Create your own children's storybook step by step

We all know play and creativity are important to children's development, and fostering these at home can be a great way to spend quality time together as a family. Play enthusiast and content creator Alison (all.about.the.play) believes in the importance of helping her children – Isla and Callum – learn through creativity.

"Both are very creative, and I find sitting down and crafting with them really fun," she says. "I love seeing their imaginations come through." Alison shares the family's experiences on social media and her latest project with her six-year-old daughter, Isla, was to make a creative homemade children's book using the Canon SELPHY CP1500 printer.

Creating your own storybook may sound challenging, but the SELPHY CP1500 can simplify the process. Whether you're making a unique gift, a school project or a personalised bedtime story, families can work together to come up with ideas. "Isla was involved in a lot of the decisions," says Alison. "I liked that it was something I could create with her." Here, Alison shares her tips to make it easy and fun for the whole family.

One of the features of the Canon SELPHY CP1500 is its ability to print on to peel-back sticker paper, so there's no scissors or glue necessary when crafting with younger children. This printer also allows you to add additional elements using the Canon SELPHY Photo Layout app, offering a way to create the entire book without lots of extra materials. Here's everything you'll need:

• Canon SELPHY CP1500
• Smartphone with the Canon SELPHY Photo Layout app installed
• Scrapbook
• Compatible Canon sticker photo paper, cassette and ink

You may want to add extra touches, which could include optional materials:

• Pair of scissors
• Glue
• Stamps
• Paints, pens and pencils
• Eco-friendly glitter

Exploring story ideas and creating your own storybook characters is the perfect opportunity to talk about your children's life experiences, their favourite books and TV shows – the plot, pictures, protagonists, themes and messages involved. Or how they might use friends and loved ones as inspiration while creating a character.

"Isla decided she wanted to have herself in the book as well as her brother Callum, and mummy and daddy," says Alison. "We have several books at home exploring what can happen if plastic goes into the sea, so Isla understands that we need to look after our beaches. She likes to go litter picking and tells her friends if they drop litter that we need to pick it up."

Isla adds: "Turtles like eating jellyfish, but if plastic bags are in the sea, the turtles think these are jellyfish and eat them. It makes them very ill." This passion for animals and the environment became a central theme in Alison and Isla's story.

Learning to make a book from photos can be the perfect way to give new life to memories – whether it's creating a fictional adventure using holiday snaps, giving your pets a secret identity, or transforming your kids into superheroes, fairytale characters or inventors. Creating a storybook is also the ideal opportunity to get out of the house to take some new photos, so children can see themselves represented in any way they choose.

"Once we decided our story would feature Isla and Callum on the beach, we found photos to fit the story," Alison explains. "Isla thought litter on the beach was a good idea and wanted to include a photo of our litter picker." While assembling the book, Isla drew a sad face to show how disappointed she feels when she sees plastic left on the beach, and a smiley face to symbolise her happiness when she's able to make a positive change.

In any library or bookshop, you'll find a wide range of different children's books, from comics and picture books to fairytales and biographies. Characters can communicate in speech bubbles, poetic verse, or through a narrator or diary entries.

Regardless of the format you choose, the Canon SELPHY Photo Layout app enables you to add text, borders, and stamps on to photos. Additionally, there are templates to print single- or multi-photo layouts, along with a selection of different finishes. It's a great way for children to get involved and explore what works before pressing Print.

"I found the app really easy to use and it was fun to get creative," says Alison. "We tried out some of the stickers and designed some photos with borders. We also added text, played with speech bubbles and added a heart on some photos too. Using the different features on the app made the storybook look fun and different."

Once you have the images printed, you can start combining all the elements. At this point, it may help to sketch out a structure on paper or lay the pages out on a table or the floor before you commit to the page. "We had lots of different ideas to include, so we wrote them down and had a look to see what parts to put in," says Alison. "It then ended up flowing really well and we had a beginning, middle and end."

Younger children could stick in the photos while older children and adults handle any cutting required. Everyone can get involved with other creative additions, such as drawing or writing, and choosing photos for the cover. Don't forget to add the authors' and illustrators' names – that's you!

"We chose to call it Isla's Beach Adventures," says Alison. "We used the black and white filter on three photos and some of the square stickers to make the title, adding the text in blue so it stood out. We're really pleased with it!"

Learning how to make a book yourself is a fun way to spend time as a family, letting imaginations run wild and enjoying discussions about characters and themes. The Canon SELPHY CP1500, combined with the Canon SELPHY Photo Layout app, makes the process easy and fuss-free, helping families create as they go. You can proudly display the result on the bookshelf or your bedside table, or it could be a personalised gift for a loved one.

"Be creative," Alison advises. "There's no right or wrong way to make a storybook. You could make a book about something your child is interested in or a trip they've been on. It's a great activity for a rainy day. Isla has loved reading the book to Callum, so it's not just about the creating, it's about sharing the book with others."

Let your imagination run wild by creating your own adventure and experimenting with the SELPHY CP1500 and the SELPHY Photo Layout app. The sky is the limit when you're the author.

Written by Kat Halstead