Personalised school starting book with child photo: your child and the Spare Peg

What happens in your child and the Spare Peg

1. Your child arrives in their school uniform and enters the cloakroom.
2. The pegs look full of coats, bags and name labels.
3. Your child spots one spare peg near the end of the row.
4. A child beside it says hello and helps your child settle their things.
5. Your child heads into the classroom feeling proud of finding their place.

How the first page could read

Your child held their coat tightly as they stepped into the school cloakroom. There were pegs all along the wall, with jumpers, raincoats and book bags hanging neatly beneath them. Your child looked from one end to the other. “Where shall my coat go?” they wondered.

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

Why this story works

The cloakroom is one of the first practical moments of a Reception morning: coats come off, bags are put away and children begin to separate from the grown-up who brought them. This story gives your child a small, recognisable problem to follow, rather than making the whole first day feel enormous. Finding the spare peg offers a clear, manageable success, while the child standing nearby provides an easy model for a first conversation. The story moves naturally from uniform and belongings to the classroom, helping a four- or five-year-old picture the sequence of arriving, settling in and joining the day.

Reading it together

• Read it the evening before school and pause at the cloakroom page to talk about where your child might put their own coat and bag.
• Let your child practise saying a simple greeting from the story, such as “Hello, I’m your child.”
• After the first day, ask your child whether they had a peg or place for their things, then add their real detail to the retelling.

Suggested art style: Storybook watercolour

Soft watercolour can make familiar school details, from name labels to coat hooks, feel calm and welcoming. A sidekick idea: a chatty little robin perched above the peg row. You can pick any of the four styles and change the details in the form.