WO2002045049A2

WO2002045049A2 - Child's storybook

Info

Publication number: WO2002045049A2
Application number: PCT/GB2001/005256
Authority: WO
Inventors: David Lytton Kremer
Original assignee: Seven Towns Limited
Priority date: 2000-11-30
Filing date: 2001-11-28
Publication date: 2002-06-06
Also published as: AU2002218406A1

Description

CHILD'S STORYBOOK

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to a storybook for a child having a succession of pages containing text and illustrations of a story, and in which pages are adapted to receive likenesses of the child. The invention also relates to the use of a storybook as aforesaid in the generation of an image or sequence of images of a child to be fixed to a page or pages of said book to provide a combined photograph album and storybook.

It further relates to a greetings card adapted to receive one or more likenesses of a child. It further relates to a storybook for a child or a greetings card in digital form for loading into and viewing on a computer, the image of the child to be added also being digital, and the book or card optionally being recorded on an recording medium or stored on a server for transmission via a network such as the Internet.

BACKGROUND TO THE INVENTION

US-A-5387107 relates to an interactive picture book that conveys messages to children, especially messages related to acceptable behavior patterns . The storybook may be personalized with the reader's likeness. Each page of the storybook has text printed thereon accompanied by an illustration of a character which may be personalized with the likeness of the reader. This may be accomplished by first providing photographs of the reader, and if need be cutting out a desired portion of each photograph. It is critical that the photographs be of appropriate size, that is, proportionate to the personalized character. Having been provided with the photographs, the reader is then encouraged to affix the photographs to the respective pages . The method of affixing the photographs to the pages can vary. For instance, the photograph may be applied via a lightly tacky adhesive, or it may be inserted into a transparent pocket, or it may be cooperatively received by an arrangement of slots . Each page is urther provided with an illustrative environment in which the personalized character interacts . The reader may associate himself or herself with the personalized character and, in turn, with the interactive environment. The interaction between the personalized character and the environment is intended to teach the reader desired behavioral patterns . However, there is no disclosure or suggestion of a that the reader should be photographed in a pose linked to a particular point in the story described in the text or shown in an illustration, and the disclosed likenesses are limited to the head or the head and shoulders of the reader. Although the likeness of the reader finds its way into the book, his or her likeness enters into the story in a limited and somewhat lifeless manner, and it is not disclosed or suggested that the child and his or her parents can or should create an image or a sequence of images related to the story, so that the play or educational value of the book is less than optimal .

US-A-5031935 discloses a book for young readers which contains pages with apertures cut therein, such that the apertures register with images affixed to the front and rear covers, and which are preferably of subjects significant to the reader. The images may include photographs , pictures , drawings , etc . of persons , pets, fictional characters or the like and preferably contain facial features . The images may be affixed to the front and rear covers of book by any conventional means e.g. permanently using a variety of adhesives or replaceably using a transparent envelope with one open end af ixed to each cove . For holding each image securely but temporarily, allowing for easy removal and replacement when desired. A three sided framework or a series of slots cut into the front and rear covers for the purpose of accepting the corners of photographs or images is also disclosed. However, there is no disclosure that a photograph to be placed in the front or rear cover should be related to the action or illustrations in a story contained in the book, and the opportunity to do so is limited since the same image is seen through apertures in multiple pages corresponding to different places in the story. Again the relationship between the photograph or other image and the story is restricted and the opportunity for the reader's likeness to enter into the story is limited inter alia because there are only images on the end pages and these cannot relate to the different scenes in a developing story.

