Thank you. See the 1st paragraph where I wrote that my grandson is 8 and in the 4th paragraph, I uploaded it to Claude.ai. The images were a combination as Claude doesn’t do images, however, I asked it for a prompt for a particular scene, the copied that into Copilot. Most of the images were from one go. It did a brilliant job. I’ve edited small portions along the way, but on the whole this was all Claude.ai using my facts to build the story.
Me: If I wanted to create a child's story book of their family history, what is the best way to go about it and what prompt would I ask AI to help me with the layout and wording.
Claude.ai: Creating a family history storybook for a child is a wonderful way to help them connect with their heritage! Here's how to approach it:
Preparation Steps
Gather your materials first:
Family photos (birth certificates, wedding photos, immigration documents, old family pictures)
Stories from relatives - interview grandparents, aunts, uncles about memorable family moments
Important dates, places, and traditions
Any family heirlooms or meaningful objects that have stories
Decide on scope and format:
Choose a specific timeframe (last 3 generations works well for children)
Pick key family members to feature
Decide on book length (8-16 pages is good for young children)
AI Prompting Strategy
Here's an effective prompt structure you can use:
**"I'm creating a children's storybook about my family history for my [age] year old. Here's the information I have: [insert your family details, key stories, and characters].
Please help me: Structure this into a child-friendly narrative with a clear beginning, middle, and end
Write in simple, engaging language appropriate for a [age] year old
Include dialogue and descriptive details that bring the stories to life
Suggest where illustrations or family photos would work best
Create a warm, celebratory tone that makes the child feel proud of their heritage
The main themes I want to emphasize are [family values, traditions, resilience, love, etc.]."**
Layout Considerations
For the physical book, consider:
Large, clear fonts with plenty of white space
Photo placement on each spread
Simple page layouts (one main idea per page)
Interactive elements like family tree pages or "then and now" comparisons
You might also ask AI to help create specific elements like a family timeline, character descriptions for each family member, or age-appropriate explanations of historical events your family experienced.
Would you like help crafting a more specific prompt based on particular aspects of your family's story?
Then I adapted it to be for a 10 year old - my grandson is 8 going on 18 and I didn't want it to be too childish.
Me: I have the information ready in a pdf, maybe it needs to be 4 generations. The child is 10. Please craft a prompt that I could use.
Claude: Here's a comprehensive prompt you can use:
**"I'm creating a children's storybook about my family history for my 10-year-old child. I have detailed family information in an attached PDF that covers 4 generations of our family.
Please help me transform this information into an engaging children's book by:
Structure & Story:
Create a compelling narrative arc that traces our family journey across 4 generations
Organize the content into 12-16 pages with clear chapters or sections for each generation
Identify the most interesting and age-appropriate stories, challenges overcome, and family milestones
Create smooth transitions between generations that help a 10-year-old follow the timeline
Writing Style:
Use vocabulary and sentence structure appropriate for a 10-year-old (reading level around 4th-5th grade)
Include dialogue and vivid descriptions to bring ancestors to life as real people
Focus on relatable themes like courage, family love, hard work, dreams, and traditions
Balance serious family history with lighter, heartwarming moments
Content Guidance:
Suggest which family stories would be most engaging for a child this age
Help me explain historical contexts (immigration, wars, social changes) in child-friendly terms
Identify opportunities to highlight family values and traditions that continue today
Create connections between past and present that help my child see themselves in the story
Layout Suggestions:
Recommend where family photos, documents, or illustrations would enhance the story
Suggest interactive elements like family tree pages, maps, or 'then vs. now' comparisons
Identify good stopping points for page breaks
Please read through my PDF and create both an outline and sample pages to get me started."**
This prompt gives the AI clear direction while leaving room for creativity in how it interprets and presents your family's unique story.
I then asked for a draft using a PDF of my family history. Once it gave me the information gleaned from the document I had another prompt that I used in a new chat window.
Wow! Thank you for the very specific info. I love the pictures, and I was interested to know how the story came into being. I personally would be fascinated to see how it would be different for a 5-, 10-, or 15-year-old.
Oh that’s precious, Jenny, and all delivered into a beautiful “recipe” others can follow. I love it. You’ve even included lessons learned. Do you anticipate creating more stories like this for your grandkids?
Thank you. All my grandkids are teenagers and older now. This one is for the youngest and the last. I have four great grands, already, so that is defintely something I need to do. I did a full adult version in 2023 for the 100 year anniversary of Donald arriving in Australia, and all the grandkids received one for Christmas. Since reading how others are doing profile biographies, the idea hit me to try a children's book. It's a winner for sure.
Thank you Paul. We live in hope, but must keep trying. This young boy is 8 going on 18, so I was trying to not to be too childlike, but not grown up either. We'll know after Christmas if I had a win.
Beautiful work! Your process, described here so eloquently, is sure to inspire others! Thanks for the shoutout! It seems like a lifetime ago that we stepped onto the ‘yellow brick road’ of AI.
I didn’t and should have. I use Artisan by Forever. Back in the day it was called Storybook Creator by Creative Memories. I’ve tried others, but this ticks all my boxes.
It looks great! Who or what wrote the story? What readability level is it on?
Thank you. See the 1st paragraph where I wrote that my grandson is 8 and in the 4th paragraph, I uploaded it to Claude.ai. The images were a combination as Claude doesn’t do images, however, I asked it for a prompt for a particular scene, the copied that into Copilot. Most of the images were from one go. It did a brilliant job. I’ve edited small portions along the way, but on the whole this was all Claude.ai using my facts to build the story.
