PERSONALIZED BOOK
Embodiments of the present disclosure include personalized books as well as methods and kits for providing personalized books. One method includes, providing an adult with a list of interview information to be obtained from a child; providing the adult with a list of particular drawings to be obtained from the child; obtaining the interview information from the child in the form of a number of personal comments provided by the child; obtaining a-number of drawings from the list of particular drawings, the number of drawings independently created by the child at the direction of the adult; and creating a personalized book by combining the obtained number of drawings created by the child and the obtained number of personal comments in a particular arrangement.
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Various examples of personalized children's books exist. Some children's books can include personalized text and/or graphics. In one specific example, a purchaser wishing to order a book can fill out and mail to the publisher a personalization form that is filled out with factual data. In accordance with the supplied data, the text is personalized to feature the child as a character in a story and individual physical characteristics of the selected child are superimposed onto a pre-printed, relatively generic, background of illustrations. In this example, a laser printer is used to overprint the personalization over preprinted background pages. Books produced under such a system may include personalization features such as a name in text, and certain other basic features in the overprinted graphics (i.e., skin tone and hair color).
In another specific example of a previous children's book, a completely pre-bound blank board book is utilized with personalized stickers that are printed and affixed to the pages of the board book. The book is printed and bound by the publisher using standard publishing methods, except that blank areas are left in specific locations on the inside pages. The purchaser buys the partially blank hook. A personalization form included with the book is then filled out and the data is sent to the publisher. The publisher prints personalized stickers and mails them to the purchaser. The purchaser inserts the stickers into the appropriate blank spaces in the book. The storyline text in these books is personalized to a small degree, but the illustrations are not personalized.
In still another example, a software program containing a generic story is loaded into a computer at the point of sale. Personalized data from a customer is entered into the program and merged into the story. The personalized story text is printed onto blank areas on sheets of paper that have preprinted illustrations covering one side and partially covering the other side. The finished sheets are assembled and bound with the cover. In this example, some personalization of the generic storyline text is provided, but no personalization of the illustrations or of the cover are provided.
Various previous personalized children's books and/or kits for making personalized children's books include little creative content and input by the customer who wishes to obtain the book. For instance, previous books have focused on developing stories that are pre-written (e.g., the storyline is pre-set) with a few pieces of information provided by the customer that are inserted into the pre-set storyline. As such, little creative input of the customer is included in the book.
Also, various previous personalized books include little or no actual creative input provided by the subject of the book (i.e., the child). For instance, the child may become part of pre-written story as a character, but the book is not written by, or focused on, the child. As such, various previous approaches do not serve as a way of recording the way that a particular child thinks at a particular stage in that child's life. Moreover, various previous personalized books do not use illustrations drawn by the child, such that the books do not serve as a way of recording how the child draws at the particular stage in the chill's life. Furthermore, various previous approaches can be relatively impersonal in that they do not involve interaction between an adult (i.e., a parent, guardian, or teacher, for instance) and a child in obtaining creative content to be used in the book.
Embodiments of the present disclosure can include personalized books as well as kits and methods for providing personalized books. One method includes: providing an adult with a list of interview information to be obtained from a child; providing the adult with a list of particular drawings to be obtained from the child; obtaining the interview information from the child in the form of a number of personal comments provided by the child; obtaining a number of drawings from the list of particular drawings, the number of drawings independently created by the child; and creating a personalized book by combining the obtained number of drawings created by the child and the obtained number of personal comments in a particular arrangement.
In the following detailed description of the present disclosure, reference is made to the accompanying drawings that form a part hereof, and in which is shown by way of illustration how one or more embodiments of the disclosure may be practiced. These embodiments are described in sufficient detail to enable those of ordinary skill in the art to practice the embodiments of this disclosure, and it is to be understood that other embodiments may be utilized and that process, electrical, or mechanical changes may be made without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.
As illustrated in the embodiment shown in
One or more of the pages 105-1, 105-2, 105-3, and 105-N can include creative content 108. As described further herein, in various embodiments, the actual creative content 108 on the pages 105-1, 105-2, 105-3, and 105-N is associated with a list of interview information to be obtained from a child. The interview information to be obtained from the child can be obtained via a number of open-ended questions and/or fill-in-the-blank questions, which can be answered by the child. In one or more embodiments, the child's answers can be recorded by an adult. The actual creative content 108 on the pages 105-1, 105-2, 105-3, and 105-N can also be associated with a list of particular drawings to be obtained from the child. The list of particular drawings can include a number of suggested drawings for the child to create for inclusion in the personalized book.
