Illustration from a Booku personalised book: a boy in a blue robe points his wand at a practice lantern that puffs out a cloud of sootPage 3

Magic school

A magic school book starring your child

A flying coach stops at the gate: a term at a school of magic, and a broom trick half the class can’t do.

Make this story yours

Anyone coming along?

Here’s the idea with Oliver in it. Type a name and it becomes your child’s.

In late summer a flying coach stops at Oliver's gate: a whole term at a school of magic, a wand, two new friends. Three lessons, a month apart, one word of the old language each. Two come easily; the third, a figure of eight on a broom, beats half the class, and Oliver gets it the night before the exam. Flying home at first frost, the three find a unicorn caught in a gloomy wizard's thorn hedge — and all three words go into getting it out before he ever looks up.

Make It Your Own Story

Next: a photo. You can rewrite any part of the story later.

See the cover free. No card, no sign-up.

  • Best for ages 3 to 8
  • See the cover before you pay
  • 26 pages
  • Drawn from your own photos
  • Add a printed hardcover

From$7.99Digital book. A printed hardcover adds $37.00.

How is the book personalized?

You add your child’s name and a few photos, of them and of anyone joining them in the story.

Size & quality

26 pages. The digital book arrives as a PDF.

The printed book is a hardcover on heavy paper.

Delivery

The PDF arrives as soon as you pay. Printed books ship by post.

What the story is about

A flying coach stops at the gate: a term at a school of magic, and a broom trick half the class can’t do.

Three lessons, three words of an old language. Two come easily. The figure of eight on a broom comes the night before the exam.

Flying home, three friends find a unicorn stuck in a thorn hedge. Getting it out takes all three words.

Who can be in the book

  • Your child is the new student
  • A grandparent or parent can be the teacher
  • Add a pet or classmates

An excerpt

Pages from the book

Illustration from a Booku personalised book: a boy in a blue robe points his wand at a practice lantern that puffs out a cloud of soot

Spread 3

Lesson one was sparks. "Point gently," said the teacher, "and say: One — a spark, alight!" Oliver pointed with all his might. The practice lantern sneezed. Soot puffed out and settled on everything, including Oliver's nose. The teacher handed him a potion that fizzed like green lemonade, and the soot vanished in one gulp of bubbles. "Spells don't answer the strongest arm, Oliver," said the teacher. "They answer the kindest heart." Oliver wasn't sure yet what that meant. He tried again anyway — and a small crooked spark hopped toward the lantern and hung there, glowing like a proud little pea.

Illustration from a Booku personalised book: a boy on a broomstick swoops through a golden hoop in a broom race

Spread 6

That afternoon there was a broom race — no lesson at all, just flying. Round the striped poles, through the golden hoops, twice about the white boulder and home again. Oliver leaned left, leaned right, whooped the whole way, and swooped through the last hoop first by exactly the length of one sandal. His prize was the jar of everlasting sparklight — a little glass jar with one golden spark inside that never, ever goes out. "It drifts about like a lazy firefly," said the teacher. "Keep it somewhere it can be useful."

Illustration from a Booku personalised book: a boy holds up his wand and a golden path of light leads through the misty forest to a unicorn caught in a silver snare

Spread 10

Down among the trees, the mist was thick as porridge. Oliver held up his wand. "One — a spark, alight!" A golden spark hopped to its tip and burned a path of light straight through the grey. And there, at the end of the path, stood a unicorn — cream-white, silver-maned, and very cross indeed. Around her legs wound the silver snare, a wicked enchanter's trap, looped three times, its thorny rope glowing cold, its knot tied high on a birch branch where no hoof could ever reach. "Hold still," said Oliver. "I've just passed my exam."

From “Oliver Goes to the School of Magic”. In your book the hero is your child, and we write the text fresh — from your plot, with your family in it.

How to make your own book

  1. 1

    Type a name and choose who comes along

    Right on this page — the story re-tells itself around your child.

  2. 2

    Add a photo

    We draw the hero and their family from photos. One clear picture is enough.

  3. 3

    See the cover free

    No card, no sign-up. You can rewrite the plot before you pay.

  4. 4

    Get the book

    26 pages as a PDF. Add a printed hardcover, delivered, if you like.

Questions about this book

What age is this story for?
The plot suits ages 3 to 8. We match the length and difficulty of the text to the age you give us.
Who can be added to the book?
Your child is the new student. A grandparent or parent can be the teacher. Add a pet or classmates. People are drawn from their photos.
Can I change the plot?
Yes. The plot on this page is only a starting point: in the builder you can rewrite it in full or in detail, and we write the book from your version.
What does it cost, and what is free?
You see the cover free — no card, no sign-up. The digital book is $7.99; a printed hardcover adds $37.00.
What language will the book be in?
English or Russian — you choose the book’s language in the builder, whatever language you read the site in.

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