Being honest when it's hard · ages 4–8

The Blue Bowl, starring your child.

Grandma's blue bowl is in pieces on the floor, and nobody saw. your child could say it was the cat. This is a story about the small, heavy walk to the garden to say three hard words: it was me.

Owning up when nobody would ever have known.

Type the name, pick boy or girl, add a dedication if you like, and send the order. We confirm by email and the 11-page PDF, in two editions, follows within one working day. $99.

N° 01What this story teaches

A lie is a thing you have to carry. The truth is heavy for eleven steps and then it's done.

Choose this one when

After a broken thing, a blamed sibling or a small lie
Teaching honesty as courage rather than as a rule
A child who hides mistakes because they fear the reaction

What your child takes away

Owning up when nobody would have known is the bravest kind of honest. It makes the grown-ups trust you more, not less.

A note for parents

The grandmother's reaction is the model: the bowl can be glued, the honesty can't be. Worth a conversation about how you respond when your child confesses.

N° 02Personalize it

Make it theirs

Child's name

The story is about a

Dedication (optional, printed on the first page)0/280

$99PDF · sent by email

11 pages: cover, dedication page, 8 story pages, back page.
Two PDFs: screen edition and 8×8 in print edition with bleed.
The button opens our order form with these details filled in. We confirm by email, you pay by invoice, and the PDF follows within one working day.
Name and dedication are the only changes. The story and art are fixed.

The Blue Bowl cover — The Blue BowlA story starring Mia

Grandma's blue bowl sat on the shelf by the window. It was older than Mum. It was older than the house. "Nobody touches the blue bowl," Grandma always said. So nobody did.

Mia thought fast. It could have been the cat. Cats knock things over all the time. Grandma would be sad, but not sad at Mia. It would be so easy.

They glued it together at the kitchen table. You could see the cracks. "Good," said Grandma. "Now it has a story." And she put it back on the shelf, exactly where it was.

Cover and three of the eight story pages, with Mia's name in place. The paid file has every page.

N° 03What you get

A finished picture book

Cover, dedication page and eight illustrated story pages, with the name in every scene where it belongs. Same painterly art in the boy and girl versions.

Two PDFs, one price

A screen edition for tablets and home printing, and an 8×8 inch print edition at 300 DPI with bleed and trim box for any print shop.

What it isn't

The story, the art and the character are fixed. If you want a book written about a specific child, from a photo, that is the custom courage book at $799.

N° 04Other courage stories

The First Day

First day of school

The Quiet Hand

Speaking up in class

Nobody Sits Alone

Standing up for someone

Two Wheels

Trying something new

When You Were Little

Looking back at a younger self

Want a story written about your child specifically? The custom courage book