Real moments, illustrated

What we sent in→ what we made.

Every book on this page was made for our own daughter, Yara. We built Whimbel for her first, before opening it to other families. As real families receive their first books in the coming weeks, we'll add their stories here — with their permission.

A First Steps BookYara's First Steps

What we uploaded

Yara — the photo we uploaded for her First Steps book

Yara

Yara took her first wobbly steps in our kitchen on a Tuesday afternoon. Michael was making coffee and she just stood up and walked toward him. She giggled the whole way and then plopped down looking very proud of herself.

Made by Eva & Michael — for Yara

What we made

The finished illustrated spread from Yara's First Steps hardcover book
A Memory BookYara's First Day at the Beach

What we uploaded

Yara — the photo we uploaded for her first beach day book

Yara

Yara's first time at the ocean. She was terrified at first — the waves were loud — but by the end she was sprinting toward them, then sprinting back, then sprinting toward them again. The drive home was silent because she was completely asleep.

Made by Eva & Michael — for Yara

What we made

The finished illustrated spread from Yara's first beach day book
A Mother's Day TributeFor Mama, From Yara

What we uploaded

The family photo we uploaded for the Mama tribute book

Mama & Yara

Eva sings while she makes breakfast — different songs depending on her mood. She hums when she's tired, sings loud when she's happy, and does silly voices to make Yara laugh. The kitchen always smells like her coffee, and that's what I want Yara to remember.

Made by Michael — for Eva, from Yara

What we made

The finished illustrated spread from Mama's tribute book
A Grandparent TributeYara's at Grandpa's House

What we uploaded · 4 photos

Yara — uploaded for the Grandpa book

Yara

Opa — uploaded for the Grandpa book

Opa

Rubi the dog — uploaded for the Grandpa book

Rubi

Socke the cat — uploaded for the Grandpa book

Socke

Opa always brings something special when he visits Yara — never the same thing twice. A wooden boat he carved, cherries from his tree, once a tiny harmonica. He says 'I thought you might like this' like it's nothing, but his eyes are smiling.

Made by Eva — for her dad, from Yara

What we made

The finished illustrated spread from Opa's tribute book

Your story is next.

Upload one photo, tell us the moment you don't want to forget, and we'll send you a full digital preview in about 10 minutes. Love it? The hardcover ships in 7-14 business days in the US, 7-12 in Europe.

Start your story

$4.99 to preview · $44.99 for the hardcover — preview deposit deducted.