Grandpa's Old Watch by Angela Poulain Personalised Adventure Book Review

Grandpa's Old Watch is one of two 'My Little Adventurer' personalised children's story books written and illustrated by Angela Poulain. Suitable for reading together or for independent readers, these are adventure story books, where the reader makes choices about what will happen next...

I've reviewed with my 8 year old. Ordering was incredibly easy, the personalisation is a bit limited, but my son opened his book and immediately shouted, "The kid in this book has the same name as me. Is that why you got it for me?". So that was a hit!

When the story starts, your adventurer is in bed and spots a glowing light in the toybox. It is Grandpa's old watch, which we quickly discover has magical powers and can transport people to the future or the past. The story then heads off forwards of backwards depending on your choices.

The illustrations are sweet and have a distinctively French feel with muted colours and soft edges. They leave a lot to the reader's imagination, with a focal point and slightly blurred edges, much like a dream...

The choices on most pages make this a really exciting book. My son was desperate to try out all of the options, so read it through several times the very first time he opened it.

The language and story are suitable for a child around 4-11. This was an excellent book for my reluctant reader. I've rarely seen him devour a book, but he did this one, mainly because he's so competitive and completist and wanted to find out all of the possible endings. I'm really impressed.

The other book currently in the My Little Adventurer series is The Fence Over The Hill. This is a tale about a young girl who is unexpectedly in a wood and needs to find the way home. That makes it sound quite scary, but it isn't. The animals she meets on her way are helpful and kind, and all need a helping hand themselves...

Each of the personalised books cost €22 (£19.59 at today's prices) plus postage, which is comparable to other personalised children's books. The books are handbacked, in a large A4 size and have 38 glossy full colour pages, with a lovely matt finish to the cover.

You can find out more and order both Grandpa's Old Watch and The Fence Over The Hill on the My Little Adventurer website. 

We were sent our copy of Grandpa's Old Watch for review.