Renae

---- PROJECT UPDATE ----

THIS POZIBLE HAS BEEN SUCCESSFULLY COMPLETED!

Thank you everyone for your support!

Although you can no longer order a book through this site, our website is now live and taking orders!

If you want to order a book for a special little someone, then please visit

www.onceuponmytime.com

thanks again!

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We think Once Upon My Time is the most high tech children’s book ever made. Personalised down to the tiniest detail for your child, it sneakily teaches kids ages 2 and over to be persistent when learning something new.





Once Upon My Time is a book for children aged 2 to 7 years. Yes, a book, one of the old fashioned hard cover things with pages made of paper. What’s special about this book is that you get to choose the storylines that go in it, based on what the child likes. And while they are engrossed in the story that is all about them, they’re learning that persistence and determination will help them in whatever they are trying to accomplish.

I’m an Aunty to two girls and a little boy. Teaching them to keep trying and to never give up is probably the single greatest lesson I can give them. I made this book so that my nieces and nephew would be main character in the story. Their character would look like them and have their name, and the story would be all about them trying their hardest to accomplish new things. Being a story book, they don’t even have to be able to read, it can be read to them! Which is fun for me too.





The lessons kids will learn in this book are a lot like the lessons I learned along the way of making it! I was told time and again that this would never work – that to print one-of-a-kind books with a beautiful hard cover was impossible, or at least ridiculously expensive. I don’t know how many times I heard : “Yes we can print those books, they will be $100 each and take 3 weeks to produce.” I searched all over Asia to find a printer that could deliver one of these books for under $30, and failed time and again. But I didn’t give up. In the end I found a great printer right here in Melbourne, Australia. They’re already printing photobooks, so have all the equipment required to produce photo quality hard-cover books that will be delivered to your door within 1 to 2 weeks!

That’s why I’m here on Pozible – our printer needs a minimum order of 200 books to cover the cost of setting up the printing press at their end. So I need your help. I don’t think I’m alone in believing that making a book all about a child will make them more interested in reading books. I reckon there’s at least a couple of hundred other parents, Aunties and grandparents out there in Australia who agree with me.





I looked at ordering a personalised book off the shelf as a gift for my neice, and what was on offer left a lot to be desired. Sure, I could get a book with my niece’s name in it that kind of looked like her, but the title ‘Abbey the Princess’ left me uninspired. The princess? I don’t know about you but I didn’t think she needed ANOTHER book all about an unattainable ideal. I wanted her to want to learn to count, to see the fun in learning a musical instrument, to dance her little heart out with cute little leaping sheep! There’ll be enough pressure on Abbey to be a little princess later in life. Right now I want her to be inspired to learn new fun things! …And most importantly - to fall in love with books and reading.





"Ellana has been carrying the book with her all day and showing it to everyone. She absolutely loves it!"

Nazy, mother of Ellana



"One very excited little girl took her Abbey and Rufus book to kindy today for show and tell!"

Jenny, mother of Abbey





"I was amazed at how very simple and straightforward it is to do. I honestly cannot explain just how simple it is to complete! I also really like that you can view a sample of the book to give you a taster of how it is going to look."

Laura, Mum to Sophie aged 3 and a half



"When the book arrived, a couple of days later, I was very impressed with the quality of the printing. Everything is very clear and the illustrations are amazing. I am sure this will be a book that Thomas will treasure for years to come. I just hope he likes the dedication in the book from his Mommy and Daddy!"

Jo, mother to Thomas



"I think this makes a fantastic gift as they really are beautifully illustrated and Zara loves her book – especially the fact that the book is all about her."

Dawnie, mother to Zara






In the book, your child is the star and they appear on every page. Through our easy to use website you get to choose the gender of the child, what they look like and their name.

We have 5 skin tones, 3 girls’ hair styles, 5 hair colours and 4 eye colours to choose from. As you can see there’s a pretty good range.




Here’s an example of what the horse storyline looks like with three examples of different children being the star – two girls and a little boy. My niece loves seeing herself riding a horse in a book.








The child is guided through the adventure with Rufus McWoof. He’s the loveable best friend who is always there to encourage, share joys, be a mentor and be an all round general top dog! My niece sees him as a best friend of sorts.



Rufus McWoof tucking the child in bed at the end of the book.





On each page we’ve put a little mouse. I’ve found that if little ones have something on each page they need to find, it really helps to keep their attention on the book. Finding the mouse becomes a game for the child.




Here's a shot from the book with the mouse dreaming about what he wants to do when he grows up.




In the book you can choose any three storylines out of the 12 we currently have on offer, we then mix them into a single book and send it to you. Each storyline has been written to either inspire, educate or entertain.



Soccer



In this story line, your child gets to play soccer in the park with their friends, an amusing bunch of farm yard and household animals. At first the child slips up and finds it too hard, but with encouragement, they get up and get the hang of it! Look how happy that sheep is that the child has finally kicked a goal. (Can you find the mouse?)


Rufus taught her to dribble and taught her to pass,
And she laughed as the football flew over the grass.
It bounced off her knee and it flew off her toe,
And soon she was footballing just like a pro.


Animals



In the ‘animals’ story line, the child gets to play with a cow, a pig, a cat, a horse, a sheep, a dog, and a goose. Well when I say ‘play’, they’re actually in a classroom learning the languages of different animals. I figured that pretty soon my niece would be at school and would be introduced to learning a second language. This should help her to mentally prepare for the challenge. This story teaches the importance of trying at something over and over again to be able to get better at it.