US-A-5816730 discloses a photograph display book in which photographs may be applied to pages of the book and displayed in conjunction with text and pictorial representations on the pages to present the photographs as a part of an integrated theme or story. Each of the pages can be made so as to convey a self-contained message or theme. Each page has a site portion adapted to receive a photograph and a pictorial portion that is spaced horizontally from the site portion. The pictorial portion of the page has a cartoon character or characters or other pictorial representation that lies alongside the site portion. A third component of the page is a caption portion spaced vertically from the site portion. The caption portion has a word caption such as a brief textual message that is located above or below the site portion. The use of discreet pages rather than presenting a single "message" or the like across two facing pages is said to offer several advantages. First, the child is allowed to focus on one subject at the time, with each subject, although part of an integrated theme, being associated with a single photograph. This allows the child to remain focused on a single page without the distraction offered by trying to handle images spread over several pages with the accompanying distraction and possible loss of interest. Secondly, this arrangement allows a large number of photographs , one per page surface, to be incorporated into the book while still presenting a booklet of reasonable bulk and of a size that can be easily handled by a child. However, the sites for photograph attachment are square or rectangular, suggesting that the book is merely for the display of pre-existing photographs, and creating an image or a sequence of images related to a story contained in the book by which a reader can enter into the action of the story is neither disclosed not suggested.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of the invention to provide a storybook designed to contain likenesses of a child reader, which likenesses will be related to the action of the story.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a storybook as aforesaid, in which the likenesses and their production have enhanced amusement value to the child and/or his or her parents . It is a further object of the invention to provide the means for parents , relatives , riends , teachers or the like to create a picture-book of a child containing a sequence of photographs of that child in a predetermined range of poses and with predetermined expressions which are more diverse than encountered in many family photograph albums, and provide an interesting and attractive record of a child at his or her stage of development.

In one aspect the invention provides a storybook for a child, said storybook having a page containing an illustration for the story, the illustration including a location or range of locations for receiving an image of the child, wherein a second image on said page shows an appropriate outline and pose for the image of the child and a third image on said page shows a camera viewfinder with a diagram of a child positioned and posed for taking a photograph of which the image forms part, the second and third images being removable or being concealed when the image of the child is in place on said page . Alternatively the invention provides a storybook for a child, said storybook having a page containing an illustration of the story, the illustration including a location or range of locations for receiving an image of the child, wherein a sticker removably fixed to the page carries a second image showing an appropriate outline and pose for the image of the child and a third image showing a camera viewfinder with a diagram of a child positioned and posed for taking a photograph of which the image forms part. In a further aspect, the invention provides a storybook for a child, said storybook having pages containing a sequence of illustrations for the story, at least some illustrations including a location or range of locations for receiving an image of the child, wherein each page that carries an illustration including a said location or range of locations also has an image thereon showing an appropriate outline and pose for a photographic image of the child to be attached to the respective page, said image being removable or being concealed when the image of the child is in place . In an alternative aspect, the invention provides a storybook for a child, said storybook having pages containing a sequence of illustrations for the story, at least some illustrations including a location or range of locations for receiving an image of the child, wherein each page that carries an illustration including a said location or range of locations also has an image thereon showing a camera viewfinder with a diagram of a child positioned and posed for taking a photograph of which the image forms part, said image being concealed or being removable when the image of the child is in place.

In a further aspect the invention relates to a method for producing a storybook having a page containing text and an illustration of the story which includes an image of a particular child, said method comprising: providing a storybook having a page containing a color illustration of the story, the illustration including a location or range of locations for receiving an image of the child, a second image in monochrome showing an appropriate outline and pose for the image of the child and a third image showing a camera viewfinder with a diagram of a child positioned and posed for taking a photograph of which the image forms part; color photographing the child positioned and posed in the camera viewfinder according to said third image; cropping a print of the photograph according to the outline in the second image to produce the image of the child; and fixing the image of the child to the page at said location or at a location within said range, the second and third images being removed or being obscured as the image of the child is fixed to the page.

The storybook may be provided as a digital file on an optical or magnetic disk or other storage medium for printing out at home and use, once printed, in the manner described above. However, in a yet further aspect of the invention, both the storybook and the photographic image to be superimposed on it may be digital, the image being taken by the user in digital form and being transferable in that form to the storybook. In a yet further aspect the invention provides a storybook for a child as a digital file, said storybook having a page containing an illustration for the story, the illustration including a location or range of locations for receiving an image of the child, wherein a second image on said page shows an appropriate outline and pose for the image of the child and a third image on said page shows a camera viewfinder with a diagram of a child positioned and posed for taking a photograph of which the image forms part, the second and third images being replaceable by an electronic image of a child taken by the user.

In a modification, the above ideas may also be applied to greetings cards and the like for carrying photographic images most usually of children, but also possibly of adults or animals e.g. a pet dog or cat. The greetings card will carry an illustration in colour showing a scene and the subject may be photographed and the photograph may be attached to the card so that the subject appears part of a scene depicted in the illustration .

Thus the invention further provides a greetings card having an illustration including a location or range of locations for receiving an image of a human or animal, wherein the card also has an image thereon showing an appropriate outline and pose for a photographic image of the human or animal to be attached to the card, said image being removable or being concealed when the image of the human or animal is in place . Alternatively the invention may provide a greetings card having an illustration including a location or range of locations for receiving a photographic image of a human or animal, wherein the card also has an image thereon showing a camera viewfinder with a diagram of a human or animal positioned and posed for taking a photograph of which the image forms part, said image being concealed or being removable when the image of the human or animal is in place.

