Life

Make Your Dog, Cat, Or Rabbit The Star Of These Cute, Customizable Children's Books

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Proving you love your little pet more than anyone else loves their little pet can be exhausting. Sure, making them their own Instagram page puts you a little bit ahead of the competition, but why not go the extra mile and make a Petlandia personalized picture book starring your pet to really prove your affection? It's the least you can do for your best friend. (And it's a surefire way to show you're the best dog mom out there.)

Pet parenting shouldn't actually be a competition, but it's not a crime to want the world to know how much you care for them. They're with you through it all — 2 a.m. feedings, those walks you take to try to get back in the swing of things post-baby, Bachelorette nights on the couch — so of course you want to celebrate your love for them. Your kids also love the family pet just as much as you do, even if they express their affection in different ways. Petlandia's books offer a meaningful way for your whole family to celebrate your pet, and it's a keepsake you can keep for life.

You might be familiar with personalized books at this point. They're custom made picture books that allow you to put a photo of your loved ones in the text, literally making the story about them. Companies like Read Your Story and Wonderbly focus on making kids part of stories in their books, increasing little readers' interest by embedding them in the text. But Petlandia uses animals to engage audiences, bringing your real life pet to the page using colorful illustrations.

The end product is a really meaningful book your family will love, and they're really simple and fun to make as well. You head to the Petlandia website, and you'll start by creating the illustration of your pet. You type in their name, select dog, cat, or rabbit (those are the only three options so far), and then you'll be taken to a page that lets you choose an illustration that looks most like your animal. You get to personalize the animal's fur color, collar, and eye color. You can also add in information about the pet's owners to make the storyline even more relatable. I made a mockup story about my dog Hank, and it was really fun to see him come to life in an illustration. Considering I'm an adult, I think it's safe to say most kids would have a blast creating the illustrated version of their furry friend too. And if they're not there to create the book, they'll still love reading about all the shenanigans their pet gets into.

If the starring family has more than one pet, there's an option to feature two animals, though you'll have to choose two of the same type of animal (cat vs. dog).

All of the books on the site retail for $30, which is a pretty good deal for a forever keepsake about your furry BFF. And while your pet technically won't be able to follow along, they're sure to at least feel the love and excitement in the air when the story starring them is read aloud.

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