Here’s a fun idea for those of you who are over-achiever-Christmas-gift-buyers-who like to get things done well before Thanksgiving. Personalized books for children from Printakid.com!

I love it when I get free stuff in the mail and all I have to do is write a review of the product on my blog. I can do that. I majored in writing “puff pieces” in college. Well, not exactly “puff” but I never had the heart to write the hard news. I’d glady write for the life and style section over the front lines of a newspaper any day. But enough about me.

This is a review of the “Robots of Sedna” an exciting tale of space creatures named Gorbak and Gimik who kidnap ME! Baby Bug has to rescue me with the help of her trusty cousins Rapunzel, SuperChick and Emster! It’s pretty cool. I don’t think Baby Bug realizes the story has characters from her real life yet but she does like the glossy colorful pages and the big-girl paper that she just can’t wait to stick in her mouth and turn into oooey gooey slobber paste. I think as she gets older she’ll appreciate it more and more.

These books are such a cool idea that I might have to order one for each of Baby Bug’s cousins. There are several storylines available, including some about princesses. I chose the robot one because Baby Bug isn’t into that sissy stuff. (Ha! That’s what I think. We’ll see how wrong I am when she grows up and wants a Disney Princess lunch box.)

Overall I’d say this is a pretty good product and I’m not just saying that because I got it for free. The plot is clever though a little weak in it’s trap-door-opens-from-the-ceiling-and-everybody-is-rescued kind of ending. But what do you expect? Not every book can be award winning. Besides kids love trap door endings. The paper and binding and printing are very nice. Since I worked in the customized direct mail business for seven years I’m used to looking at personalized letters with my eagle eye. I’m usually an expert at spotting what was preprinted and what was printed on the fly with a dot matrix or a color copier. I’d say this was done very well. You can’t even tell that the black plate was added later after the color pictures were printed. Or maybe the whole thing was printed on a color copier. I have no idea how they do things these days. (Sorry to bore you with the shop talk.) My point is: it’s done well enough that the one-up personalization feels seamless.

I think this a very fun gift for children who love it when the whole world revolves around them. And hey, I can’t complain, I’m in the book too!