Personalized Big Sister and Big Brother Books: How to Make One Your Toddler Will Love

A personalized big sister or big brother book is a short photo book that stars your older child and tells the story of the new baby in your family’s own pictures and words. It gives a toddler a simple, repeatable way to understand what is about to change and where they fit. Kids Board Books doesn’t sell a ready-made big sibling title, so families build one from a book they can fully customize, most often the Story Board Book or the Custom Board Book of Names & Faces.

Quick answer: To make a personalized big sister or big brother book, choose the Story Board Book from Kids Board Books, put your older child on the cover, and write a short story in your own words: who they are, what is coming, what babies do, and what their new job will be. Give the baby a page or two, read the book often before the birth, and keep it within reach after the baby comes home.

What is a personalized big sister or big brother book?

It is a sibling book built around one real child instead of a cartoon family. A store-bought new baby book tells a story about someone else’s house. A personalized one uses your toddler’s photos, your home, the names your family actually says, and the people who will be part of the baby’s life. For a child who can’t yet picture an abstract "new baby," seeing their own face next to the words "big sister" or "big brother" makes the idea concrete.

Parents search for it in different ways, such as a personalized sibling book or personalized books for siblings, but the goal is the same: make the older child the hero of the story at the moment a lot of attention is about to shift to someone new. If you are shopping for a gift rather than making the book yourself, our big sibling gifts page gathers the titles that suit this moment.

Why does a book help a toddler get ready for a new baby?

Toddlers learn through repetition, and a book lets you return to the same simple message as often as your child asks for it. The American Academy of Pediatrics suggests bringing up the new baby early with 1 and 2 year olds, even before they fully understand it, so they can get used to the idea. For preschoolers, the same guidance recommends reading children’s books about newborns and siblings and showing your child their own baby pictures.

A personalized book does both jobs at once. It can open with photos of your older child as a newborn ("This was you when you were brand new") and then move to what is happening now. That gives a toddler a reference point: babies are tiny, they sleep and cry a lot, and once upon a time, so did you.

Which Kids Board Book works best as a sibling book?

The Story Board Book suits most families, because it is the title designed for telling a story in your own words. The other good fits depend on your older child’s age and what you want the book to do.

Book	How to use it as a sibling book	Recommended age
Story Board Book	Write a "you’re going to be a big sister" or "big brother" story with your own captions	1 and up
Names & Faces	Introduce everyone in the family, with the new baby as one of the faces	6 months and up
Emotions Board Book	Give your older child words for the big feelings a new baby brings	1 and up
My First Photo Book For Kids	Collect the older child’s own baby photos so they can see they were little too	1 and up

Story Board Book. The Story Board Book pairs your photos with your own text, using layouts that hold 1 to 4 photos per page, plus a custom title on the cover. That makes it the natural home for a title like "Maya Is a Big Sister" and a story with a beginning (you), a middle (the wait) and an end (the baby comes home).

Names & Faces. If your older child is still very young, a full story may be more than they can follow. The Custom Board Book of Names & Faces pairs 13 to 31 photos with names in large, easy-to-read text, so you can introduce Mommy, Daddy, the grandparents, the dog, the big sibling and, near the end, the new baby. Later it doubles as the baby’s own first book, with the big sibling right there on the pages.

Emotions Board Book. A new baby brings excitement, jealousy and plenty in between. The Emotions Board Book pairs your child’s photos with feeling words, which can make it easier to talk about feeling proud one minute and left out the next.

My First Photo Book For Kids. For a simple look back, fill My First Photo Book For Kids with pictures from your older child’s own first months, from the hospital to their first bath.

Want to protect some one-on-one time on the page? A Mommy and Me or Daddy and Me book filled with photos of just the older child and one parent can be a reassuring gift for the weeks when the baby needs a lot of arms.

What should a big sister or big brother book say?

Keep it short, concrete and centered on your older child. One idea per page and one or two short sentences is plenty for a toddler. Here is a simple page plan you can adapt:

• Cover: your older child’s photo and a title such as "Leo Is a Big Brother."
• This is you: a recent photo with their name and a few things they love.
• You were a baby once: one or two newborn photos of your older child.
• Our family is growing: a bump photo, the nursery, or the two of you reading together.
• What babies do: sleep, eat, cry and need lots of holding. Honest and simple keeps the surprises small.
• Who will be with you: the grandparent, friend or sitter who will care for your child while the baby is born, if you know.
• Meet the baby: the baby’s name and photo if you are giving the book after the birth, or an ultrasound or bump photo if you are giving it before.
• Big sister or big brother jobs: fetching a diaper, singing to the baby, picking out a pair of pajamas.
• Things that stay the same: your bedtime routine, your favorite park, your favorite stuffed animal.
• Closing page: a family photo and a line like "We love you just as much as always."

Use the names your family really uses (Nana, Pop, Bubba) and words your toddler already says. Short labels are easier for little ones to join in on, which is the same idea behind teaching first words with photo books.

How much of the book should be about the new baby?

Less than you might expect. The baby belongs in the book, but your older child should be the main character on most pages. A sibling book that is mostly about the newcomer can read as one more sign that everything is about the baby now. Aim for a page or two about the baby and let the rest be about your older child, their routines and their people.

When should you give a big sibling book?

For a toddler, give it a few weeks before the due date so there is time to read it many times before the big day. Some families save it as a present at the first meeting instead, and the AAP guidance above also suggests giving an older child a special gift after the baby arrives. You can do both: a story book before the birth, and a Names & Faces book with the newborn’s real photos afterward.

Every book is printed to order, and production takes 5 to 7 business days before it ships, with transit time on top depending on the method you choose. The shipping page lists current transit times. Leave room to spare, because babies do not always wait for their due date.

Can a sibling book work for two older kids or a blended family?

Yes. Because you can add and remove pages in the Story Board Book, two older siblings can each get their own section, and a blended family can include step-parents, half-siblings and everyone else the baby will know. School-age kids can help choose the photos and write the captions themselves. Our page for blended families has more ideas for naming everyone.

Next steps

Start with the Story Board Book if you want to tell the story in your own words, or Names & Faces for a younger toddler. Gather a recent photo of your older child, a few of their newborn photos and a bump or nursery photo, and you have most of what you need. Once your photos are gathered, the design itself takes about 10 to 15 minutes.