If you are searching "lost my name personalized book", you are almost certainly remembering a specific gift — the book where a child collects the letters of their own name — and wondering what it was called, whether it still exists, and whether there is something like it now that your child is a bit older.
Short answers: it is The Little Boy Who Lost His Name, from a British company that renamed itself Wonderbly in 2017; yes, it still exists; and yes — there is a different kind of personalized book now, one that paints your child from a photo instead of spelling their name. Here is the whole story, with sources, and then a real book to read.
What the "Lost My Name" book actually is#
The book's real title is The Little Boy Who Lost His Name — or The Little Girl Who Lost Her Name — written by David Cadji-Newby and illustrated by Pedro Serapicos. "Lost My Name" was never the title. It was the name of the company, and it stuck to the book because the company had only one.
The idea is the thing people remember. A child wakes up without a name and goes looking for it, meeting a creature for each letter — an aardvark for A, a narwhal for N — until the letters they collect spell them out on the last page. The maker's own product description calls it a quest to find a missing name, one letter and one curious character at a time, running to 22 pages and working for any name of three to twelve letters.
That structure is why it worked. The personalization is structural rather than typed in: a five-letter name is a five-creature story and an eight-letter name is a longer one, so no two copies read the same. Most personalized books before it changed a word; this one changed the plot.
On age, two honest numbers disagree, and both are right. The maker recommends it for ages 0 to 8. Common Sense Media, the independent nonprofit that reviews children's media, rates it age 4+ with the verdict "fun, personalized tale of kid's quest to find lost name." The gap is real: it is bought as a newborn keepsake and read as a story from about four, when a child can follow the letter-by-letter logic rather than simply enjoy the pictures.
What happened to the company#
This is the part no review answers, and it is the reason the old name still gets searched.
| When | What happened | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 2014 | The founders pitch on the BBC's Dragons' Den; Piers Linney invests £100,000 for 4% | Startups.co.uk, Dragons' Den success stories |
| July 2017 | Lost My Name changes its name to Wonderbly and raises 8.5 million dollars in a Series B led by Ravensburger; the name book has sold over 2.7 million copies as of that month | TechCrunch, 31 July 2017 · The Bookseller, 28 July 2017 |
| June 2025 | Penguin Random House acquires Wonderbly; the company has sold more than 11 million books in over 140 countries across a catalogue of over 150 titles, and will keep operating under its own name | Penguin Random House, 4 June 2025 |
In 2015 Piers Linney was quoted as saying it was on track to become the most successful business ever to pass through the Den. Read the table from the bottom up and the shape is clear: one very good idea about letters, executed well enough that a decade later it belongs to the world's largest trade publisher.
So: it is still made, it is still the same book, and it is easier to find than ever. It is just not called what you remember.
Why the old name is still searched#
The rename was nine years ago, and parents in the US still type the old name about 2,900 times a month (DataForSEO Labs, US search volume, measured August 2026). A few things are going on in that number.
- The book was a gift. People who received it, rather than bought it, never saw the company name change. They remember what was on the parcel.
- The title and the company name blurred. "Lost My Name" was more memorable than The Little Boy Who Lost His Name, so it became the title in people's heads.
- Misremembered variants all lead back to it. "Forgot my name book", "lost your name book", "lost his name book", "lost her name book" — these are the same search, misspelled by memory, and every one of them resolves to this book.
- It is being looked up for a second child. The most common reason to search it today is that the first child had one and there is a new baby. That is the search this article is written for.
What is different about a book painted from a photo?#
The name book changes the words. A photo-painted book changes the pictures.
| Name-letters book | Photo-painted picture book | |
|---|---|---|
| What is personal | The name, and the letters that spell it | The child's face, hair, clothes — painted on every page |
| How the child appears | A stock character with a few features chosen from a menu | Painted from one photo, recognisably them |
| Where the story comes from | One story, adapted to the letters | Written from a few sentences you type about your child's real week |
| Who else can be in it | The child alone | Up to three companions: a sibling, a grandparent, the dog, an imaginary friend |
| What the child says | "That's my name" | "That's me" |
| Best age | Keepsake from birth; a story from about 4 | 3–8 |
| Price | Mid-range | On the pricing page; hardcover ships free |
Neither is a trick, and they are not competing for the same moment. The name book is a lovely first gift, and the letters idea is genuinely clever. The painted book is for the moment — around three — when a child recognises their own face, and the fact that they are in a story becomes the whole point.
What does a personalized picture book from a photo do that letters cannot?#
Put a three-year-old in front of a page with their own face on it and you get a reaction no spelling produces. That is the entire case for a personalized picture book painted from a photo, and it is easier shown than argued. Here is a whole one from our shop, so you are not taking the word "painted" on trust. Your Child and the Rain-or-Shine Birthday Parade is a finished story; the sample shown stars Ava, who is five. When you order it, you add your own child's photo and name, and every page is painted with your child instead — the name is still in the story, but it is no longer the only personal thing.
A book from our shop · ages 3–7
Your Child and the Rain-or-Shine Birthday Parade
A glorious birthday parade planned with two dinosaur best friends — a sock on Lumi's nose, the drum beater in a flowerpot, a ribbon knotted round the apple tree — and then the rain. Room for the disappointment, then a smaller first step: under the table, round the chair, cake for three.
Shown here starring Ava, 5. Yours is painted with your own child’s face and name on every page, from $39 — and you see the pages before you pay.
