Christmas gift for an 11-year-old: a personalised children's book

An 11-year-old has opinions about music, clothes and what counts as embarrassing. This book takes them seriously, with one or two short paragraphs per page, natural-sounding dialogue and a story full of twists. Your child is the main character in every picture and gets to solve the problems the grown-ups in the story can't.

Create a book for an 11-year-old

Hardback in time for Christmas: order by 8 December

The in-between years

At 11, children are in between in many ways. They may have a phone of their own and keep up with everything their friends are talking about, but still play when nobody's watching. They might read comics, fantasy and anything that makes them laugh out loud. They're beginning to think more abstractly and see things from different points of view, so stories with more than one layer can appeal. Fairness and loyalty matter, and a hero facing a difficult choice can make for a gripping read. A book for this age needs language that respects the reader, humour that isn't too cute and an adventure where something is at stake.

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

Two themes for an 11-year-old

In the future, there might be flying school buses, robots that have lost their code and a city that only your child can save. It's a great fit for a child who loves technology and big ideas. If they play an instrument or sing all day, music could inspire a story about a concert, a band that's almost breaking up and the nerves before the first note. Tell us which instrument they play and it can join them on stage.

Choose a theme

Give the book their voice

Let your child be a co-author. Ask what the hero should accomplish, who should be in the story and what absolutely must not happen. Eleven-year-olds often have jokes and expressions only their friends understand, and one of them in a line of dialogue can bring the whole book to life. Mention specific things too: their bike, guitar, bedroom or snoring dog. If someone would rather not share a photo, they can be described in words and illustrated from that description. Honesty or friendship can be the heart of a story about standing up for someone. In the foreword, you can write something that's hard to say out loud to an 11-year-old, but easy for them to read.

When your 11-year-old reads it

Your 11-year-old can read the book independently, perhaps in bed with the light on a little too late. It makes a gift for their eleventh birthday or after a difficult year. They might even read it aloud to a younger sibling and feel like a real author. With the audiobook, accessed through the QR code in the book, the story can come along on a holiday car journey. The hardback becomes a keepsake they may not admit to loving now, but might take off the shelf in ten years' time. You can also change the font to one that feels less like a picture book.

Remind me before the birthday

Not quite yet? We e-mail you two to three weeks before the child's birthday, in time for a printed book. Once a year, nothing else.

You turn the reminder on in the e-mail we send. We keep only the address and the date, see the privacy policy.

Questions about books for 11 years

With the 10+ age group, each page has one or two short paragraphs, more dialogue and a clear build-up of suspense. That's more text than in a typical picture book.

Yes. You can choose the theme, style and characters together, and tell us what your child would like included in the story.

Yes. You can edit all the text afterwards and request new pictures.

Books for the 10+ age group have richer language and more humour. Choose a style and font your child likes the look of; there are eleven styles and eight fonts.