books

Personalised children’s books get boost from Google Ventures

June 27, 2015

Lost My Name's first picture book project. Lost My Name has just secured funding from Google Ventures. – AFP/Relaxnews pic, June 27, 2015.Lost My Name, a London-based publishing start-up that uses algorithms to create personalised children's books, has just secured funding from Google Ventures, signifying the great potential of high-tech tales for kids.

The first project by Lost My Name is the personalised picture book "The Little Boy/Girl Who Lost His/Her Name" which, according to the company, has sold 600,000 copies in 135 countries since launching two years ago.

The physical book tells the story of a child who wakes up to find out his or her name has disappeared and sets out on a quest to find it, meeting various creatures along the way who each lend the child the first letter of their name.

Founders say they started the book as a pet project that stemmed from frustration about the lack of quality personalised books and of innovative technology being used in storytelling for kids. They responded by creating a "multi-threaded storytelling software" that generated a story from a database of more than 250 assets.

Lost My Name has a second picture book launching in the fall, this one based on the theme of belonging and a child's place in the universe. Its creators are calling it the most technically ambitious physical picture book ever made.

Several other projects have made use of technology for children's stories, although most – such as StoryPanda, Caribu and A Story Before Bed – have been geared toward a digital format.

"My Magical Adventure", a project currently on Kickstarter, where it's been funded with a few days to go, promises a printed personalised children's book with a main character customised to resemble the child who'll be reading it. – AFP/Relaxnews, June 27, 2015.