The New Friend

Free preview - see your child before you pay

Ages 4-6Ages 6-8Making friends

from $14.90free preview first

A new playground, nobody your child knows, and one small decision: be the one who says hello first. For the week you move, or start again.

Formats and prices for The New Friend
Format	Price	What you get
Digital	$14.90	Read tonight, any device
Softcover	$38.90	Printed keepsake
Hardcover	$42.90	Premium 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 playground at full noise, seen from the one spot at the edge where nobody is standing.

Chapter One

Nobody I Know

Your child stood at the gate and counted the children. Every single one already had somebody.

A playground at full noise, seen from the one spot at the edge where nobody is standing.

The approach: three steps taken, hands out of pockets, a sentence clearly rehearsed.

Chapter Two

Somebody Has to Go First

It turns out saying hello takes about two seconds, and being brave takes slightly longer.

The approach: three steps taken, hands out of pockets, a sentence clearly rehearsed.

Two children, then a third arriving uninvited, which is how it usually actually goes.

Chapter Three

Two, Then Three

By the time the bell rang there were three of them, and none of them could remember being alone.

Two children, then a third arriving uninvited, which is how it usually actually goes.

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 New Friend is for

The New Friend is for the child standing at the edge of a playground where they know nobody. The book does not arrange a friend for them; it makes them the one who speaks first, which is harder and more useful. Bought most often in the fortnight after a house move or a change of school.

Four to eight, and it needs a child old enough to have felt the awkwardness rather than simply the loneliness. Below four, children tend to join in without deciding to. From six the middle chapter, where somebody has to go first and it is going to be them, is the part that gets remembered and quoted back later.

For Ruth, who said hello first on her second day and had four friends by the third.

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 New Friend for?

The New Friend is written for ages 4-8. 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 New Friend 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.