The invention further provides a method for producing a greetings card having an illustration that includes a photographic image of a human or animal, said method comprising: providing a greetings card having a colored illustration, the illustration including a location or range of locations for receiving an image of the human or animal, a second image in monochrome showing an appropriate outline and pose for the image of the human or animal and a third image showing a camera viewfinder with a diagram of the human or animal positioned and posed for taking a photograph of which the image forms part; color photographing the human or animal positioned and posed in the camera viewfinder according to said third image; cropping a print of the photograph according to the outline in the second image to produce the image of the human or animal; and fixing the image of the human or animal to the page at said location or at a location within said range .

The greetings card may be provided as a digital file on an optical or magnetic disk or other storage medium for printing out at home and use, once printed, in the manner described above . However , in a yet urther aspect of the invention, both the greetings card and the photographic image to be superimposed on it may be digital, the image being taken by the user in digital form and being transferable in that form to the greetings card. Thus the invention further provides a greetings card in digital form having an illustration including a location or range of locations for receiving an image of a human or animal, wherein the card also has an image thereon showing an appropriate outline and pose for a photographic image of the human or animal to be attached to the card, said images being replaceable by a digital image created by the user.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED FEATURES

A preferred form of the storybook as aforesaid has pages containing a sequence of illustrations for the story at least some of which include a location or range of locations for receiving an appropriate one of a sequence of images of the child, and a sequence of stickers as set out above each relating to a child image- receiving location or range of locations of one of the illustrations and each removably fixed to a page bearing an illustration to which the sticker relates . The stickers may be of slightly glossy paper coated on their normally concealed face with a permanently tacky adhesive so that it is held in place but is easy to remove. Such adhesives are well known for e.g. "Post-it" notes. The pages are also of a slightly glossy paper that permits the stickers to be adhered without leaving marks . At least some (and usually all) of the stickers may carry second images showing different poses . The above form of the storybook enables the parents of the reader to take a sequence of photographs of the child in different poses to fit different illustrated scenes of the story, persuading the child to adopt the indicated poses stimulating the acting skills of the child and permitting him or her to dress up or use props e.g. an umbrella or an item of sporting equipment and adding to the amusement value of both the child and his or her parents . Conveniently the number of illustrations is such that the required photographs can be taken using a camera with a silver halide film using a single roll or cassette of film. The number of illustrations will prudently be less than the number of available exposures on the film to allow the user to make mistakes and re- frame his or her pictures, and about 10-20 illustrations with child-image receiving locations, e.g. 15 such illustrations being typical, whereas for example a disposable camera is normally pre-loaded with film for 27 exposures. Of course, the photographs may also be taken with a digital camera and printed out using a color ink- jet or laser printer, in which case the image size should be the same as is standard for a silver halide print, 10cm by 15 cm (4 ins by 6 ins) . Viewfinders differ relatively little between one type of fixed lens camera and another with a focal length of typically about 28mm; the book will contain instructions for the use of cameras fitted with changeable or zoom lenses to use the same focal length of about 28mm.

The use of stickers in the present invention is preferred but is not essential . The reason for the preference is that the sticker can carry a full-size monochrome or faint sketch or picture of the image of the child that is to be fixed into the book together with a small "thumb-nail" viewfinder image showing how the child's picture is to be framed. The book can be read to the child before any photographs are taken with the monochrome pictures in place, the child can understand the story and how he or she is to participate and the parents can fully appreciate the poses that are needed and what they have to do . If there are no monochrome or faint pictures to use as a starting point, the child will find it harder to understand the story, and a thumb-nail viewfinder image on its own would make it much harder both for the child to understand the story and for many parents to understand precisely what is the sequence of photographs they are to take . When the time comes to take the photographs , the parent takes the book with the child to an appropriate location e.g. a local park and takes the sequence of photographs using the book as a reference, the stickers being left in place and removed only when the developed and printed photographs are cut for fixing into the book. The less preferred alternative is to print a faint or monochrome child image and the viewfinder image direct onto the page. However, if the photograph that the parent then takes is slightly too small, portions of the faint or monochrome image may protrude which is unsightly, and the option to place the image of the child in a range of positions within the colored illustration is diminished or eliminated.

