$14.99
- 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
In te reo it's Wiremu — however your family says William, he's the hero of this book
William has travelled a long way to reach a New Zealand cot: from a Germanic warrior's name to the English throne, and into te reo Māori as Wiremu. Now it goes on the cover of a storybook where William himself does the brave bit.
WILLIAMand the Best-Mates Pact
Here's how a book for William 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.
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.
Why a story with William at the centre
William is a name that sounds like it already belongs in a book. Say it slowly and it has three soft syllables — Wil-li-am — that land well at the end of a sentence, which matters more than you might think when a story is read aloud at bedtime. "William stepped onto the path" has a rhythm that a shorter name doesn't quite manage.
At the same time, very few boys called William are actually called William at home. Most of them are Will, some are Billy or Wills, and plenty of Kiwi families switch to Wiremu without thinking twice. So the first small decision is which William goes into the story: the full name that looks good on a cover, or the one he actually answers to when you shout down the hallway.
The name also comes with a ready-made joke that children love once they're old enough to spot it: there's a whole word, "will", tucked inside. A hero called William who has to find the will to keep going is the kind of small coincidence that makes a six-year-old grin and point at the page. And because the story is written for him, the moment of courage, the goal in the final minute or the long walk home all belong to a William who looks like him — not to a stranger in a picture book.
The full name also suits a story that grows with him. A four-year-old Will might love hearing the short version on every page; by seven or eight, a lot of boys start asking to be called William, because it sounds older. Choosing the full name for the book is one way to make sure it still feels like his a few years later, when the short version starts to sound babyish to him.
Where William comes from
William began as the Old High German name Willahelm, built from two pieces: "wil", meaning will or desire, and "helm", meaning helmet or protection. Put together, it reads roughly as "resolute protector" — someone who guards others because he chooses to. German still keeps the old shape as Wilhelm, French turned it into Guillaume, and Italian into Guglielmo.
The name crossed into England in 1066 with William the Conqueror, and it caught on so quickly that within a couple of generations it was one of the most common boys' names in the country. Four kings of England have carried it, and so has Shakespeare, which helps explain why it has never really gone out of fashion the way many medieval names did.
For New Zealand the name has a particular history. William Hobson, the first Governor, was at Waitangi in 1840, and missionary-era English names were taken into te reo Māori with Māori sounds. William became Wiremu — the W stays, the L becomes an R, and the vowels open up. Wiremu went on to be one of the best-known Māori names, carried by figures such as the nineteenth-century leader Wiremu Tāmihana. So a boy called William in Aotearoa wears a name with two living versions, one English and one Māori.
There is a rugby thread too. The trophy the All Blacks have lifted three times is the Webb Ellis Cup, named after William Webb Ellis, the schoolboy who — so the story goes — picked up the ball and ran with it at Rugby School in 1823. Whether or not it really happened that way, it means a William sits at the start of the game that half the country watches on a Saturday night, which is a nice detail to tell a footy-mad boy who shares his name.
In New Zealand birth registrations William has stayed among the steady, well-used boys' names for years: familiar enough that nobody asks you to spell it, but never a passing trend that dates him to one particular year.
Will, Billy, Wiremu — what he might be called
- William — The full form — on the cover, in the dedication, and in the moments of a story when someone needs to call him seriously.
- Will — The everyday short form most Williams grow up with. Quick to say, easy to shout across a footy field.
- Billy — The cheeky, playful version. It comes from medieval rhyming nicknames: Will turned into Bill the same way Rob turned into Bob, and Billy followed.
- Bill — Sounds grown-up on a small boy, which is exactly why some grandparents use it.
- Wills — An affectionate family version, often used by siblings and best mates.
- Wiremu — The te reo Māori form of William, used in many Kiwi families as his name at home or on the marae.
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 colour as an A4 hardcover and ship it right to your door.
A4 hardcoverOrder anytimeDelivered to your door
Print the book
E-book NZ$14.99 · printed NZ$69.99 + shipping
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Every book is made to order — you pay once, no subscription. Card payment via Stripe.
Audiobook
+ $5.99- 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 3 years
- Delivered by email right after payment
All prices are final and include GST; shipping is added separately and you'll see it before you place your order. You only order the printed book once your digital book is finished — so you know 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 1,700 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 beautiful, I would have welcomed more pages (for that price), the story is interesting, because my granddaughter loves animals and her cousins, but I have to wait until Christmas for her reaction
I got the book for a birthday and the princess wouldn’t put it down.
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 beautiful book that has its own unique magic! ❤️ The story is wonderfully done and the fact that your very own child becomes the main hero is absolutely amazing. My son was thrilled with the book and so was I. 🥰 A great idea, beautiful illustrations and a wonderful keepsake that we will happily come back to. I highly recommend it to all parents who want to make their children happy and give them the feeling that they are the heroes of their own story. ❤️📚
The book is wonderful! Exactly as I had dreamed it and designed it, a beautiful keepsake for my little son ♥️
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FAQ
Questions parents ask.
Popular questions
Yes. The hero's name is whatever you type in when you create him, so if he's Will at home, the book can be about Will rather than William.