A Book for Siblings: Two or More Kids in One Story
3/11/2026
A personalized book for siblings where every child has a role. How to split the story so nobody gets jealous, and when to give each their own book.
A single personalized book can fit several children and even a pet, and each character is created from their own photo. For the book to work for everyone, give each sibling their own task or skill in the story, not just a spot next to the main hero. If there's a big age gap or a strong rivalry between the kids, it's usually better to give each one their own book.
How many kids fit in one book and what you need
One book can fit several children and a pet too. They can be siblings, cousins, a best friend, and even the dog or cat. You need a separate photo for each character. A group shot of the kids squeezed together on the couch won't do, because faces are hard to recognize in it.
For each character you enter a name and age. It pays to fill in the age carefully: it helps the characters in the book match the real children, so a four-year-old sister doesn't come across as the same age as her ten-year-old brother.
The book is a one-time purchase, no subscription. The digital book costs NZ$14.99 and the printed one NZ$69.99.
How to split the roles so nobody gets jealous
- Everyone has their own skillOne can read the map, another isn't afraid of the dark, the youngest spots what everyone else misses. When every child solves something in the story, nobody is just there to make up the numbers.
- Don't repeat the labels from homeThe older one as the sensible one and the younger one as the troublemaker: kids hear that often enough. In the book, feel free to swap the roles. Parenting experts advise against comparing siblings and recommend noticing each child's strengths, and a book is the perfect place for that.
- One main hero, or a teamDecide whether the book is mainly about one child, say for a birthday, with the siblings helping out, or whether it's a shared team adventure. Both work, just say so up front so the birthday child doesn't feel pushed aside.
- The littlest sibling belongs on the team tooA baby can't talk or walk yet, but can still have a moment in the story. Maybe it's the baby whose laugh scares the ghost away. Write that into your own plot idea.
- The pet as a full team memberA dog that picks up the trail in the story makes kids really happy. It needs its own photo too, ideally from the front and in good light.
How to put together a book for siblings
- 1Get a separate photo of each childA sharp face from the front, in daylight, each child in their own photo. The same goes for the pet.
- 2Pick a world everyone enjoysIf one loves space and the other loves horses, look for a world where the two meet, or write your own idea, like a trip to a planet where everyone rides horses.
- 3Describe what each one is good atIn your plot idea, write a few words about each child. The more specific you are, the more they'll recognize themselves in the story: who builds with LEGO, who sings, who's afraid of spiders.
- 4Write a dedication for all of themThe dedication can speak to all the kids at once, or to each one in a sentence. You'll find examples below and more in our article on book dedications.
- 5Read the finished book and balance the rolesGo through the whole story and check that every child gets their moment. Where someone barely shows up, edit the text. You can edit the text anytime, and 3 new versions of the illustrations are free.
Sibling dedications you can copy
One shared book, or one for each
| One book for everyone | A book for each child | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | digital NZ$14.99, printed NZ$69.99, shipping NZ$12.99 | digital NZ$14.99 or printed NZ$69.99 for each book |
| What it's about | a shared adventure, the kids learn to work together | each child is the one and only main hero |
| When it fits | similar ages, shared interests, Christmas | a big age gap, one child's birthday, strong rivalry |
| Risk | arguing over whose book it really is | comparing whose story is better |
| In a few years | a memory of how they looked together | each has their own book for their own shelf |
When to give each child their own book
There's a world of difference between a three-year-old and a twelve-year-old. The younger one wants a short story with big pictures, and the older one will be bored by it. When the kids are competing hard for attention, a shared book can fuel the conflict rather than ease it.
In that case, give each child their own book and add the siblings as supporting characters. Every child gets their own story, and the others are still in it. It also works well for a gift from grandparents who want to treat a granddaughter and a grandson equally, but each in their own way.