help. It's an adventure where knowledge and keeping calm matter more than luck. For a child with a lot on their mind, handling big feelings can make a story with room for anger, worry and joy, without anyone telling them how they ought to feel.

Choose a theme

Making the book together

A 12-year-old will probably want a say, or at least the chance to say no. Show them the styles and let them choose. Tell us what's important to them right now: animals, a sport, a game or a friend who has moved away. The story can have a serious side, as long as the adventure carries it through. Respect and caring for nature are messages that many 12-year-olds genuinely care about. The foreword can be something they keep for years: write about the person you see them becoming, or let us write a first draft for you to build on.

A book for a year of change

A twelfth birthday or the end of a school year can be a chance to mark how much has changed. The book is a gift that says you've noticed the child, not just their age. Your 12-year-old can read it independently, perhaps in private, and show it only to those who have earned the privilege. Grandparents might like a copy of their own, and the eBook can be sent by email. The hardcover can stay on the bookshelf as a reminder of a year when a lot changed. With a birthday calendar, each month gets a picture from the story, year after year.