When Parent Bloggers offered me the opportunity to test drive Printakid's personalized books for children, I jumped at the chance. I knew my daughter would flip over a book starring her. After all, she's your typical two-going-on-three-year-old. A wee bit self-centered.And since the world revolves around her, Z was as pleased as punch (but not entirely shocked) to find that she was the main character in Laughing All the Way to School. Not only that, her best friends were included in the cast of characters. As a new preschooler, she liked seeing herself and her buddies at school, but I'm not sure what she made of the schoolyard, hallway, teachers and public address system. Her Montessori preschool doesn't resemble the typical elementary school pictured in this story. Since I was able to specify Z's hairstyle, hair color, skin tone and eye color while ordering, hers was a pretty good likeness. However, she was a little confused to hear her friends' names without finding their pictures in the book.
And then there's the plot. Basically, "your child here" goes to school with her friends and all of the kids and teachers turn into animals. Funny enough if you're under five, I guess. And I'm sure the preschool set don't care much about the clunky prose and a terrible ending (it turns out laughter is the best medicine for best friends who've been turned into baboons). But this mom's still responsible for reading aloud, and it pains me to see such poor writing.
Printakid's personalized books will run you about $25 for a sturdy hardback, which seems like a decent deal for a keepsake-type gift. Just don't buy it for the offspring of an English major.