As an example, in various embodiments, the creative content 108 can include the child's actual answers to questions, the child's independently created drawings, and/or information related to the child's drawings (e.g., the child's statements or comments and/or descriptions of his/her drawings), among various other creative content that can be incorporated into the pages 105-1, 105-2, 105-3, and 105-N of the personalized book 100.
In various embodiments, a third party (e.g., a retail or publishing entity, among other entities) can provide an adult (e.g., a parent, a grandparent, a guardian, or a teacher of the child) with a personalized book kit that contains the list of interview information and/or the list of particular drawings to be obtained from the child. An example of a kit in accordance with one or more embodiments of the present disclosure is described further in connection with
As an example, the adult can complete an interview information form such as form 301 described below in connection with
The completed interview information form can then be provided to a third party such that the information can be incorporated into the personalized book 100. In one or more embodiments, the interview information form can be all online form such that the interview information can be provided to the publisher electronically (i.e., by entering the interview information into data fields via an online website).
In various embodiments, the interview information obtained from the child can be combined with the one or more particular drawings independently created by the child in a particular arrangement on the pages (e.g. 105-1 105-2, 105-3, and 105-N) to create the personalized book (e.g., book 100). Examples of interview information obtained from the child combined with child created drawings in a particular arrangement are described further below in connection with
In various embodiments, the particular arrangement of the creative content 108 on the pages 105-1, 105-2, 105-3, and 105-N of the book 100 can be predetermined by the publisher. In one or more embodiments the particular arrangement of the creative content 108 on the pages 105-1., 105-2, 105-3, and 105-N of the book 100 can be determined by the adult (e.g., the purchaser of the book).
In various embodiments, the interview information and/or drawings to be obtained from the child are directed toward capturing a particular stage in the child's life. In such embodiments, the interview information obtained from the child serve as a way of recording the way the child thinks at the particular stage in the child's life, and the drawings to be obtained from the child serve as a way of recording how the child draws at the particular stage in the child's life. One or more embodiments of the present disclosure can be directed toward capturing particular stages in a child's development when the child is likely to provide particularly memorable statements, drawings, comments, etc.
For instance, in one or more embodiments, the interview information and/or child created drawings are directed toward capturing a particular stage in the life of a child who is not more than nine years of age. In one or more embodiments, the interview information and/or child created drawings are directed toward capturing a particular stage in the life of a child between the ages of four and eight. In one or more embodiments, the interview information and/or child created drawings are directed toward capturing a particular stage in the life of a child who is more than nine years of age. Therefore, embodiments of the present disclosure can include a personalized book that provides a captured record of one or more memorable stages in a child's development.
As such, in various embodiments, the personalized book is not a story that features the child as a character or a story written by the child. For instance, embodiments of the present disclosure do not develop stories that are pre-written (e.g., the storyline is pre-set) with a few pieces of information provided by the customer that are inserted into the pre-set storyline. Rather, the personalized book is a personalized keepsake book that features the child's own drawings combined with the child's own statements and/or comments regarding his/her world so as to capture a particular stage in the child's development.
In embodiments where the book 100 includes the capability of presenting sound, video, and/or a combination thereof, the book would have suitable storage and display capabilities for storing these types of creative inputs. For example, a memory storage unit (e.g., flash card, memory stick, smart card, etc.) may be connected to and integrated to the book. A voice synthesis module and or speaker may be included in the instance the child's voiced comments and other sounds are to be played back (i.e., presented) by the book 100. A display mechanism, such as a LCD or plasma screen may be included for the display of video and graphics-type creative input.
In the embodiment illustrated in
In the embodiment illustrated in
In one or more embodiments, various means can be used in order to obtain the interview information corresponding to the list 212. For example, the adult can ask the child a number of interview questions to obtain the interview information. In various embodiments, the interview questions call be open ended questions and/or fill in the blank questions to be presented to and answered by the child. The interview questions can be a part of a questionnaire that can be provided with the kit 210.
