Party Gem: Paper Hat Press Personalized Books
When I was a kid, you used to be able to order books with your name in them. They were silly stories about fairies, princesses and superheroes with horrible illustrations. The exciting part was supposed to be that you were featured in the book with your name. It didn’t supposed to matter that the story was boring and the illustrations were boring, you were supposed to be thrilled with seeing your name in print. Unfortunately, I never bought into this sales scheme and instead a number of books with my name in them sat unread on our shelves until they were eventually donated because we couldn’t even sell them at a yard sale.
With such a vivid history of personalized books, I was pretty leery about the recent Paper Hat Press present Little Bug received for her birthday. Expecting a similar quality issue, I didn’t even want to spend money on the shipping (I know, eventually I’ll have to get over shipping costs). But, we created her personalized book with the story Whose Birthday Is It? and sent away for another silly book to collect dust on her shelf.
Or so, I thought. Wasn’t I eating my words when a beautifully brown wrapped package arrived from Paper Hat Press a week or so later. This company has taken the personalized book industry in a whole new direction. The illustrations are professionally done and beautiful. The story holds up to my criteria of a good picture book. The book even arrived with instructions on how to create your own paper hat, which Mr. Mountaineer promptly got started on. And the personalization goes beyond just your name in the book. Her town, birthday, age and other identifying details are also included, making this one of the most special birthday presents she received. But most importantly, Little Bug loves it. It’s one of her favorite stories and we read over and over again every night. Here’s a little peek.
Since her birthday, Little Bug has become obsessed over monkeys. She loves when they’re in her stories. This story has a number of different monkeys helping to get the birthday party together. It’s her favorite part!
The premise of the story is that all of the characters are helping get ready for the main character, in this case Little Bug’s, birthday. Everybody has a special job to do and it really helps kids understand how to put a party together as well as lead up to a fun celebration.
This is Little Bug’s favorite page. You guessed, the monkeys. They’re doing what I would expect monkeys getting ready for a party to be doing… testing the lights! Being monkeys, they’re probably unscrewing some light bulbs too or making them blinking. Who knows!
So, if you’re looking for a really special gift idea for a birthday girl or boy, I highly recommend checking out Paper Hat Press. They have a number of stories to choose from for girls and boys with an age range of 2 to 10. I’m sure they’re all just as wonderful. Also, I see discounts on Plum District occasionally, so keep your eyes peeled because they’re worth the price!
Happy Celebrating,
Natalie
