The Dinosaur in the Garden

Your child’s name and face on every page.

The printed hardcover of The Dinosaur in the Garden, made for Leo

How it works

  1. Add your child’s name and photo.
  2. Personalise the story: add a family member, pet or favourite toy.
  3. Preview it before you pay.
  4. You receive it in the mail in about 2 weeks.

The story

A baby dinosaur pokes her head through the garden fence, and your child follows her into a hidden prehistoric valley to track down her mum.

Look inside Leo’s copy

Cover: Leo and Sprout standing together in a lush prehistoric clearing, giant ferns arching overhead and a steaming volcano in the distance.
A sunny suburban Australian backyard on a warm afternoon.

One sunny morning, Leo was digging in the sandpit when he heard a scratching noise. He turned and saw a small green head peeking through a gap in the fence.

"Excuse me," said a soft little voice. "I'm Sprout, and I've lost my mum. Can you help me find her?"

Leo dropped his spade and gasped in surprise. He had never seen a real life dinosaur before.

Close-up at the missing fence plank in the same backyard.

Leo approached the small dinosaur nervously. Sprout looked so alone and sad.

Leo reached through the gap in the fence and gave Sprout a gentle pat. "My name is Leo," he said softly. "And I will help you find your mum."

Sprout's face lit up. "Oh thank you, Leo!" she said, wriggling backwards through the fence. Leo took a deep breath and squeezed through after her.

Wide over-the-shoulder shot of a hidden prehistoric valley opening before Leo and Sprout.

Leo stood up and gasped. Giant ferns towered above him like enormous green umbrellas. The air was warm and humming with strange noises.

Leo gave Sprout an encouraging smile. "Let's go find her!"

What happens in the book

Your child is digging in the sandpit when a small green head pokes through a gap in the fence. It is Sprout, a baby dinosaur who has lost her mum. Your child squeezes through after her into a hidden valley of giant ferns, and the search begins. Every time Sprout hears a promising sound, a crunch of leaves, a thump of footsteps, a splash in the river, she rushes off shouting for her mum, and every time it is the wrong dinosaur: a Parasaurolophus with a crest, a Stegosaurus with a spiky tail, a Triceratops with three horns. Then your child looks closely at Sprout's long neck and smooth tail and works it out: she is a Brontosaurus, so her mum must be the biggest dinosaur in the valley. From the top of a hill they find her, and your child rides home on her back.

How your child gets into the book

You upload one photo, and the child helping Sprout on every page is drawn to look like them. Their name is in the text throughout, from the title on the cover to the last line.

Building the book takes about three minutes, and you see the illustrated pages before deciding whether to order.

What you get

  • 32 pages, 21 cm square, in paperback or hardcover
  • 170gsm silk paper with a matte-laminated cover
  • Written for children aged 2 to 12
  • Printed and posted in Australia. Delivery $9.95, free on orders over $75
  • The photo you upload is deleted once your child's character is drawn

Questions parents ask

Do I need a photo of my child?

No. A photo gives the closest likeness, but you can describe your child instead and we will draw them from that.

Which dinosaurs are in the book?

Sprout and her mum are Brontosauruses. Along the way your child meets a Parasaurolophus, a Stegosaurus and a Triceratops, and tells each one apart by its crest, plates, tail or horns.