Book dedication

DefinitionA book dedication is a short personal message at the front of a book - who it is for, who it is from, and a note - printed before the story begins.

A dedication is the line at the front that says who the book is for and who it is from. In a mass-market book it is the author addressing someone in their own life, which is why most readers skip it. In a personalized book the roles invert: the giver writes it, the child is the subject, and it becomes the most-read page in the book.

Length is the thing people get wrong. A dedication is not a card and not a letter. Two lines is generous, three is usually too many, and a paragraph reads as an adult talking to other adults over the child's head. The constraint is what makes it land - a single specific sentence beats a general one of any length.

Specificity beats sentiment. 'To my wonderful daughter, you can be anything' is true of every child and therefore about none of them. 'For Maya, who asked what was inside the moon and would not accept a guess' is about one person, and it is the sort of line a twenty-year-old rereads and recognises themselves in.

Include the occasion or the date if you can. A dedication without one is a nice message; with one it becomes a record - the fifth birthday, the week the new baby came, the first day at the big school. That anchoring is most of what makes the book worth keeping rather than simply worth reading.

Sign it in a way that will still make sense later. 'Love, Mum and Dad' is clear in forty years. A pet name, an inside joke or an initial may be warmer now and unreadable to the adult that child becomes, so it is worth using both if the nickname matters to you.

You will see the page called a dedication, an inscription or a personal message. Strictly an inscription is handwritten after printing and a dedication is printed as part of the book, though most shops use the words interchangeably.

Common questions

What should I write in a child's book dedication?

One specific thing about that child, the occasion, and your name. Something they actually do or say beats a general wish, because a general wish is true of every child and a specific detail is a record of who they were at that age.

How long should a book dedication be?

Two lines is plenty and three is usually one too many. The page is read in a few seconds by an adult holding a child, and a long dedication turns into something the reader skips rather than something the child hears.

Should I put the date in a dedication?

It is worth it. A date, or a named occasion like a fifth birthday, is what turns a warm message into a record of a particular moment - and it is the detail people are most grateful for when they find the book again years later.

Can somebody other than a parent write the dedication?

Yes, and grandparents write a great many of them. The only thing worth doing differently is signing in a way that will still be clear decades on - a name as well as a nickname, since the child may not remember which grandparent was which.

Related terms

Keepsake bookPersonalized storybookHardcover vs softcoverBoard bookPicture book

Will it actually look like them?

  • Reference portrait: Deep brown skin, tightly coiled hair, age 5The illustrated character kept from it: Deep brown skin, tightly coiled hairDeep brown skin, tightly coiled hair
  • Reference portrait: Fine, fair, barely-there hair, age 1The illustrated character kept from it: Fine, fair, barely-there hairFine, fair, barely-there hair
  • Reference portrait: Straight black hair with a fringe, age 7The illustrated character kept from it: Straight black hair with a fringeStraight black hair with a fringe
  • Reference portrait: Curly ginger hair and freckles, age 4The illustrated character kept from it: Curly ginger hair and frecklesCurly ginger hair and freckles
  • Reference portrait: Round glasses, age 6The illustrated character kept from it: Round glassesRound glasses
  • Reference portrait: Long braids with beads, age 8The illustrated character kept from it: Long braids with beadsLong braids with beads
  • Reference portrait: A visible hearing aid, age 5The illustrated character kept from it: A visible hearing aidA visible hearing aid
  • Reference portrait: A baby with no hair, 6 monthsThe illustrated character kept from it: A baby with no hairA baby with no hair

Skin tone, hair texture and freckles all carried through - including the cases most generators get wrong. See it up close

See inside a finished bookWhat happens to the photoHow we compare

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