In the embodiment illustrated in
As illustrated in the embodiment shown in
In various embodiments, the list 214 of drawings to be obtained from the child corresponds with the list 212 of interview information to be obtained from the child. For example, interview information associated with the list 212 of interview information to be obtained by the adult can include information related to one or more of the particular drawings independently created by the child. The related information can include one or more of the child's personal comments and/or statements related to one or more of the drawings. In various embodiments, the child's personal comments corresponding to the particular drawings can be the child's own description of the drawings. Embodiments are not so limited.
As shown in the embodiment illustrated in
In some embodiments, the child can use a drawing software program to create the particular drawings to be incorporated in the personalized book. In embodiments in which a drawing software program is used by the child to create the particular drawings, the drawings can be electronically provided to the publisher of the personalized book via an email attachment, for example. The format of the drawings can be in various formats such as a vector format or a raster format (e.g., PDF, GIF, JPEG, or BMP, among various other suitable file formats).
In embodiments in which drawing software is utilized to create one or more drawings, those drawings can be used in addition to, or instead of, one or more drawings made by the child using physical drawings utensils and physical media. The drawing software can be provided to the customer on a physical medium such as a compact disk via mail or can be electronically provided to the customer via email or download from the publisher's website, for instance.
In various embodiments, a postage paid envelope can be physically mailed to the customer along with the kit and can be used to return the appropriate contents (e.g., a completed form containing the interview information and the number of drawings). Embodiments of the present disclosure are not limited to a particular method of providing a customer with the contents of the kit 210 (e.g., interview information list 210, drawings list 212, and drawing materials 216).
In various embodiments, the interview information on form 301 that is requested by the adult can include the child's answers to a number of questions posed to the child by the adult. For instance, the adult can fill in the fields provided on form 301 with the child's answers to a number of open ended interview questions provided on the form 301. Alternatively, the form 301 could be accessed by the customer via an online website and the child's answers could be uploaded to the website for incorporation into the book by the publisher.
In various embodiments, the fields associated with form 301 can be filled with child's personal comments corresponding to particular interview information requested from the child by the adult. In one or more embodiments, the child's personal comments can include information related to at least one of the particular drawings created by the child. In one or more embodiments, the related information can be the child's description of at least one of the particular drawings.
In various embodiments, and as illustrated in
To complete the example interview information form 301 shown in
As illustrated in form 301, some of the open ended interview questions include multiple fields to complete. For instance, in this example, the child can be asked to complete the following interview questions; “I love ______ because ______ ” and “My favorite toy is ______ because ______ .” Embodiments are not limited to the example interview information illustrated in form 301.
As mentioned above, in various embodiments, the interview information to be obtained via an interview information form such as form 301 can correspond to specific drawings to be created by the child. For instance, as described below in connection with
The embodiment illustrated in
In various embodiments, and as illustrated in the embodiment shown in
In the embodiment illustrated in
The interview information 409-1, 409-2, 409-3, 409-4, 409-5, 409-6, 409-7, and 409-8 can be information obtained from the parent and/or child (e.g., via a form such as form 301 described in connection with
As illustrated in the embodiment shown in
In the embodiment illustrated in
In the embodiment illustrated in
In various embodiments, the images incorporated into the personalized book (e.g., images 407-1 and 407-2) can be drawn by the child and then sent to the publisher where they can be scanned and an electronic image of the drawing can be incorporated into the personalized book. Alternatively, the child's particular drawings (e.g., of his/her own name and of him/her self, in the example shown in
As noted above, the child's drawings 407-1 and 407-2 can be particular drawings of a number of particular drawings independently created by the child for incorporation into the personalized book. In various embodiments, the drawings can be created at the direction of the adult. For instance, the adult can request the child to create one or More particular drawings from a list of drawings associated with a kit (e.g., kit 210 described in
In the embodiment illustrated in
The page 505-2 includes preformatted text 511 (“If I were a SUPERHERO, my power would be”). The preformatted text 511 corresponds to an open ended fill in the blank question posed to the child by an adult. For instance, the child can be asked to provide interview information in the form of his/her own comment to complete the statement, “If I were a superhero, my power would be ______ .” As an example, the fill in the blank interview question can be one of a number of open ended and/or fill in the blank type interview questions associated with an interview information form such as form 301 described in
As shown in
In various embodiments, and as illustrated in
At block 692, the method includes providing the adult with a list of particular drawings to be obtained from the child. The list of particular drawings can be a list such as list 214 shown in
At block 694, the method includes obtaining the interview information front the child in the form of a number of personal comments provided by the child. The personal comments can include the child's own answers to questions posed by the adult to the child and/or the child's own descriptions of various topics (e.g., family members, friends, favorite items, personal descriptors, the child's own drawings, etc.).
