The Longest Wave Goodbye - the cover, with your child as the heroPriya's Longest Wave Goodbye
Life Milestones

The Longest Wave Goodbye

Free preview - see your child before you pay
Ages 2-4Ages 4-6With someone they loveFirst day of schoolBig feelings
from $16.90free preview first

New shoes, a packed bag, and a gate that has to be walked through alone. A reassuring story about the hardest four seconds of the morning - and the whole big day your child handles all by themselves before the wave comes back.

Formats and prices for The Longest Wave Goodbye
FormatPriceWhat you get
Digital$16.90Read tonight, any device
Softcover$44.90Printed keepsake
Hardcover$49.90Premium keepsake

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

Secure checkout by Stripe. 2,450+ families in 7 countries.

A story for two: you'll add Mum's photo as well as your child's - both appear on every page, and the prices above include everyone in the book.

  • 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.

New shoes lined up by a front door, with a bag already packed beside them.
Chapter One

New Shoes by the Door

The bag was packed the night before, and the new shoes waited by the door like they were excited too.

New shoes lined up by a front door, with a bag already packed beside them.

The gate, from the child's side, with a hand just leaving another hand.
Chapter Two

Through the Gate

The gate came, the wave happened, and then it was just your child and a whole enormous day.

The gate, from the child's side, with a hand just leaving another hand.

The wave at the end of the day, from the same gate, from a child with a whole day to report.
Chapter Three

The Longest Story

By home time your child had a hundred things to tell, and only one person who had been waiting to hear them.

The wave at the end of the day, from the same gate, from a child with a whole day to report.

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 Longest Wave Goodbye is for

The Longest Wave Goodbye is the first-day book with the parent in it. You add a photo of the parent, and the story is honest about which four seconds are the hard ones: the gate, the letting go, the walking away. Then it stays with the child for the whole day until the wave comes back.

Two to six, tied closely to a first term. It is the right book if the goodbye is the problem rather than the classroom. Older children moving schools generally need less reassurance about the parent and more about the other children. Reading level chosen at setup, kept short for a nervous morning.

For Alma and her mum, who both cried at the gate and neither of them admitted it.
Every book opens on a dedication page. You write your own - this is one that suits this story.
Reviews

Have you read The Longest Wave Goodbye?

If you have given this one to a child, we would like to hear how it landed. Send it to shushanran@gmail.com and we will add it here.

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Common questions

What age is The Longest Wave Goodbye for?

The Longest Wave Goodbye is written for ages 2-6. 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 Longest Wave Goodbye personalized?

You upload a photo of your child and one of Mum. Each becomes an illustrated character - same face shape, hair and skin tone - and they stay recognizable together across all 12 chapters. Your child's 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 $16.90, softcover $44.90 and hardcover $49.90 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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