Thank you. So you already had an existing story, I guess written on an adult level? Did you tell Claude.ai to adapt it for an 8-year-old?
I do have 4 greats so that is an option.
This is how I started:
Me: If I wanted to create a child's story book of their family history, what is the best way to go about it and what prompt would I ask AI to help me with the layout and wording.
Claude.ai: Creating a family history storybook for a child is a wonderful way to help them connect with their heritage! Here's how to approach it:
Preparation Steps
Gather your materials first:
Family photos (birth certificates, wedding photos, immigration documents, old family pictures)
Stories from relatives - interview grandparents, aunts, uncles about memorable family moments
Important dates, places, and traditions
Any family heirlooms or meaningful objects that have stories
Decide on scope and format:
Choose a specific timeframe (last 3 generations works well for children)
Pick key family members to feature
Decide on book length (8-16 pages is good for young children)
AI Prompting Strategy
Here's an effective prompt structure you can use:
**"I'm creating a children's storybook about my family history for my [age] year old. Here's the information I have: [insert your family details, key stories, and characters].
Please help me: Structure this into a child-friendly narrative with a clear beginning, middle, and end
Write in simple, engaging language appropriate for a [age] year old
Include dialogue and descriptive details that bring the stories to life
Suggest where illustrations or family photos would work best
Create a warm, celebratory tone that makes the child feel proud of their heritage
The main themes I want to emphasize are [family values, traditions, resilience, love, etc.]."**
Layout Considerations
For the physical book, consider:
Large, clear fonts with plenty of white space
Photo placement on each spread
Simple page layouts (one main idea per page)
Interactive elements like family tree pages or "then and now" comparisons
You might also ask AI to help create specific elements like a family timeline, character descriptions for each family member, or age-appropriate explanations of historical events your family experienced.
Would you like help crafting a more specific prompt based on particular aspects of your family's story?
See Next Comment.
Then I adapted it to be for a 10 year old - my grandson is 8 going on 18 and I didn't want it to be too childish.
Me: I have the information ready in a pdf, maybe it needs to be 4 generations. The child is 10. Please craft a prompt that I could use.
Claude: Here's a comprehensive prompt you can use:
**"I'm creating a children's storybook about my family history for my 10-year-old child. I have detailed family information in an attached PDF that covers 4 generations of our family.
Please help me transform this information into an engaging children's book by:
Structure & Story:
Create a compelling narrative arc that traces our family journey across 4 generations
Organize the content into 12-16 pages with clear chapters or sections for each generation
Identify the most interesting and age-appropriate stories, challenges overcome, and family milestones
Create smooth transitions between generations that help a 10-year-old follow the timeline
Writing Style:
Use vocabulary and sentence structure appropriate for a 10-year-old (reading level around 4th-5th grade)
Include dialogue and vivid descriptions to bring ancestors to life as real people
Focus on relatable themes like courage, family love, hard work, dreams, and traditions
Balance serious family history with lighter, heartwarming moments
Content Guidance:
Suggest which family stories would be most engaging for a child this age
Help me explain historical contexts (immigration, wars, social changes) in child-friendly terms
Identify opportunities to highlight family values and traditions that continue today
Create connections between past and present that help my child see themselves in the story
Layout Suggestions:
Recommend where family photos, documents, or illustrations would enhance the story
Suggest interactive elements like family tree pages, maps, or 'then vs. now' comparisons
Identify good stopping points for page breaks
Please read through my PDF and create both an outline and sample pages to get me started."**
This prompt gives the AI clear direction while leaving room for creativity in how it interprets and presents your family's unique story.
I then asked for a draft using a PDF of my family history. Once it gave me the information gleaned from the document I had another prompt that I used in a new chat window.
Wow! Thank you for the very specific info. I love the pictures, and I was interested to know how the story came into being. I personally would be fascinated to see how it would be different for a 5-, 10-, or 15-year-old.
Oh that’s precious, Jenny, and all delivered into a beautiful “recipe” others can follow. I love it. You’ve even included lessons learned. Do you anticipate creating more stories like this for your grandkids?
Thank you. All my grandkids are teenagers and older now. This one is for the youngest and the last. I have four great grands, already, so that is defintely something I need to do. I did a full adult version in 2023 for the 100 year anniversary of Donald arriving in Australia, and all the grandkids received one for Christmas. Since reading how others are doing profile biographies, the idea hit me to try a children's book. It's a winner for sure.
This is such a wonderfully creative use of AI and a great way to introduce family history to the next generation
Thank you Paul. We live in hope, but must keep trying. This young boy is 8 going on 18, so I was trying to not to be too childlike, but not grown up either. We'll know after Christmas if I had a win.
The perfect gift please let us know if it was a hit
Wowsa! That is fantastic, thank you for sharing your process, I love the results.
Thank you. I hope it helps others.
Beautiful work! Your process, described here so eloquently, is sure to inspire others! Thanks for the shoutout! It seems like a lifetime ago that we stepped onto the ‘yellow brick road’ of AI.
It’s been a fun ride that’s for sure. Hoping the grandson will like his book.
This looks so fun! I love the term “adventure tree” on the family tree. Did you mention which scrapbooking software you used?
I’ve updated the article to include a link to Artisan by Forever.
I didn’t and should have. I use Artisan by Forever. Back in the day it was called Storybook Creator by Creative Memories. I’ve tried others, but this ticks all my boxes.
Thanks for sharing your process, an excellent example for engaging young minds.
We can just keep plugging away at them.
I think the map showing the choices is particularly well done.
Just one attempt too. I was pleasantly impressed.
Just terrific Jen. Way to go!,,,,,
Thanks Sue. We just have to engage those younger ones.