At block 696, the method includes obtaining a number of drawings from the list of particular drawings (e.g., from a list provided by a third party such as a publisher). As described above, in various embodiments, the drawings are independently created by the child.
At block 698, the method includes creating a personalized book by combining the obtained number of drawings created by the child and the obtained number of personal comments in a particular arrangement. Examples of particular arrangements of child created drawings combined with a number of personal comments are described in connection with
In various embodiments, the method described in
The method illustrated in
In various embodiments, the client facility 730 can be a customer location such as the home or office of an adult, such as parent, desiring a personalized book. In the embodiment illustrated in
In the embodiments illustrated in
In the embodiment illustrated in
In the embodiment illustrated in
The server 752 can be a computing device that can communicate with one or more client computing devices (e.g., 731) via the Internet 740. The server 752 can include a data storage component 754 that can be used to store customer data files (e.g., interview information in the form of the child's personal comments and/or child created drawings in the form of image files received from a customer). The server 752 also includes one or more applications/programs 756 that can be executed to create the pages of a personalized book (e.g., by combining received interview information and child created drawings in a particular arrangement as described herein above). That is, the applications/programs 756 can manipulate (i.e., create, edit, store, etc.) text and graphics to create one or more personalized books as described herein. For example, the applications 756 can be used to retrieve interview information such as the child's personal comments from an interview information form such as form 301 described in connection with
The production equipment 757 can include equipment such as printers for printing images on physical media, scanners for producing digital image files from physical media, and other finishing equipment for assembling personalized books (e.g., equipment used for cutting, folding, stapling, gluing, binding, etc.). The production equipment 757 can be located locally or remotely to the server 752.
In the embodiment illustrated in
The embodiment illustrated in
Personalized books as well as kits and methods for providing personalized books have been described herein. One method includes: providing an adult with a list of interview information to be obtained from a child; providing the adult with a list of particular drawings to be obtained from the child; obtaining the interview information from the child in the form of a number of personal comments provided by the child; obtaining a number of drawings from the list of particular drawings, the number of drawings independently created by the child; and creating a personalized book by combining the obtained number of drawings created by the child and the obtained number of personal comments in a particular arrangement.
Although specific embodiments have been illustrated and described herein, those ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that an arrangement calculated to achieve the same results can be substituted for the specific embodiments shown. This disclosure is intended to cover adaptations or variations of one or more embodiments of the present disclosure.
It is to be understood that the above description has been made in an illustrative fashion, and not a restrictive one. Combination of the above embodiments, and other embodiments not specifically described herein will be apparent to those of skill in the art upon reviewing the above description. The scope of the one or more embodiments of the present disclosure includes other applications in which the above structures and methods are used. Therefore, the scope of one or more embodiments of the present disclosure should be determined with reference to the appended claims, along with the full range of equivalents to which such claims are entitled.
In the foregoing Detailed Description, various features are grouped together in a single embodiment for the purpose of streamlining the disclosure. This method of disclosure is not to be interpreted as reflecting an intention that the disclosed embodiments of the present disclosure have to use more features than are expressly recited in each claim.
Rather, as the following claims reflect, inventive subject matter lies in less than all features of a single disclosed embodiment. Thus, the following claims are hereby incorporated into the Detailed Description, with each claim standing on its own as a separate embodiment.
Claims
1. A method for providing a personalized book, the method comprising:
- providing an adult with a list of interview information to be obtained from a child;
- providing the adult with a list of particular drawings to be obtained from the child;
- obtaining the interview information from the child in the form of a number of personal comments provided by the child;
- obtaining a number of drawings from the list of particular drawings, the number of drawings independently created by the child;
- associating in a computing device at least one of the number of personal comments with a particular one of the obtained number of drawings; and
- selecting with the computing device the particular one of the obtained number of drawings and arranging with the computing device the selected particular one of the obtained number of drawings near the associated at least one of the number of personal comments in the personalized book.
