The best personalised books for grandparents (2026)
Picture books that star the grandchild, and books that tell the grandparent's own life. What each one is, what it costs, and who it suits.
Who wrote this: Memolio. We make one of the books on this list, so we're not neutral. We've tried to be fair anyway: every price and detail below was checked on each company's own website on 17 September 2026, and each entry says who the book suits and one thing worth knowing before you buy.
"Personalised book for grandparents" covers two quite different products. Most are picture books for a young child, where the grandparent and grandchild appear as characters in a story that was written in advance. A smaller group are books about the grandparent's real life: their childhood, their work, the people they loved. Decide which of the two you want first, and the choice gets much easier.
Quick picks
- Best picture book, fast: Hooray Heroes, from £46.99, shipped in 3 days.
- Best value picture book: Wonderbly's I Love Grandma This Much, from £29.99.
- Best for a grandparent with glasses or a hearing aid: Librio, €34.99.
- Best illustrated book of the grandparent's real life: Memolio, , about two weeks.
- Best long written memoir, if they'll write it themselves: Storyworth, from $69.
- Best for recording their voice: Remento, $99.
- Best if budget is no object: StoryTerrace, a professionally ghostwritten memoir, from £2,600.
Picture books that star the grandchild
These are made for reading aloud to a child. You pick the names and how the characters look, and the story itself is the same in every copy of that title. They're quick, affordable and made to be read again and again.
1. Hooray Heroes
Rhyming books about the bond between a grandparent and grandchild, such as I Love You, Granny. The illustrations are made by human artists, which Hooray Heroes makes a point of.
- Best for: a gift you need soon, from a young grandchild
- Price: from £46.99
- Format: 28 pages, softcover or hardcover, A4 landscape
- Speed: they say it's shipped in 3 days
- Worth knowing: the story is about the bond between grandparent and grandchild, not about the grandparent's own life
2. Wonderbly
A large catalogue of personalised books, including I Love Grandma This Much and Grandma, Mummy and Me. You choose names and characters, and some titles let you upload a photo.
- Best for: a good-value book for a toddler to give
- Price: from £29.99
- Format: Grandma, Mummy and Me is 34 pages
- Speed: dispatched in 2 to 4 working days
- Worth knowing: Wonderbly pitches I Love Grandma This Much at children up to about age 4, as a gift from them
3. Librio
Our Magical Bond puts a grandparent and grandchild in a story together. The character builder includes details like glasses and hearing aids, so the grandparent can look like themselves rather than a generic granny.
- Best for: a longer picture book where the grandparent looks right
- Price: €34.99 (Librio's English site shows prices in euros)
- Format: 36 pages, softcover or hardcover
- Speed: 4 to 7 business days to the UK
- Worth knowing: characters are built from options, not drawn from photos
4. Dinkleboo
Loves You - Grandparents is a short, rhyming book that tells the child how much their grandparents love them.
- Best for: babies and very young children, on a budget
- Price: £27.99, often on sale for less
- Format: short, square, 21 or 25 cm
- Speed: dispatched in 1 to 3 days
- Worth knowing: it's a short book, aimed at children from 0 to 8
5. I See Me!
Grandma and Me is a picture book with the child's name, and you can add up to four photos.
- Best for: US families who want real photos in a story book
- Price: $29.99
- Format: 22 pages, 8.5 inches square
- Worth knowing: a fixed story for children aged 4 to 8, priced in dollars
Books about the grandparent's real life
These books tell who the grandparent actually is. The difference between them is mostly who does the work: the grandparent, the family, or a paid writer.
6. Memolio
Our product. You answer questions about the grandparent's life, in around 30 minutes, and upload a photo of them. AI writes the story from your answers and paints every page in watercolour, with the grandparent's face taken from the photo. The book reads like a children's book, so grandchildren can follow it, but the stories in it are theirs, taken from your answers.
The whole family can be in the story: grandchildren, children, partner. With a photo we paint them true to life; without one, a few words will do. You only need a photo of the person the book is about.