Often at least one sticker will carry a text message that provides a stage direction to be obeyed by the child when adopting the specified pose.

On some pages less than the whole image will be used and therefore at least one sticker will normally carry a crop line associated with the third image defining a useful portion of the photograph.

Generally speaking the illustrations in the book will be in color, whereas the images on the sticker will be in monochrome, e.g. black or gray .

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For a better understanding of the invention, reference will now be made, by way of example, to the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a somewhat diagrammatic perspective view of a book in accordance with a first embodiment of the invention;

Figure 2 shows a perspective view of part of the inner front cover and first page of the book of Figure 1 , with an indication of a step in the method of the invention;

Figures 3 and 4 show further steps in the method of the invention;

Figure 5 is a perspective view of part of the inner front cover and first page of the book of Figure 1, with a photograph adhered to page 1 ;

Figure 6 is another perspective view of the book of Figure 1 , open at a random page , with a part of the random page enlarged; Figures 7-9 show further steps in the method of the invention;

Figure 9 is a perspective view of the book of Figure 1, open at a further random page, with an indication of another step in the method of the invention; Figure 10 is a perspective view of the book of Figure 1 , open at a yet further random page, with an indication of a further step in the method of the invention; and

Figs 11-14 are views of leaves from a storybook in a slightly more developed state showing features of the invention .

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Referring to Figures 1 to 5, a child's book, generally identified by reference numeral 1 comprises a ront cover 2 , a rear cover 3 and a plurality of leaves 4 arranged therebetween. A spine 5 joins the front cover 2 with the rear cover 3 and retains the rear edge of the leaves 4. The front cover 2 and rear cover 3 are each typically of dimensions 228mm by 228mm, made from 160 gsm gloss art paper and are laminated with a plastic film. The leaves 4 are each typically 220mm by 220mm, made from 128gsm matt art paper. The book 1 may be case bound. An aperture 6 formed in the front cover 2 e.g. by means of a die cutter is in this instance circular and is located at any desired position, in this instance substantially centrally in the front cover.

As is apparent from Fig 2 , a sticker 7 of paper or plastics film bearing a faint or monochrome image of a child of an appropriate size for display at this place in the book and with an expression appropriate to the context e.g. a smile as in the illustration is adhered e.g. with a re-usable sticky tab 8 to the first leaf 9 of the book 1. In use, an adult removes the sticker 7 by peeling it away rom reusable tab 8. The sticky tab 8 is more strongly adhered to the first leaf 9. Alternatively the tab 8 could be dispensed with and the rear face of the sticker could be coated with a readily releaseable permanently tacky adhesive. A thumbnail picture 10 is revealed which is representative of what is seen through a viewfinder of a camera 13 (Fig. 3) . The camera 13 could, for example, be of the single use, returnable type, which may be sold together with the book 1 of the present invention. The thumbnail picture 10 comprises a frame 11 and a silhouette or a black and white representation 12 of a suggested pose in the frame. In this instance, the pose indicated by thumbnail picture 10 is of a child with arms outstretched. The child 14 to whom the book belongs now takes up the suggested pose and adopts the expression shown in the picture on the sticker, after which an adult 15, e.g. the child's mother, points the viewfinder of the camera 13 towards the child 14 , and adjusts the camera or moves her position until the image seen through the viewfinder corresponds in size and position to that suggested in the thumbnail picture 10. The adult 15 then photographs the child 14 holding the suggested pose (Figure 3) . A photograph 16 is obtained. We have found that for cameras with fixed lenses and separate viewfinders, the object field is much the same from one design of camera to another and a single thumbnail image 10 of the kind shown in Fig 2 will enable most people to take a satisfactory photograph if printed at standard print size (10 cm or 4" by 16 cm or 6") . Instructions may be provided in the book for users of more advanced reflex cameras fitted with interchangeable lenses or with zoom lenses to adopt an appropriate focal length, typically about 28 cm. The instructions e.g. at the back of the book will, of course, advise the appropriate print size. In the case of a camera using conventional silver-halide-based color film, the choice of print size is made when the film is sent for developing and printing. In the case of a digital camera, the appropriate print size is selected at the time when the print instruction for the color laser or ink-jet printer is entered. Although the design of the book will be such that there is in practice normally some latitude in the size of the printed child's image produced, there is, of course, no point in deliberately selecting an over-size or under-size image because it will then not fit correctly into place in the book.