2. (canceled)
3. The method of claim 1, including providing the adult with a kit that includes: the list of interview information to be obtained from the child;
- the list of particular drawings to be obtained by the child; and
- a number of drawing materials for use by the child.
4. The method of claim 1, including electronically providing the adult with at least one of:
- the list of interview information via an online website; and
- the list of particular drawings via an online website.
5. The method of claim 1, including electronically obtaining, via an online website, at least one of:
- the number of personal comments provided by the child; and
- the number of drawings from the list of particular drawings.
6. The method of claim 1, wherein providing the list of interview information to be obtained from the child and providing the list of particular drawings to be obtained from the child includes providing lists directed toward capturing a particular stage in the child's life.
7. The method of claim 1, wherein providing the adult with the list of interview information to be obtained from the child includes providing at least one open-ended question to be asked to the child by the adult and answered by the child.
8. The method of claim 1, including utilizing a third party to:
- provide the adult with the list of interview information to be obtained from the child;
- provide the adult with the list of particular drawings to be created by the child;
- obtain the interview information from the child in the form of a number of personal comments provided by the child;
- obtain the number of drawings from the list of particular drawings; and
- assemble the personalized book.
9. A method for providing a personalized book, the method comprising:
- obtaining a number of drawings from a list of drawings created by a child at the direction of an adult, the list of drawings provided by a third party;
- obtaining the child's personal comments corresponding to particular interview information requested from the child by the adult, the particular interview information being from a list of interview information to be requested from the child by the adult, wherein the list of interview information is provided by the third party;
- associating with a computing device a particular one of the number of drawings with a particular one of the child's personal comments related to the particular one of the number of drawings; and
- creating the personalized book by arranging with the computing device the particular one of the number of drawings near the particular one of the child's personal comments.
10. The method of claim 9, wherein at least one drawing created by the child is a self portrait.
11. The method of claim 9, wherein the list of interview information to be requested from the child includes at least some of the following:
- names of friends;
- names of family members;
- a favorite toy;
- a favorite game;
- a favorite sport;
- a favorite food; and
- an answer to one of a number of open ended questions.
12. (canceled)
13. The method of claim 9, wherein the interview information requested by the adult includes requests for the child's answers to a number of questions posed to the child by the adult.
14. The method of claim 9, wherein at least one drawing created by the child is a family portrait.
15. The method of claim 9, wherein the child's personal comments corresponding to the particular interview information requested from the child by the adult are recorded by the adult via at least one of an audio recording and a video recording prior to being provided to the third party.
16. A method for providing a personalized book, the method comprising:
- providing a list of interview information to be obtained by an adult in the form of a child's personal comments corresponding to particular interview information requested by the adult to capture a particular stage in the child's development;
- providing a list of suggested drawings to be independently created by the child, the drawings independently created by the child to serve as illustrations for the personalized book and to capture the particular stage in the child's development;
- wherein the list of interview information to be obtained by the adult in the form of the child's personal comments includes particular information related to the suggested drawings;
- providing a computing device with a processor and memory having a set of executable instructions for:
- associating with the computing device at least one of the child's personal comments with a particular one of the drawings independently created by the child; and
- selecting with the computing device the particular one of the drawings and arranging with the computing device the particular one of the drawings near the associated at least one of the child's personal comments in the personalized book.
17. The method of claim 16, wherein the particular information related to the suggested drawings includes the child's descriptions of the drawings.
18. The method of claim 16, including providing a number of materials for use by the child in creating the suggested drawings.
19. The method of claim 18, wherein the number of materials for use by the child in creating the suggested drawings includes a drawing software program.
20. The method of claim 16, including mailing a kit that includes the list of interview information and the list of drawings to at least one of a parent and a guardian of the child, and wherein the kit includes a postage paid envelope.
Type: Application
Filed: Aug 14, 2008
Publication Date: Feb 18, 2010
Applicant: I See Me! Inc. (Deephaven, MN)
Inventor: Maia B. Haag (Deephaven, MN)
Application Number: 12/191,729
International Classification: B42D 1/00 (20060101); B42D 15/00 (20060101);