The Costume That Chose Itself - the cover, with your child as the heroDelphine's Midnight Cape
Celebrations

The Costume That Chose Itself

Free preview - see your child before you pay
Ages 2-4Ages 4-6Ages 6-8Halloween
from $14.90free preview first

Every costume in the trunk wants to be worn tonight, and they are all talking at once. your child has to choose - or rather, be chosen.

Formats and prices for The Costume That Chose Itself
FormatPriceWhat you get
Digital$14.90Read tonight, any device
Softcover$38.90Printed keepsake
Hardcover$42.90Premium keepsake

Free preview, no card required - see your child as the hero before you pay.

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  • Truly their faceBuilt from one photo, recognizable across all 12 chapters.
  • 12 illustrated chaptersA real story arc, warm hyper-realistic art.
  • Ready in minutesPreview free tonight - pay only if you love it.
A peek inside

How the adventure unfolds

These are just sample lines. Your book is written fresh for your child - their name woven through every page, with the words, sentence length and tone tuned to their age, and shaped by the story, interests and details you choose.

A trunk open and overflowing, every costume clearly mid-argument with the others.
Chapter One

The Noisy Trunk

Your child opened the old costume trunk and every single thing inside started arguing about whose turn it was.

A trunk open and overflowing, every costume clearly mid-argument with the others.

One cape sitting up on its own, in the middle of the pile, having settled the matter.
Chapter Two

One Cape Sits Up

Then one dusty velvet cape sat up by itself, drifted over, and settled around your child's shoulders like it had been waiting.

One cape sitting up on its own, in the middle of the pile, having settled the matter.

Out of the front door into the dark, cape on, the trunk closed and quiet behind.
Chapter Three

Out into the Dark

Out under the streetlamps, with the cape snapping behind, your child felt eleven feet tall and entirely magnificent.

Out of the front door into the dark, cape on, the trunk closed and quiet behind.

These three sample the opening, middle and ending of a 12-chapter book. All twelve are drawn with your child in them when the book is made: the cover and chapter one free in your preview, the remaining eleven once you order.

Is this the one?

Who the Costume That Chose Itself is for

The Costume That Chose Itself takes the one genuinely stressful part of Halloween, deciding what to be, and turns the decision over to the costumes. It is bought for children who change their mind daily for a fortnight, and it lets them off the hook without anybody having to compromise.

Two to eight. Younger children enjoy the talking trunk. From six the reversal, where being chosen is easier than choosing, is the part that lands, and it is a surprisingly useful idea to hand a child who is agonising. Reading level chosen at setup sets how much of the trunk's chatter survives.

For Yotam, who was a dinosaur, then a pirate, then a dinosaur again, then a knight.
Every book opens on a dedication page. You write your own - this is one that suits this story.
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Common questions

What age is The Costume That Chose Itself for?

The Costume That Chose Itself is written for ages 2-8. The story is generated at the reading level you pick during setup, so the same book works at the younger or older end of that range.

How is The Costume That Chose Itself personalized?

You upload one photo of your child. That photo becomes the illustrated hero - same face shape, hair and skin tone - and stays recognizable across all 12 chapters. Their name, age and a dedication are woven in too.

How long is the book, and what formats are there?

Twelve illustrated chapters, one full-page illustration per chapter. Digital is $14.90, softcover $38.90 and hardcover $42.90 plus shipping; the hardcover is a 8x8 inch matt-laminated keepsake.

Can I see it before I pay?

Yes. The cover and the whole first chapter - artwork included - are generated free. You only pay if you want the remaining eleven chapters.

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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