The Backstage Book
For kids who ask how the trick was done
Every book is one of a kind — personalized with your child's photo, name, and favorite things, in the illustration style your family loves.
Free to try — see the first pages of your child's book before you buy. No account needed.
Starting at $12.99 for digital · $46.99 printed hardcover
Start on your phone — finish anywhere with sign-in.
About This Story
Our hero has been fooled — and hates it. So when the Great Marvelo's magic show comes to town, they arrive with arms crossed... and get gloriously fooled anyway, three times, once from a foot away. But Marvelo knows an asker when he sees one, and after the show he opens the little door no one notices: backstage. Ropes, mirrors, a sleeping dove, two thousand practices — and the discovery that changes everything: knowing how the trick works doesn't break the magic. It doubles it. And it means no trick can ever use you again.
The moment it lands
The turn comes through the little stage door, where the magician shows your child's hero the dove trick slow — and knowing how doesn't break the wonder, it doubles it. At the workbench they take apart the thing that fooled them with three questions: how was it made? who made it? what did they want me to feel? Your child comes home with a real coin trick, those three questions ready for the next too-shiny thing on a screen, and the difference that matters most: honest tricks show you their backstage — the other kind never will.
Why it stays on the nightstand
In a world where your child can't always trust their eyes, this book plants the most protective habit there is — asking "how was it made?" with delight instead of dread. "Does it show its backstage?" becomes your family's test for ads, videos, and tall tales, without ever souring the magic shows and pretend games that deserve the wonder.
What it quietly teaches
Responsible Decision-Making: Evaluating what to believe and trust: distinguishing honest performance from manipulation, checking claims against their making, and calibrating trust with curiosity instead of cynicism
Take the Sample With You
Sample coming soon
Every book is painted fresh from your child's photo — no two are alike!
How It Works
Upload Photos
Add photos of your child and their favorite toys or pets.
We Weave the Story
Your child's name, their face, their beloved bear, stitched through every verse and every page. No two books alike.
Print or Download
Get a digital PDF instantly, or order a printed hardcover shipped to your door.
What Parents Say
“ She LOVES the book... it's in a place of honor.”
“My kids love their books, they are a bedtime go-to.”
“This was her favorite birthday gift”
“I love it a million!”
“My kids loved their book about a trip to Candyland”
“These are incredible. Well done.”
“My Bunbun! In a book!”
“The illustrations, the quality of the books, the Russian rhyming is top notch.”
“I made one book for each of my bridesmaids. I gave it to them on the morning of the wedding. They bawled. They loved it so much. Thank you.”
“These books are magical.”
“ It was delivered perfectly and I LOVE LOVE LOVE it!! Can't wait to give it to our granddaughter on her birthday this month.”
Free to try — see the first pages of your child's book before you buy
