$7.99
- 12 illustrated double-page spreads + cover and dedication
- Interactive page-flipping in your browser + downloadable PDF
- Text edits and illustration regeneration included
- Available in 30 languages
- Usually ready within 15 minutes
A made-to-measure book
Since 1963, the wildest hero in picture books has been a boy named Max — it's time your Max took the crown
Some children grow into their names; Max arrives already knowing his. It means 'the greatest', it fits in one breath, and it has been carrying picture-book heroes since before his parents were born. This is the book where the name finally belongs to your Max.
MAXand the Wand That Woke the Stars
Here's how a book for Max could look
Pick a theme, upload a photo, and your child becomes the hero of the story — with their name on the cover and inside.
MAXand the Fawn at the Edge of the Forest
MAXand the Promise on the Park Bench
MAXand the Basket of Sunset Apples
The covers above are samples — the illustrations were created by artificial intelligence and the children in them aren't real. Your book is made from the photo you upload.
A cover that has been waiting for this name
In 1963, Maurice Sendak dressed a small boy in a wolf suit, gave him a private kingdom, and called him Max — and picture books have never had a more famous first name since. The book won the Caldecott Medal, sold by the million, and turned its hero's name into shorthand for a certain kind of boy: imaginative, a little wild, entirely sure of himself. Generations of boys called Max have sat through bedtime stories quietly certain that the hero's name was really theirs. A personalized book closes that last small gap. This time it is not a Max in a story, it is your Max: his face in every illustration, drawn from a single photo you upload, his name set into the title, and a plot he picked — or one you wrote just for him. Few names repay a title page like this one does. Three letters, one syllable, set large: MAX holds a cover the way longer names never quite can. And because those three letters are usually the first word a boy named Max learns to recognise, there is a fair chance the first word he ever reads by himself will be the title of his own book.
Three letters that mean 'the greatest'
Max is a Latin superlative hiding in plain sight. It comes from maximus — 'the greatest', the top step of magnus, 'great' — so the shortest name on the shelf carries the biggest claim in the dictionary. Roman commanders bore Maximus as a title of honour, Habsburg emperors carried Maximilian across Europe, and at some point English speakers decided the best part was the first syllable. For most of the twentieth century Max lived as the short form of Maximilian and Maxwell; today it increasingly stands alone on the birth certificate, and it has held a steady place among the most popular boys' names across the English-speaking world for a good three decades. It is also one of the great travellers among names: Max reads exactly the same in English, German, French, Dutch and Swedish, and in Germany it spent years at the very top of the charts. Sendak was not even the first to spot its storybook pull: German children had been giggling at Wilhelm Busch's Max und Moritz since 1865, a full century before the wild things, which makes Max one of the very few names with two classics of children's literature to its credit. In a family that crosses borders, the name on the cover never needs translating. The practical gifts are just as real: one clean syllable carries across any playground, it cannot be shortened because it already is the short form, and there is no spelling of it a school register can get wrong.
Maxie, Maximilian and the other shapes of the name
- Max — The everyday name — and, more and more often, the whole name. Many parents skip the long forms entirely and put Max on the birth certificate, which tells you how complete those three letters feel.
- Maxie — The soft version for the toddler years, for bedtime and grazed knees. Most boys shrug it off around school age; most grandmothers never do.
- Maximilian — The grand imperial long form, kept in reserve for formal documents — and for moments when a full four syllables of trouble need naming from the bottom of the stairs.
- Maxwell — The Scottish route to the same boy, borrowed from a surname. The middle-ground long form for families who find Maximilian a little too much crown.
- Maximus — The original Latin, usually deployed at his own request during knight and gladiator phases — and a handy way to explain what his everyday name means: Max is simply 'the greatest', in the fewest possible letters.
How it works
How a book with your child's name comes to life.
Olivia
1
Create your hero and other characters
Upload one photo and it becomes a hero with your child's real likeness. Add up to 5 characters — siblings, friends, even a pet.
- A name, age and one photo
- Their real likeness in the illustrations
- Up to 5 characters: siblings, friends, a pet
2
Build the story and illustration style
Pick a ready-made plot from many worlds, or write your own. Choose the illustration style, the book's language and a dedication — you'll see a title suggestion and a story preview right away.
