You’re probably already convinced of the importance of books for your child’s development. But what about personalised books? Although still relatively unknown in France, they are a huge success in English-speaking countries. Eponi is one of the few publishing houses specialising in this field in France. Let Eponi tell you why you should choose a personalised book and, more specifically, the Eponi personalised book.
Improve your child’s attention span
Devoting time to reading is not an easy task for all children, even more so at a time when screens are everywhere. For various reasons, some children get more agitated than others during reading and find it hard to stay concentrated. Including the child in the story can be a way of overcoming this. By making the child the hero of the story, he or she will feel involved and will find it easier to listen. They may even take an active part in the reading, commenting on it or asking questions. Outside reading time, developing their attention span will also enable them to focus better on themselves – on their own emotions and intuitions – but also on the world around them. In this way, your child will be more attentive to events around him and more empathetic towards others.
Developing a taste for reading
Children need to learn to enjoy reading so that it becomes a pleasure. Forcing a child to listen to or read any story chosen by default can be counterproductive. We sometimes tend to think that any children’s book will work. Proceeding in this way can lead your child to reject reading. Just as when you want to show your child a film, you need to choose the right book and go for a story that suits them, a story that is as authentic as them. So what could be better than a personalised book? By making your child the hero, and even more so in a world that they like and that resembles them, you are giving them the chance to enjoy the moment of reading. It may even give them the desire to read again, and the curiosity to seek out stories of their own. In this way, you’ll be giving your child the chance to discover reading in the best possible way and encouraging them to develop a passion for books. At the same time, you’ll be stimulating their curiosity and independence.
Help them feel represented and valued
Every child is different, every child is unique. Unfortunately, children’s literature does not always highlight the diversity of our children enough. It is often difficult to find stories that feature children with disabilities or children of colour, for example, without talking exclusively about the issues that concern them. According to a sociological study, between 2010 and 2020, only 173 books featuring a non-white character in French children’s literature were published. Only 53 of these featured a story that was not directly linked to the skin colour of the main character. With a personalised book, you allow your child to be represented by a character who looks like them. You choose the colour of their skin, eyes, hair, and hairstyle. In a world that can sometimes be hostile to them, you remind them of their right to exist and to become someone. Through their own character, you are giving them importance and offering them the recognition that every child deserves in order to develop.
Increase their self-confidence and help them become the heroes of their own story
Representation has important powers. By feeling represented, a child can become aware of his or her value, but also of his or her ability to act. Seeing themselves as the hero of a story will make a child feel special. By following the adventures of their little character, children can identify with their character’s personality and imitate their actions. In this way, children can feel the elements of the story in a more personal and profound way. Children will be able to develop their emotions and acquire positive values linked to the story, such as solidarity, kindness, and benevolence. In addition, when confronted with a character who acts like them, children will find it easier to project themselves into real life and feel more legitimate to take any action. They’ll feel confident enough to commit themselves to what’s important to them and become the heroes of tomorrow.
Having fun learning
Many of today’s personalised books are designed to be both educational and fun. Some personalised books help children to learn and discover the world. What could be better than immersive learning to help them assimilate new concepts? With a personalised book, you make this immersion possible and turn the child from a passive pupil who waits for the lesson into an active pupil who does the lesson. So, when they read the story, alone or with an adult, children are already learning, because they associate their character’s actions with their own. It’s a great way to have fun while learning and to encourage a love of learning. In addition, a book can be reread several times, a great way to review the lesson.
Eponi‘s personalised books: great stories at low prices
When launching its project, Eponi realised several things. Firstly, while every child should have the chance to be the proud owner of a personalised book, unfortunately, most publishers of personalised books offer products at rather high prices that not all parents can afford. For Eponi, it was therefore a matter of necessity to make this book object accessible. Eponi has therefore tried as far as possible to keep the price of its books as close as possible to that of more traditional books. Moreover, Eponi realised that most personalised books were situation books. For us, it’s essential to make your children dream through real stories, real tales. So at Eponi, you’ll find plots designed exclusively for your children to make them fall in love with literature and its secrets.
