A Personalized Book in Another Language: Bilingual Kids
03/11/2026
A personalized book in another language for a bilingual family or a grandchild abroad. What gets translated, what stays, and what happens to the name.
You can create a personalized book with us in any of 30 languages, from English and German to Polish, Hungarian, Ukrainian or Greek. You pick the book's language while you create it, and it doesn't depend on which website you're ordering from. The whole story is then written in that language, and if your dedication is in a different one, you decide whether to keep it as written or have it translated.
Who a book in another language is for
Most often, bilingual families. Mom speaks one language, Dad another, and the child should have a book that each parent can read aloud in their own language. The second big group is grandparents whose grandchildren are growing up in another country and read the grandparents' language a little or not at all.
It also works for a child who is learning a new language. A story about themselves, with their own name and friends, gets read far more willingly than a textbook. And finally, it makes a gift for a friend's child abroad, where a book in English might just sit on the shelf.
What changes in the book and what stays
- The storyThe entire text of the book is in the language you choose. Whether you pick a ready-made plot or describe your own idea in English, it ends up in the book in the chosen language.
- The child's nameThe name isn't translated: Jack won't turn into Jacques. If the book uses a different alphabet, say Ukrainian or Greek, you choose whether the name stays in Latin letters or is transliterated into the book's script.
- The dedicationIf your dedication is in a different language from the book, you choose whether it's printed in your own words exactly as you wrote them, or translated into the book's language. The translation is literal: nothing gets rewritten or polished.
- The illustrationsThe pictures are the same whatever the language. You'll recognize your child by their face, and across 12 spreads they live through the same adventure.
- Your account and emailsYou still see the website and emails in your own language. The name and dedication stay in your account exactly as you entered them.
How to order a book in another language
- 1Go through the guide in EnglishYou choose the photo, name, age, story world and illustration style just as you would for any other book.
- 2Choose the book's languageIn the last step you pick the language of the book. Your choice decides, not the website you're on.
- 3Decide on the name and dedicationIf the book's language uses a different alphabet, or your dedication is in another language, the guide asks what should be printed inside.
- 4Have a native speaker read the textBefore you pay, you'll see the proposed title, a story sample and the dedication in the chosen language. If someone in your family or circle of friends speaks the language, show them these texts and sort out any comments before paying. The finished illustrations aren't shown before payment.
- 5Send the book wherever you needYou can email the digital book anywhere in the world. The printed book for A$54.99 ships to selected countries only; checkout shows exactly where based on the address.
Bilingual family: one book or two
| One book in one language | Two books, each in a different language | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | A$11.99 once, printed A$54.99 | twice |
| Who reads it | the parent who speaks the book's language | each parent their own book |
| When it fits | the language the child is weaker in and needs to hear more | both languages carry equal weight at home |
| For grandparents | a book in the language the child speaks every day | one book at Grandma's, the other at home |
Why the parent's language matters
ASHA, the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, advises parents to speak to their child in the language they feel most comfortable in. The more a child hears and uses any of their languages, the better their language skills. When a child mixes languages now and then, ASHA says it's a normal part of learning, not a mistake.
For a book, that means one simple rule. Buy it in the language in which someone will actually read it to the child, gladly and out loud. A book in flawless English that Grandma struggles through helps less than a book in the grandparents' language that she reads with real pleasure.
With young children it also works for a parent to read the book in one language and talk about the pictures in the other. For how to choose a book by age and attention span, see the article on children's books by age.
A gift for grandchildren across the border
Grandma at home, the grandchildren in another country. A book in which the children are the heroes, dedicated to them by their grandmother, bridges the distance better than one more toy. You can write the dedication in English and have it printed exactly as it is, even in a German book. That way the children keep Grandma's own words, and their parents can translate them.
For what to write so the dedication feels personal, read the article on book dedications. And if you only see your grandchildren a few times a year, take a look at the tips in a gift for a grandchild you only see now and then.