The photograph 16 comprises an image 17 of the child 14 in a context-appropriate pose. The child image 17 is cut away from the background e.g. with scissors 18 and is then fixed into the book in the correct position e.g. using the sticky tab 8, over and preferably obscuring the thumbnail picture 10. It should be noted that the step of cutting the precise outline of image 17 out of the photograph 16 is preferred, but optional. Alternatively, the image may be cut out to be slightly larger than the child image to include some background as shown in Fig 5, but this is less preferred because it will give a less realistic effect. When the front cover 2 of the book is closed, the child's photograph 15 can now be seen through the aperture 6.

Referring now to Figures 6 to 10, the book 1 is shown open at a random page 19 which has textual matter 20 thereon forming part of a story and a pictorial element 21 that comprises a colored drawing 22 and space 23, on which there is a removable sticker 24 of paper or thin sheet plastics. The removable sticker 24 carries a faint color picture or a monochrome picture of a child 25 in a suggested pose and with a suggested expression and a thumbnail picture 26 comprising a frame 27 and a silhouette or a black and white or colour representation 28 of how the child is to appear in a camera viewfinder. In this instance, the image indicated by thumbnail 25 is of a child's head and shoulders. As mentioned above, the frame 11 is representative of a viewfinder of a camera 13. As shown in Fig. 7, the child 14 now adopts the suggested pose and expression, is again photographed. The photographer 15 takes a photograph with camera 13, of the reader 14 holding the suggested pose (Figure 7) . Photograph 29 comprising child image 30, which is again cropped from the background with scissors 18 , after which the sticker 24 is removed to reveal an area 31 of the leaf 19, which may have a continuation of the drawing 22 thereon (Figure 9) . The image 30 is then adhered to the area 31 with a glue such as that sold under the Trade Mark UHU or Pritt-Stick (Fig. 10) . The page 19 now carries a photograph the reader 14 in a suitable pose for appearing in the story.

Figure 11 shows a sample page from a book of the present invention . The page comprises a drawing 32 , textual matter 33, being part of a written story, and a sticker 34. The sticker 34 has a representation of a crawling child 35 thereon, and thumbnail picture 36 which comprises a frame 37 representing a view finder of a camera 13 and a silhouette 38 of a child crawling on all fours . The silhouette 38 takes up approximately a quarter of the area of the frame 37. A short textual instruction or "stage direction" 39 describes what the child is to do at this point in the story. The instruction 39 is provided in close proximity and beneath the frame 37.

Fig. 12 shows another page with a colored scene 32 generally similar to Fig 11. In this instance, the child is creeping on tiptoes past the crocodile, and he will be photographed as described above. The resulting image of the child can be fixed in a range of positions, e.g. near the head of the crocodile or near its tail, and the child could be shown creeping behind the crocodile or in front of it. Because the sticker carrying the monochrome image and the frame is removed, the child or its parent has considerable freedom as to where to place the image, although realism is lost if the child is not shown standing on the floor . If the page was simply printed with the child's image as a ghost or monochrome together with the frame image, a satisfactory effect could be obtained, but freedom as to where to position the child's image would be lost.

In Fig. 13, which shows a further page from the book, the child is shown asleep in bed. Only his head and shoulders are required, and the frame 37 carries a crop line 40, which could also appear in the monochrome or ghost child image 35. Fig 14 shows a inished page from the book, with scene 32 as before, and with a cut-to- shape child photograph 41 adhered in place. In the resulting picture the child appears sitting in a chair with her face apparently correctly directed towards the image of the monkey 42 and with an expression of surprise, so that her image fits as if she were a character in the story and not merely as an afterthought addition . The parent will be instructed to go through the entire book, having the childs's photograph taken in all of the suggested poses . The ilm may then be sent off or processing. The processed photographs may then be cut out and adhered to the appropriate areas in a separate operation.

Some or all of the leaves 4 of the book 1 include textual matter colored illustrations that include space for a photograph of the child 14 in various suggested posses, and at the publisher's discretion there may be additional pages with text only or more commonly text and an illustration in which the child is not intended to appear. Preferably, the pictorial elements facilitate the understanding of the written story. The book 1 can comprises space for e.g. between five and thirty-two images and as previously stated most preferably, fifteen images . Instructions for using the book of the present invention are set out on the final page of the book (not shown) . It will be usual to have one story per book, but two or more stories can be incorporated into a single book with provision for images of the child to be incorporated into the illustrations as described above .