So she tried it again, and she barked and she growled,
then Rufus McWoof showed her how a dog howled,
And soon she was happily barking and yapping.
The rest of the class sat there cheering and clapping.


Race car driving



Which child doesn’t like a bit of vroom-vroom! My nephew is so obsessed with this story line, as he just loves playing with his toy cars.


“Let’s pretend to be cars!” So they ran round and round
While Rufus made vroom-vroom motor-car sounds.
They zoomed round the track!
They were going so fast,
But who would come first and who would come last?


Being a good friend



One thing I have heard over and over again while speaking to parents is how important it is to teach their child to play well, to get along with the other kids and to be a good friend. This storyline reinforces the need to be a good friend, with Rufus McWoof helping the child and the pig to learn to get along despite their differences.


“We have different faces and like different things –
Sally likes roundabouts, I prefer swings –
But to fight with each other is silly and wrong.
We’ll have so much more fun if we just get along.”


Dancing



In the 'dancing' storyline, the main character tries his or her hand at dancing, but doesn't quite get it at first. The main character is a little frustrated after their first attempted twirl. With encouragement from Rufus McWoof and from her loveable friends, the child keeps trying and ends up dancing up a storm!


"It's too hard," said Katie. "I hate all this spinning."
"Come on!" Rufus shouted. "The fun's just beginning!"
If you trip, try again - that is always the answer!
Point your toes, tap your feet - you will soon be a dancer!"


Count to 10



A great story line for kids learning to count, or learning to read numbers. A beautifully illustrated tree hides a number of bees that are ready to count.


You just can't be bored on a day like today!
There are new things to see, there are new games to play!
Counting the bees as the buzz 'round the hive...
One, two, three, four, five...


Eating Healthy




This story line encourages children to seek out healthier choices when they need a snack. After passing a tired, worn out cat who has been snacking on pies all day, Rufus McWoof and the child help themselves to healthy treats in a garden bursting with fruit and veggies.


Rufus agreed that some cake sounded yummy,
But knew something better to put in her tummy,
They sniffed and the snuffled and something smelled sweet,
So they followed their noses for something to eat.


Horses



The horse storyline is probably my favourite. The love between the horse and the child just jumps off the page, as the horse takes the child across fields, jumps over rivers and trots down paths. There's a beautiful part where the child weaves daisy chains into the horse's hair and the horse "munches on buttercups in the fresh air". This is a much safer option for a child to live their dream of riding a galloping horse.


Katie climbed on, and they started to trot.
"Giddyup! Giddyup!" They were off like a shot
They cantered and galloped for mile after mile
Katie was wearing world's biggest smile.


Road Safety



This story line helps to reinforce good road safety habits in children using Rufus McWoof as a friendly, helpful guide. Rufus teaches the child to stop, look and listen until the path is clear, and then holds onto the child's hand to help cross the road safely. Can you see the mouse lost in the exhaust of that car going too fast?


The cars go so fast they could hurt you, you see
Now hold onto my paw and cross over with me.
Katie had learned always do what Rufus says,
So she stood patiently and looked both ways.


Stranger Danger



In "Stranger Danger", Rufus helps to teach the child about the importance of never accepting rides from grown ups that they do not know. He explains what a stranger is ("If you don't know a grown-up") and to never go with them, to run away and then tell a parent or teacher as soon as they can.


"Katie," said Rufus, as both of them ran,
"Tell a parent or teacher as soon as you can.
If anyone tries to convince you to go
With a grown-up stranger that you do not know."


Playing a musical instrument



Learning a musical instrument can be quite a fun experience for a child. But when they first pick up an instrument, it generally tends to not sound so good. In this story Rufus takes the child to practise with his band, which includes a cow on the drums, a guitar playing pig and a chorus of beat-boxing rapping cats. After trying a guitar, a violin and a flute, the child persists with a trombone and is soon "playing it all on her own".


The guitar-playing pig said, "Would you like a turn?
Practice makes perfect - the best way to learn!"
I'll play on the drums, and you strum on the strings
We'll make wonderful music while Rufus sings.


Going to Bed on Time



A friend of ours taught us a trick to get kids to go to bed on time. She tells them the fairies that help them to grow big and strong only come at night when the child is sleeping! She says it works every time. This story is great for kids who need a little help in understanding the benefits of going to bed when the grown ups tell them to. We end the story book with this softly rhyming option because it is a perfectly sleepy way to end a bed-time story.


Emily's eyes wouldn't stay open much longer,
She wanted to grow to be bigger and stronger,
So she got snuggled down and she turned off the light,
And the fairies watched over her all through the night.




We figure that as a keepsake book, it would be absolutely priceless to be able to add a little dedication and a photo in at the front of the book. So, no problems you can load yourself a dedication photo.







The software we have built to make these books enables us to put the book together without adding in the colour if we want. And we have done this to make a colouring in option. We just print the black outline of the illustrations on to drawing paper perfect for colouring-in pencils and crayons.

Not only do my nieces and nephews love them but - more importantly - it gives their parents 20 minutes of peace and quiet! (Shh, don’t tell the kid that’s what it’s for!)







These books are printed in Melbourne. For you that means Made-in-Australia quality and that the books will arrive in your letterbox within two weeks (after the end of the Pozible campaign). And importantly, we offer prompt Australian based support for any queries you may have.

Frequently Asked Questions

All funds will go toward the printing of these books.

None. I already overcame them all to get to this point!