- Best for: an illustrated book of a real life, given as a surprise
- Price: including VAT, plus shipping
- Format: 24 pages, full-colour A4 hardcover
- Speed: about 2 weeks end to end
- Worth knowing: the pictures are painted by AI, and the book is short. You review every page first, with up to 50 free regenerations, and nothing prints until you approve it
7. Storyworth
Storyworth emails the grandparent a question every week for a year. Their written answers are printed as a book.
- Best for: a grandparent who enjoys writing and will keep it up
- Price: from $69, with a colour edition at $99 and Unlimited at $199
- Format: hardcover, up to 480 pages, mostly text
- Speed: about a year of writing, then around 10 business days to print
- Worth knowing: the grandparent has to write most weeks, so it can't be a surprise. English and Spanish only
8. Remento
The grandparent answers questions by speaking, and Remento turns the recordings into written stories for the book.
- Best for: someone who would rather talk than write
- Price: $99 for a year, including one book
- Format: 8 x 10 inch hardcover, up to 380 pages
- Speed: about 21 business days to deliver once the book is finished
- Worth knowing: ships only to the US, Canada, the UK, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. English and Spanish only
9. StoryTerrace
A professional writer interviews the grandparent and writes their memoir.
- Best for: a full-length memoir, when budget isn't the main concern
- Price: the UK Classic package is £2,600
- Format: hardbound, 60 to 120 pages for Classic
- Speed: around 5 months for Classic
- Worth knowing: the most complete result on this list, and by far the most expensive
At a glance
| Book | What it is | Price from | Who does the work | Photos of the grandparent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hooray Heroes | Picture book, fixed story | £46.99 | You, a few minutes | No, illustrated characters |
| Wonderbly | Picture book, fixed story | £29.99 | You, a few minutes | Some titles take a photo |
| Librio | Picture book, fixed story | €34.99 | You, a few minutes | No, character builder |
| Dinkleboo | Short picture book | £27.99 | You, a few minutes | No, character builder |
| I See Me! | Picture book, fixed story | $29.99 | You, a few minutes | Up to 4 photos |
| Memolio | Illustrated book of their real life | You, around 30 minutes | Yes, faces painted from a photo | |
| Storyworth | Written memoir | $69 | The grandparent, weekly for a year | Their own photos, no illustrations |
| Remento | Memoir from voice recordings | $99 | The grandparent, by talking | Their own photos, no illustrations |
| StoryTerrace | Ghostwritten memoir | £2,600 | A professional writer | Their own photos |
How to choose
If the book is mainly for a young child to read
Pick a picture book. Hooray Heroes if you need it quickly, Wonderbly if budget matters, Librio if you want the grandparent to look like themselves.
If you want the grandparent's own story, and they'll write it
Storyworth, or Remento if they would rather talk. Start early: both take months, and they have to take part.
If you want their real story, but they won't write it, or it's a surprise
Memolio, where the family answers the questions and the book is illustrated. Or StoryTerrace, if you want a full-length memoir written by a professional.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the best personalised book for grandparents?
It depends on what you want the book to do. For a picture book a young child can read with their grandparent, Hooray Heroes, Wonderbly and Librio are the best-known choices. For a book about the grandparent's real life, Memolio makes an illustrated one from answers the family gives, Storyworth and Remento build a longer memoir from the grandparent's own answers, and StoryTerrace has a professional write it.
Which personalised grandparent book tells their real life story?
Memolio, Storyworth, Remento and StoryTerrace. The picture books on this list use a story written in advance, with the characters personalised.
Can I give a grandparent memoir as a surprise?
With Memolio, yes, because the family answers the questions. Storyworth and Remento need the grandparent to answer from the start, and StoryTerrace interviews them.
Which is the cheapest personalised book for grandparents?
Among the picture books, Dinkleboo and Wonderbly are the cheapest, and Dinkleboo is often on sale. Among books about the grandparent's real life, Storyworth starts at $69 and Memolio is plus shipping.
Is this list independent?
No. Memolio wrote it, and Memolio is on it. Every competitor detail comes from that company's own website, checked on 17 September 2026. If something has changed or we've got it wrong, email hello@memolio.io and we'll fix it.
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Prices and product details were checked on 17 September 2026 on each company's own website. Several were running sales that day, so we show regular prices where we could. Prices change, so check theirs before you buy. If we've got something wrong, email hello@memolio.io and we'll correct it.