The Wish at Midnight - the cover, with your child as the heroDario's Midnight Wish
Celebrations

The Wish at Midnight

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

Staying awake until midnight is the hardest job in the world, and your child has exactly one wish saved up for the moment the year turns over.

Formats and prices for The Wish at Midnight
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.

Propped upright on a sofa at half past ten, eyes enormous, absolutely not sleepy.
Chapter One

Staying Awake

Your child had one job that night, and it was the hardest job in the world: keeping both eyes open until midnight.

Propped upright on a sofa at half past ten, eyes enormous, absolutely not sleepy.

The sky cracking open over the rooftops, seen through a window at the exact moment.
Chapter Two

The Sky Cracks Open

Then the whole sky went gold and green and pink at once, and your child forgot entirely about being sleepy.

The sky cracking open over the rooftops, seen through a window at the exact moment.

The wish itself, saved all evening, being spent with both eyes shut.
Chapter Three

One Wish, Saved Up

In the quiet afterwards, your child made the wish that had been saved all year, and did not tell a soul.

The wish itself, saved all evening, being spent with both eyes shut.

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 Wish at Midnight is for

The Wish at Midnight is about staying awake, which for a child is a genuine feat of endurance. Two chapters are spent fighting sleep and the wish only arrives once they have won. It is read on the thirty-first of December, usually early, by parents who know how the evening will actually go.

Two to eight. Younger children enjoy the fireworks and will be asleep long before midnight regardless. From six the saving-up of one wish across a whole evening is a structure a child can appreciate, and they tend to arrive at their own wish while listening. Reading level chosen at setup.

For Alma, who has been saving the same wish since she was four and has not spent it.
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 Wish at Midnight for?

The Wish at Midnight 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 Wish at Midnight 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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