A personalized book for the first day at nursery
A new room, new grown-ups, a goodbye that takes practice. A personalized Toto book lets them rehearse the first day at nursery in a twelve-spread story starring them — after you approve the likeness from a photo. Built for ages 3–6. Ebook or hardcover. We do not promise easier mornings at the door. It can make the day feel more familiar, before it happens or the evening after.
Starting nursery is a big first
New rooms, new people, a peg with their name, a goodbye they have never done without you. That mix of pride and “stay a bit longer” is ordinary for three-to-six-year-olds and for the grown-up at the door. Families across Europe call it nursery, preschool, or crèche; some say kindergarten. This page stays nursery-first, because that is the first on Toto’s homepage and the morning you are walking toward.
A story that names their child can make the shape of the day feel known — arriving, hanging a coat, meeting a grown-up, playing, then hello again at pickup. Read it in the weeks before term, or after the first morning when you want a calm way to talk about what happened. We do not claim it makes drop-off easy every time, or that it proves they are ready for school. It is a kind illustrated adventure, not a readiness programme and not a partnership with any nursery chain.
What the story can cover
Toto’s first-day-at-nursery idea follows beats many children actually meet: arriving at the door, finding their peg or coat hook, meeting a grown-up, sitting down to play, saying goodbye, and saying hello again. Keep the language inclusive of nursery, preschool, and crèche routines. If your setting uses different words — cloakroom, cubby, key person — the feeling is still a first morning with their face in it.
If your goodbye is a special handshake, a window wave, or two minutes on the bench, pick Toto’s nursery idea or write one sentence of your own so the arc fits your drop-off. We will not lock a fixed plot on this page; the live book is a kind adventure around that first, not a script you have to match word for word. Sample spreads show how a Toto page feels before you start. Browse sample spreads on Examples.
Photo → likeness → twelve spreads
Upload one clear photo (two or three if they stay sharp), add a first name and age, and choose the nursery idea or your sentence. Toto draws a stylized character. You approve that likeness before the story is made. That gate is the point: the person creating the book is the person who says the drawing looks right. Then we write and illustrate twelve spreads, using the same approved drawing on every page. How it works walks the steps. For how this differs from a name-insert book, read What makes a personalized kids’ book actually personal.
After you approve and pay, the ebook is there to read together. A hardcover is printed and posted in about seven days, plus the shipping time quoted at checkout. Nothing in the story run starts until the likeness is signed off. Original photos are used only to draw the child — not sold, not shared, not used as ads — and you can request deletion. Photo tips for shots; kids’ photo privacy for the short version; the Privacy notice for the legal one.
Timing for a September start
For a September start, plan backwards from the first morning. The ebook can be ready to read soon after you approve the drawing and pay — useful in late August, or the night after day one. A hardcover keepsake needs about seven days to print and post, plus shipping quoted at checkout. If you want the physical book on the shelf before term, order with that buffer. There is no countdown on this page, and no free express shipping for last-minute term orders.
Grandparents, godparents, and aunts sometimes want the print edition in a bag on the first day. Same flow, same likeness approval — there is no ship-without-approval shortcut. If you are ordering for someone else’s child, the gift hub walks the giver view: photo, name, age, then the person creating the book still signs off the drawing. The personalized children’s book gift page is the giver view.
Formats & price
Digital ebook is €9.99 — the full illustrated story to read on screen. The ebook + hardcover bundle is €34.90 plus shipping: digital plus a stitched hardcover. If you already bought the ebook, the hardcover upgrade is €24.90 plus shipping, about seven days to print and post.
Amounts in EUR. Shipping is quoted at checkout for print orders. Taxes may apply depending on destination. Compare the three SKUs on Pricing, and use Hardcover vs ebook when you are choosing a format rather than rereading it here.
Digital ebook
€9.99
Full illustrated story to read on screen.
Ebook + hardcover
€34.90
Digital plus a stitched hardcover. Shipping quoted at checkout.
Hardcover upgrade
€24.90
Add print later — about seven days to print and post, plus shipping.
Related firsts
Other gentle firsts — sleeping in their own room, being brave in the dark, a new baby at home — still live on the homepage theme list. Dedicated pages for those challenges are not live yet; until they are, start from the homepage and look at sample spreads. Relatives can start from the gift hub. Browse themes on the homepage and sample spreads on Examples.
A clear face helps: eyes visible, decent light, not a tiny figure in a group. One good photo is enough. Then start their nursery story. How it works, Pricing, FAQ, and the guides on personalization, photo tips, hardcover versus ebook, and kids’ photo privacy are one click away.
Should we read it before or after the first day?
Either. Some families preview the routine in the days before so the morning feels familiar; others use it the evening after to talk about what happened. There is no required order.
Can the story match our nursery’s goodbye routine?
Yes. You can pick Toto’s nursery idea or write one sentence of your own so the arc fits your drop-off — a handshake, a window wave, two minutes on the bench.
How fast can we get a hardcover before term starts?
Plan on about seven days to print and post, plus the shipping time quoted at checkout. The ebook is the faster read-together option. There is no free express shipping for last-minute term orders.
How it works · Examples · Pricing · FAQ · Gift hub · Personalization · Photo tips · Hardcover vs ebook · Photo privacy