What to write in a child's book: dedications you can actually use

Write to the CHILD, not to their parents. The parents will read it once. The child reads it at seven, at fifteen, and again when they are clearing out a house, and every time it matters who it was addressed to.

Say who you are. "Love from Grandma" survives being forgotten; an unsigned line becomes a mystery within a decade. Add the date for the same reason - a dedication with a date on it is a document.

One true thing beats one clever thing. Naming the actual moment - the week they arrived, the day they started school, the year they would not read anything - is what makes a line land twenty years later. Nothing general ever does.

Bringing a book instead of a card is now the convention at most showers, and the parents keep every one. Write to the BABY, not to the parents - it is the child who will read it in six years and find out who was there before they arrived.

"To {name}, who we were all waiting for. Welcome to the world."

"We picked this before we met you. We already knew we would like you."

"For {name} — your first book, from someone who is very glad you are here."

"Read this one to your parents when they cannot sleep. They will need it." (lighter)

The parents are exhausted and will not read a paragraph. Short, and addressed to the child, outlasts anything clever.

"For {name}, on the week you arrived. The house is louder and much better."

"Welcome, {name}. This one is yours."

"For {name} — first book, first of many."

"To {name}, who has already changed everything and has done nothing at all yet." (lighter)

This is the dedication that gets kept the longest, and the one most often left blank because it feels too big to start. Say who you are and one true thing. That is enough, and it is what they will want when they are thirty.

"To {name}, from Grandma, who loves you and has always loved you."

"For {name}. When you are old enough to read this on your own, come and read it to me."

"For our first grandchild, {name}. We waited a long time for you."

"To {name} — love from Grandad, who is very pleased with you."

"For {name}. I am allowed to spoil you. It is in the rules." (lighter)

Name the age. A dedication with a number in it becomes a marker of exactly when they were who they were.

"To {name}, who is five today and is already very good at it."

"Happy birthday, {name}. Here is a story with you in it."

"For {name} on your birthday — from someone who thinks you are excellent."

"To {name}, aged {age}. Do not grow up too fast. Or do. You will anyway." (lighter)

Keep it plain. A christening dedication that reaches for scripture usually sounds like a card shop; one that sounds like the person who wrote it sounds like a keepsake.

"For {name}, on your christening day. Surrounded by people who are glad you are here."

"To {name} — with love on your special day, and every day after it."

"For {name}, from your godmother, who intends to be very good at this."

Be specific about one thing they did. "Thank you for everything" is forgotten by the car park; the sentence naming the actual thing gets kept in a drawer.

"Thank you for the year you gave {name}. He came home talking about books for the first time."

"For Miss {name} — from a child who was nervous in September and is not now."

"With thanks, from {name} and his very grateful parents."

Write it for the child to find later, not for the morning itself. That morning nobody reads anything.

"To {name}, on the day you started school. You were braver than you thought."

"For {name}. Big day. Bigger person."

"For {name}, starting school. Take this one for the days that feel long."

The best dedications are often these. Nothing prompted them, which is exactly what makes them worth keeping.

"For {name}, for no reason. That is the reason."

"To {name} — because you asked for a story and I had one."

"For {name}, who is the hero of this one and most other things."

"To {name}. Read it as many times as you like. That is allowed."

Every line above uses {name} where the child's name goes, and {age} where a number does. Swap them as you write. They are placeholders, not part of the line.

And if you are unsure whether to use their full name: use whatever you actually call them. A dedication that says Alexander to a child everyone calls Alfie reads like it was written by a stranger.