Not a Template. Truly Custom.

At a glance

Dinkleboo and Paper Lake are both Australian. Both sell personalised children's books. Beyond that, they are very different products at very different price points.

What Dinkleboo does well

Dinkleboo has carved out a solid niche in the Australian personalised gift market. Their biggest strength is accessibility. Books start at around $15, which makes them one of the cheapest personalised book options in Australia. For parents buying in bulk (party favours, classroom gifts, sibling sets), that price point is a genuine advantage.

Their product range is wide. Dinkleboo is not just a book company. They sell personalised lunchboxes, backpacks, puzzles, labels, and more. If you want a matching set of personalised school gear plus a book, Dinkleboo can do that in one order.

Delivery within Australia is fast, typically 3 to 7 business days. They print locally and ship locally. No international delays or customs surprises.

Reviews are mixed. Dinkleboo has strong Google reviews, but sits at 1.9 out of 5 on some review aggregator sites. The negative reviews tend to focus on print quality issues and customer service. The positive reviews praise the affordability and the smile on a child's face when they see their name in a book. At this price point, expectations need to match the product.

What Paper Lake does differently

Paper Lake is a different kind of product entirely. Every story is written from scratch. Not a template with a name swapped in, but a unique narrative created for one specific child. The themes, the plot, the moral of the story. All of it is new every time.

The illustrations work differently too. Instead of selecting a pre-drawn avatar, you upload a single photo of your child. Paper Lake creates illustrations where the character actually looks like them. Parents choose from multiple art styles: Pixar-style 3D, soft watercolour, classic Disney, Studio Ghibli, or a custom style. That choice carries through every page.

Dinkleboo's avatar builder

Paper Lake: illustrated from your child's photo

Sofia

This level of customisation comes at a higher price. Paper Lake paperbacks start at $69, with the recommended hardcover at $89 and a gift edition at $119. That is significantly more than Dinkleboo, but the products are not really comparable on price because they are not the same thing. A Dinkleboo book is a personalised gift. A Paper Lake book is a custom-made keepsake.

Paper Lake also prints and ships from Australia, with delivery in 7 to 10 business days. You get a cover preview with the option to request revisions before anything goes to print.

See the difference

The gap between a template avatar and photo-based illustrations is hard to explain in words. Here are a few examples of Paper Lake books across different art styles.

Every illustration is drawn from a real photo. The child in the story looks like your child, not a generic cartoon with their name underneath.

Where Dinkleboo falls short

Dinkleboo's biggest weakness is the depth of personalisation. The word “personalised” on their site means your child's name is inserted into a pre-written story alongside a cartoon avatar. Every child who orders the same title gets the same story, the same illustrations, and the same structure. Only the name changes.

Dinkleboo's template illustrations

Paper Lake's custom illustrations

“It's just a name swap. The story is the same as everyone else's.”

For a $15 gift, that is perfectly fine. But parents expecting a book that feels genuinely written for their child will find Dinkleboo thin. The mixed reviews on aggregator sites (1.9/5) reflect this gap between expectation and reality. Print quality complaints also surface more than you would expect.

Where Paper Lake falls short

Paper Lake is a newer company and does not have Dinkleboo's years of market presence. For parents who value an established brand with a long track record, that is worth considering. Early reviews are overwhelmingly positive, but they don't have a decade of history yet.

The price is higher because every book is genuinely created from scratch: a unique story and custom illustrations for one child. A Paper Lake hardcover at $89 is a different category of product from a $15 Dinkleboo template, and the price reflects that.

Who should choose Dinkleboo

Dinkleboo is the right pick when the occasion is casual and the budget is tight. It works well for situations where the gift needs to be quick, fun, and affordable.

• Budget gifts where $15 to $30 is the sweet spot
• Party favours and classroom gifts (buying in bulk)
• Everyday personalised items: lunchbox and book combos
• Quick turnaround gifts when you need something fast
• Parents who want personalised school gear alongside a book

Who should choose Paper Lake

Paper Lake is built for the moments that matter most. The gifts you want a child to keep on their shelf for years. The kind of book where the child says “that's me”, not because their name is on the cover, but because the story feels like it was written about their life.

• Special occasion keepsakes: christenings, milestone birthdays
• Gifts you want kept and treasured, not just enjoyed once
• When you want the child to genuinely see themselves in the story
• When art quality and illustration style matter to the gift-giver
• Parents dealing with specific situations (new sibling, starting school, overcoming fears) where a template story does not fit
• Australian families who want local printing without international shipping costs

The bottom line

Dinkleboo is great for a fun, inexpensive stocking stuffer. The price is right, the delivery is fast, and kids enjoy seeing their name in a book.

For a keepsake gift that your child will treasure, one where they see themselves in every illustration and hear their own story in every word, Paper Lake is worth the investment. Every word written from scratch. Illustrations drawn from a real photo. A story shaped around their world, not a template. It costs more because it is more. For milestone moments, that difference matters.