The photo they uploaded
The character we drew
Written from this story — not a stock track with a name dropped in. Free with every book.
How the story begins
- 1Ava wanted a birthday parade. Not a quiet one. Not a tidy one. A glorious, glorious one! She had two friends, a garden, and a ribbon. “Will that be enough?” “Watch us,” said Tumble.
- 2Ava drew their route: past the flowers, around the apple tree, and back for cake. Lumi would carry the flags. Tumble would beat the drum. Ava would lead the way. “Ready, steady—BIRTHDAY!”
- 3Lumi lifted the flags. Up went the ribbon. Up went her chin. Down came the washing! A sock on her nose! A towel on her tail! Ava laughed, then helped. “A little lower, Lumi.”
The rest of the story is in Your Child and the Rain-or-Shine Birthday Parade.
The words to the song
[Verse 1] Ava had a ribbon and a bright idea, Two good friends who were standing near. Round the tree and back for cake, What a lovely noise we'd make! [Chorus] Ready, steady—birthday! Tap your happy feet. Big ideas or something small— Our little three can make a beat. [Verse 2] Lumi caught a sock that day, Tumble's beater bounced away. Ava wound around the tree— Backwards went our laughing three. [Verse 3] Plip on a nose and plop on a chair, Rain came tumbling everywhere. Ava sat. Her friends sat too. There was no need to hurry through. [Bridge] Tap on the window. Tap on the floor. One small step, and then one more. Under the table, round the chair, A birthday journey anywhere. [Chorus] Ready, steady—birthday! Tap your happy feet. Rain or shine, your hand in mine, Our little three can make a beat. [Outro] Crinkled flags above the bed, All the lovely things we said. Let the rain sing soft and low. Goodnight, Ava. Off we go.
It opens with a very five-year-old ambition: "Ava wanted a birthday parade. Not a quiet one. Not a tidy one. A glorious, glorious one!" She has two dinosaur best friends, Lumi and Tumble, a garden and a ribbon — and then the rain. The book makes room for the disappointment, then finds a smaller first step. If you are shopping for the same occasion the name book is so often bought for, this is our personalized birthday book; our guide to why a personalized book is the birthday gift a child keeps covers timing and choosing. And if your child's two best friends would also be dinosaurs, our personalized dinosaur book guide is written for exactly that child.
What does the story come from, if not the name?#
Either from a finished story in the shop, like the birthday parade above, or from you. On the create page you type two or three sentences about something real, or a wish:
| Weak note | Strong note |
|---|---|
| "She likes rainbows" | "She is certain there is a door behind the waterfall and has decided what is on the other side" |
| "He is a big brother now" | "He checks the cot every morning to see if the baby has arrived yet" |
| "A day at the beach" | "She dug a hole so deep her hat disappeared into it, and then the tide came" |
The right column is what the illustrator paints and what the child recognises. If you want the principle, what makes a good children's story explains why the small specific thing always beats the announcement.
Which should I choose?#
- The child is under two, and this is a first book → the name book is a fine gift, and so is a painted book they will grow into; either way you are buying the reading, not the object.
- The child is three or older → the painted book. "That's me" is the reaction you are paying for, and letters cannot produce it.
- You want the family in it → the painted book; up to three companions from photos.
- You want it to be about something that actually happened — the puddle, the lost tooth, the first swim → the painted book. A name has no week.
- You already own the name book and want the next one → this is the most common case, and the painted book is the natural second: same child, different kind of personal.
- You want to see it before paying → on KindFable the painted cover of your child appears free; you decide after.
For the wider question — how every personalized book company compares on the seven things that actually matter — see personalised book makers, compared.
How is a photo-painted book made?#
There are two roads, and both take a few minutes of your time.
From the shop: pick a finished story such as the birthday parade, add your child's photo and first name, tick the parental consent box, and see the painted pages before you pay.
From your own note, on KindFable's create page:
- Name and age — the story is written to the age.
- One photo — a clear face in daylight. It becomes a painted character and is never stored.
- A parental consent box.
- The story box — the two lines from the table above.
- An art style — nine looks, from warm 3D to classic storybook.
- The cover appears, free.
Either way: softcover or hardcover — current prices are on the pricing page, and the hardcover ships free. The digital book and a song from the story come with both; the hardcover adds a narrated audiobook.
Afterwards it lives in your library — read it tonight, hear it, order an extra copy for a grandparent at half price, or make the next one.
Frequently asked questions#
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Does the name still appear in a photo-painted book? Yes — the child's name is in the story throughout, on the cover, and on the dedication page. The difference is that the name is not the only personal thing.
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Can I get the letters idea and the painting together? Not as one product; they are different books from different companies. Many families own both — the name book from the first birthday, the painted book from the third.
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Is my child's photo safe? The photo is used to paint the character and then deleted. It is never stored, and nothing is ever recognised or matched. The plain-English version is on the privacy page.
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How long does the printed book take? Roughly two weeks; checkout shows a real delivery estimate for your address before you pay. The digital book is yours as soon as it is ready.
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Is KindFable connected to Wonderbly or Lost My Name? No. KindFable is a separate company and is not affiliated with Wonderbly, Lost My Name or Penguin Random House. Their books are named here because they are the books people are searching for, and because an honest comparison needs the real name.
You remembered the book. Now they are old enough to be in one. Start with the photo and see them on the cover before you decide anything.
