DISCLOSURE – THIS ITEM WAS GIFTED TO THE REVIEWER FOR THE PURPOSES OF WRITING THE REVIEW. ALL THOUGHTS AND OPINIONS ARE THE REVIEWER’S OWN.
Reviewed by Alison Rood
Photographs hold special memories and stories for most of us. For me, nearly in my 40s, I remember my younger self panning through an old tin biscuit full of unorganised family photos. Pulling them out sporadically asking “who is this?”, “where were we on this one?” or “how am I related to her?” – curious about the stories behind the people in the photos.
My son, just turned 6, scrolls through my camera roll. He asks the same questions but I always feel a little sad for him and this generation that we don’t typically have printed photos like we used to do.
Photobooks and family story books are a lovely middle ground. They’re an aesthetic, organised versions of the biscuit tin. More heartfelt than a pixelated image on an electronic device. And more informative for the future generations.
When I got the opportunity to review Storydo I jumped at the chance.
Storydo is an online platform which turns your family’s story into a beautiful, bespoke book for you child; just by answering some questions and uploading some photos (illustrations can be used instead of photos if preferred)
The site’s questioning is very inclusive and caters for a range of family dynamics; nuclear, adopted, step, blended – you name it, the site caters for it.
For example, if relevant to you, the book also allows for the explanation of some more “complex” dynamics such as IVF, adoption, or same sex parents. It’s all done in a very sensitive way and sets out to normalise everyone’s unique stories.
You start your child’s book by choosing a design – colours, fonts, text and photos are all customisable. You can pick your child’s favourite colour and favourite family photo for the cover, which will make the book instantly intriguing to them.
You’re then prompted to answer a range of questions which help build up your child’s life story. As you’re doing this, you are able to upload photographs relevant to the section you’re on. For example when discussing your childhood, you can upload photos of your younger self.
The questions are easy to answer and the photos are really easy to upload. I did our book on my phone because I had all the photos I wanted to use in my camera roll.
Quick tip (one that I missed!) – It is recommended to have a folder with all the photos you intend to use. I learnt this the hard way…… Queue me scrolling through thousands of photos looking for that one that fitted the story I was telling at the time!
When you’re done, the Storydo site then builds your child’s story based on the answers you’ve given. Inserting photos along the way.
Before submitting to print, you get to review how the book will look and sound when printed. You can edit things if they don’t sound quite right, you want to add more information, or if it sounds a bit too “Ai” which I sometimes found.
When you’re happy, you confirm all is ok and your book will go to print. Mine arrived well packaged in just a few days. I was thrilled with it and couldn’t wait to share it with my husband and son.
The hardback cover gives it a real quality feel and ensures that your book will stay in good condition for (hopefully!) many generations to come.
All in all, the book took me a couple of hours to create and was really easy to do.
Whilst we all love the book, and have already read it a number of times, I do feel the price of £69 is quite high.
You can make photobooks with text for a fraction of the price. But I guess the difference with Storydo’s service is that this does the story writing for you. So if you’re not confident at storytelling, or knowing what to write, Storydo will be a fantastic option.
As well as making and purchasing your book, the site allows you to purchase a gift voucher. This would be a great gift idea for new parent, special birthdays or Christmas.
Rating: 4/5
You can start creating your child’s own unique story today at storydo.co.uk.
RRP £69 for a 60-80 page high-quality hardcover A4 book.