I Just Found "Lost My Name"

FAMILY MEMBER SPOILER ALERT! If you're related to me, stop reading now unless you want to see what your kiddos are likely getting at some point over the next year!

I used to have a unique name. Before "Who's the Boss?" launched Alyssa Milano to stardom and inspired a new generation of baby makers, nobody knew how to pronounce or spell my moniker, which my mother found in a novel. I loved feeling original when teachers and store clerks commented on my unusual name. 

Nowadays, when I go to the store more often than not I'm cringing and ducking because I hear an angry young mother shout "Alyssa!" Apparently we're an ornery bunch.

Before this new generation of little girls hit the shelves, finding anything personalized with my name was impossible. On family road trips I would check every truck stop along the way for a kitschy keychain, coffee cup or mini license plate that I could purchase to remember me by. No luck (or lots of luck from the perspective of the older and wiser). 

This little boy lost his name - I used to know the feeling!

So last month when I saw a Facebook ad for a personalized children's book by Lost My Name, I had to check it out. Oh, they are devious! Their website instantly starts asking questions about your child. Who doesn't like talking about their kids?? Before I knew it, I was previewing a beautifully illustrated custom fairy tale. Naturally I added it to my cart (I mean - it was already MADE) and saw that an additional book could be had at a discount! I knew I wanted one for my nephew's upcoming birthday. Then I needed to see what the girl's book looked like. Magically, each book I added (up to 5) got successively cheaper. The next half an hour is kind of a blur. 

Less than two weeks later this arrived in the mail...

Clearly we have a gender imbalance in our family!

True to the online preview these books are filled with beautiful and imaginative illustrations. Each describes a journey that a child goes on to "find" their name. Along the way a variety of creatures they interact with give them the needed letters (i.e. Aardvark gives "A," Mermaid gives "M"). By the end of the book, the child's name is completed as a result their magical encounters. 

Lion gives "L"

When creating one for my niece, Anna, I was a little concerned how they would handle having two double letters. Their algorithm accounts for that and she got her own special adventure with no creature repeats.

Perfectly Personalized

Despite buying TEN, there are some options I would like to see Lost My Name offer to make this a top quality gift. It's currently a paperback with matte pages but I would have paid a little extra to get a hardcover copy with thick glossy pages. 

Great inscription, but allowing a personalized one from the giver would be even better!

If you do buy one, be sure to use the preview option to proofread it. They are an independent operation, and while the whole website is pretty slick, I did notice one glitch. I tested out "AAA" and while it does give three unique encounters to get the A's, I noticed the gender switched from boy to a girl on one of the pages. I notified them of the error.

The first book ordered costs $27.99 and has free shipping. Subsequent books receive 5%, 10%, 15% and 20% off, respectively. It would be nice to have the ability to gift wrap and ship to multiple locations (keeping the discount for multiple books in an order!) but that probably makes their margins too slim. Anyway, I do like writing a personalized note in front, so re-shipping isn't a big deal. 

UPDATE 4/7: Today I got an email from Joe at LostMy.Name who provided me with the following information (yay! yay!)

First things first, we now have a new option for gift-wrapping and adding a personalised inscription. Also, a hardback version is on it's way! We have lots of lovely samples sitting around the office at the moment and it's just a matter of time until we launch it. 

In regards to the boy book showing up as a girl on the hole pages, this is something we've been made aware of just today, and we're currently working on fixing it (luckily its only a problem with the widget and doesn't print out like this).

This is the brainchild of a group of friends (three dads and an uncle according to the Lost My Name blog). It is obviously they have put their hearts and souls into making this amazing little book. I am happy to do as they request and spread the word. I love personalized gifts, especially when names are unique. I love fairy tales and fantastical creatures.  I really REALLY love children's books and encouraging young ones to read. For me this was a no brainer - ten times over!