One of the things I love most about being a parent is reading books to my children. One of the loveliest gifts that my elder daughter, Ophelia (2), has ever received is a personalized storybook from Mumablue. Entitled ‘Adventures in Alaska’, the book features a heroine (Ophelia), with an avatar that is instantly recognizable as my daughter. My daughter Arabella was also given a Mumablue book by one of her godmothers – ‘The Kingdom of Mirinyan’. I was excited to discover that the company has now introduced a book – ‘Sweet Heroes’ - with two customizable characters, and I thought that it would make a wonderful gift for the girls, as they both so enjoy reading their individual stories.
The ordering process is straightforward and above all, great fun. I so enjoyed designing the avatars for ‘Sweet Heroes’. The level of personalization is fantastic, including hair, skin, and clothing color, as well as glasses, eye color and even whether or not the child wears a hearing aid. After configuring my characters, there is an option to include a photo of your child (or in my case, children) at the end, along with a dedication. I absolutely love this feature of the book, as I know it is something that my children will be able to treasure. At this point, the Mumablue website allows you to preview the entire book online for free, to check for any errors. I loved being able to see exactly how my avatars would appear, and it gave me a real sense of reassurance before I placed my order.
Having submitted payment, it only takes a few days for your order to arrive. My daughters are delighted by the story, and I have already read it to them countless times. The similitude of the avatars to my girls is quite remarkable, and the flamboyant colors are captivating. The storyline is pitched perfectly to my young children – a wonderful tale of two sisters who encounter a squirrel and a huge amount of sweets, and, through various hilarious misadventures, end up with a serious case of ‘sugaritis’. All’s well that ends well, however, and at the end of the story there are a couple of pages that explain the importance of eating sweet treats in moderation. The quality of the books is unmistakable: the 40-page hardback books are printed on 300 gsm couché paper with vivid double-page illustrations. I love the fact that each of the stories has an emphasis on a variety of moral values. For instance, ‘Sweet Heroes’ emphasizes the values of friendship, self-control and bravery, whereas ‘Adventures in Alaska’ focuses on the themes of empathy, self-esteem, and the importance of taking a stand against bullying. Headquartered in Madrid, Mumablue has been producing customizable children’s books since 2015, and is expanding its range (which currently comprises five different stories, each of which is available in 11 different languages). The company ships worldwide to over 30 countries, including the United States and the United Kingdom. I am thrilled by how much my children are enjoying their personalized books, and I shall be buying them as birthday and Christmas gifts for all of the little people in my life as they are absolutely delightful and, I think, will help to instill a lifelong love of books.