- Lots of worlds and plots — or write your own
- Choice of illustration style and language
- A personal dedication at the front
- Instant title suggestion and story preview
3
Get an e-book you can fine-tune
Ready within 15 minutes. Flip through the book online, fine-tune the texts, have any illustrations you pick regenerated, then view the e-book.
- Usually ready within 15 minutes
- Interactive page-flipping online
- Edit texts + regenerate illustrations
- Downloadable PDF + optional audiobook
And there's more
Get your book delivered to your door
Love it? Order a printed copy of your finished e-book anytime. We'll print it in full color as an A4 hardcover and ship it right to your door.
A4 hardcoverOrder anytimeDelivered to your door
Print the book
E-book $7.99 · printed $32.99 + shipping
Full price listPricing
Simple pricing, no surprises.
Every book is made to order — you pay once, no subscription. Card payment via Stripe.
$32.99
+ $5.99 shipping
- Full-color printing on quality paper
- Hardcover — a book that looks straight from a publisher
- Order anytime once your digital book is finished
- We'll replace a damaged or misprinted copy at our expense
Audiobook
+ $3.99- Narrated by a professional voice
- Start it once you've finished editing the book — ready in a few minutes
- Listen right on the website, no downloads
- The printed book includes a QR code page for instant playback
- Add it at checkout or purchase it anytime later
Gift voucher
- Digital, printed, with an audiobook — or any combination
- Discounted bundles of 2, 3 or 5 books
- Valid for 1 year
- Delivered by email right after payment
All prices are final and include VAT where it applies; shipping is added separately and shown before you place your order. You order the printed book once your digital book is finished — so you see exactly what you're printing.
Create a book today that they'll never forget.
Your digital book is usually ready within 15 minutes of ordering. The printed A4 hardcover ships straight to your door.
Create a bookReviews
Parents and kids who loved their book.
Over 1,200 books starring their very own hero
My daughters love the book! We read it every evening before bedtime. The story is so sweet and lovingly written, and the pictures are beautiful. My girls feel really special because their own name appears in the book. A great keepsake forever! Absolutely recommend. ❤️
We got the book as a birthday present and it turned out perfectly. The print quality pleasantly surprised me – hardcover, nice paper and illustrations printed in fine detail. The characters are drawn so well that my daughter recognized her sister, me, the giraffe and herself :) She really likes the story and now it’s her favourite book, we read it almost every evening. On top of that, it will remain a lovely keepsake that she’ll come back to even in a few years. I definitely recommend it.
The book was a gift… I’ll find out how happy it makes them… but it’s very beautiful
I have the books ready as a gift, so I’m already looking forward to handing them over
An absolutely stunning book made to order. It's not only a beautiful gift, but a keepsake for a lifetime. Our sons are thrilled. Not only did they find “themselves” in the book, but the whole story also takes place in their favourite place, which is the ice rink. The whole book is accompanied by wonderful pictures, and the dedication from us, the parents, is just the cherry on top. I warmly recommend it. Not only will all the “heroes of the book” be thrilled, but so will you, as soon as you see the book with your own eyes :)
Our daughter was absolutely thrilled, she looked through it several times in a row and declared that it's pretty, she hasn't had enough of it yet and we read it every day before bedtime.
The book is very nice. The pictures look very nice, they're not blurry. The book really made us happy.
Very beautiful book, I always have trouble choosing in a bookshop, something bothers me about every one, or I can't find a theme I'd want.. here I can make up anything
A great, sweet and inspiring book that won us over from the very first pages! ❤️ The story of Алекс and Марая inspired us to go to the forest together, to enjoy the autumn beauty, to learn more about the animals and their food, to collect pine cones, hazelnuts, acorns and chestnuts and to create a wonderful autumn decoration at home. 🍂🍁 We love books that we don’t just read, but turn into real family adventures! Thank you for this magical experience! 🥰
The book is just as I imagined it. It's a present for under the Christmas tree, so we'll see how the grandkids like it ♥
The book for my grandson’s christening arrived and I’m thrilled with it. I’m already looking forward to us flipping through it together as soon as he grows up a little. It’s great that you can also add a favourite thing or toy and it gets worked into the story. It’s great!!!
The book is very nice, it was bought as a gift, so Maťko hasn’t seen it yet
🦉
FAQ
Questions parents ask.
Popular questions
Quite the opposite. Short names set large: Max prints big and bold, and the title of the book is built around the name, so those three letters are the first thing anyone sees on the cover — with room left over for the artwork to breathe.