Personalised book for a child's first flight: your child's First Flight

What happens in your child's First Flight

1. Your child chooses a few things for a small travel bag.
2. At the airport, your child watches suitcases and follows the signs.
3. Your child waits by the gate and spots aeroplanes through the window.
4. On board, your child finds a seat and hears the engines begin to hum.
5. High above the clouds, your child looks out of the window with the paper gull.

How the first page could read

On the morning of the trip, your child has a little bag to pack. Socks, a favourite soft toy and a picture to look at go inside. At the airport, your child watches suitcases roll away, finds a window seat, and listens as the aeroplane begins to hum.

Your child’s name, look and little details replace these words, and the whole story is written for their age.

Why this story works

First flights contain lots of small, unfamiliar steps: choosing what to pack, entering a busy terminal, waiting near the gate, finding a seat and hearing the engines begin. This story puts your child at the centre of those moments in a calm, clear order. The airport details give parents useful prompts to talk through what may happen on the day, while the window-seat ending gives children a simple picture to anticipate. Made for ages two to five, the story has space to point at familiar objects, name what your child can see and pause over the pictures together. A photo of your child makes the child at the window feel especially recognisable.

Reading it together

• Read it a few days before travelling, then let your child point out the bag, gate and aeroplane seat.
• Use the packing page to talk about one or two familiar items that may go in your child's own hand luggage.
• Pause at the window scene and ask what your child thinks the clouds and tiny fields look like from above.

Suggested art style: Storybook watercolour

Soft watercolour skies, clouds and airport windows give the travel day a calm, gentle feel. A sidekick idea: a tiny paper gull tucked into your child's bag. You can pick any of the four styles and change the details in the form.