A personalised book about the fire brigade

The fire engine is red, can be heard from miles away and is always on its way to help someone. Children notice early on that firefighters are the people who head towards what everyone else is running away from, and that stirs both respect and curiosity. A book about the fire brigade lets your child put on the helmet, roll out the hose and be the one who sorts things out. It can also make something frightening, like fire and smoke, a little easier to understand: there are people who know exactly what to do, and they come when you call.

Not everything in a fire-brigade book has to be on fire. Your child can help down a cat that has climbed too high, pump water out of a flooded cellar, be there when a car has slid off the road in the snow or put out a barbecue that has caught fire at a summer party. One page can show the station from the inside, with the kitchen, the garage, the kit hanging ready and perhaps a pole to slide down. A lot of the job is practice, too: rolling out the hose quickly, climbing the ladder and finding the way with a map.

Let the family become the crew. Dad can drive, a big sister can hold the hose and Grandad can sit by the radio. If you've visited a fire station on an open day, write that in, along with the name of your street and what's around it, so that the fire engine rolls up where your child really lives. The toy fire engine that always travels in the bag can be in the book too.

For a child under two, a siren, a red engine, water and a thank-you from the person who was helped are plenty. Three- to five-year-olds want a clear rescue with a happy ending, ideally with an animal involved. School-age children can make decisions as part of the crew, like which way to go when a road is closed, and for an eleven-year-old the mission can be longer and take an unexpected turn. If you're looking for a ready-made beginning, there's the idea The Fire Engine's Big Mission.

Teach your child the emergency number where you live: 999 in the UK and Ireland, 911 in the US and Canada, 000 in Australia and 111 in New Zealand. It's one number for the fire brigade, an ambulance and the police, and you ring it when there's a fire or someone needs help fast. After reading, practise what to say: who you are, where you are and what has happened. You can also press the test button on the smoke alarm together and hear what it sounds like, so the noise never comes as a surprise.

You fill in the child's name, age and what they like, and upload a photo. The story about the fire brigade is written for your very own child, and the thirteen pictures and the cover are drawn from the photo in the style you choose. Brothers and sisters, parents, grandparents or the pet can come along, up to five characters. If you would like to include something that has happened lately, a trip or a lost tooth, just write it and it is woven in.

The eBook is ready a few minutes after payment. Read it, change the text and ask for new pictures until you are happy. Then order it as an A4 hardback book, printed and sent to your door, or straight to the child as a gift. Do add the audiobook or the colouring pages. Start creating the book or read more about the prices. Would you like to see a finished book before you decide? Browse our example books.