It will be appreciated that various methods can be used to hold stickers or child images to the leaves of the book. Adhesive pads 8 or areas 31 on the leaves 9 may be replaced with slots in the leaves for holding photographic images in place . They may also be replaced with a tacky adhesive applied direct on to the leaf and cover with a peel-away protective layer. The adhesive may also be applied to the concealed faces of the stickers and to the child image to be adhered in place, and this route will normally be preferred for the reasons described above. Thumbnail picture 10, 25 is used herein to describe a picture which is smaller than or small in comparison to the expected size of a photograph or image which is expected to cover or replace it . The removable sticker 24 may comprise a tab portion, which is not adhered to the leaf 19, thereby facilitating removal of the sticker 24. Furthermore, the methods described above are applicable to the production of greetings cards in which photographs are attached which may be most commonly children, but also potentially adults or pet animals e.g. dogs, cats, rabbits, mice, gerbils and the like. One possibility is to provide a set of cards to be decorated by multiple copies of a photographic image. For a child's birthday party, for example, a pack of invitation cards could show a common scene and one of them could carry a sticker or ghost or monochrome image as aforesaid showing how the child is to fit into the scene. The parent then obtains the required number of prints and after taking a photograph in the required pose obtains an appropriate number of prints and crops and attaches them to the cards . Alternatively a pack of cards with different designs could be provided, the child being photographed in a different pose for each card. There could be provided a pack of cards as aforesaid plus a disposable (re-usable) camera, or indeed a pack containing a storybook as aforesaid plus a disposable camera. Such a pack might comprise printed outer packaging e.g. of paperboard formed with apertures for display blisters showing the pack of cards or the storybook and the disposable camera, optionally with instructions explaining how they are to be used together.

As mentioned above, both the storybook and the card may be provided in digital form, either recorded on a data carrier such as a magnetic or optical disk, or encoded as a digital signal for transmission via a computer network such as the Internet. The book or card can be simply printed out by the user e.g. by a color ink jet printer at home and an image of the child mechanically adhered to it when printed in the manner described above. If the parent or other user has access to a digital camera, however, as is becoming increasingly common, then the image of the child may be created digitally by the user, input into the computer that also has the file for the storybook open, and used to replace the instructional images already present. The image may be created with a seamless background and simply dropped onto the image of the book or card. For example, the image of a child taken by the parent may be copied from the file which is used to input the image taken by the parent into the computer and then pasted as a graphics object into the storybook, many computer programs nowadays having software to enable the user to move the pasted object over the display of the storybook or card to the correct position and also have a zoom tool for adjusting the scale of the object if necessary before the placement of the new image becomes finalized. Such a pasted object can overlay and therefore conceal the previously apparent instructional images on the book or card. A variety of desk-top publishing programs and word processing programs nowadays have tools for importing, zooming to scale and positioning the newly created photographic image of the child, and are usable in conjunction with digital camera software.

Claims

1. A storybook for a child, said storybook having a page containing an illustration for the story, the illustration including a location for receiving an image of the child, wherein a sticker or stickers removably fixed to the page carry a second image showing an appropriate outline and pose for the image of the child and a third image showing a camera viewfinder with a diagram of a child positioned and posed for taking a photograph of which the image forms part.

2. The storybook of claim 1 , having pages containing a sequence of illustrations for the story at least some of which include a location or range of locations for receiving an appropriate one of a sequence of images of the child, and a sequence of stickers as set out in claim 1 each relating to a child image-receiving location or range of locations of one of the illustrations and each removably fixed to a page bearing an illustration to which the sticker relates .

3. The storybook of claim 2 , wherein there are about 10-20 illustrations with child-image receiving locations.

4. The storybook of claim 2 wherein there are 15 illustrations with child-image receiving locations .

5. The storybook of claim 2, 3 or 4, wherein at least some of the stickers carry second images showing different poses .

6. The storybook of any preceding claim, wherein at least one sticker carries a text message that provides a stage direction to be obeyed by the child when adopting the specified pose .

7. The storybook of any preceding claim, wherein at least one sticker carries a crop line associated with the third image defining a useful portion of the photograph .

8. The storybook of any preceding claim, wherein the illustration is in color and the second image is in monochrome .

9. A storybook designed to contain likenesses of a child reader, which likenesses will be related to the action of the story, said storybook being substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings .

10. A method for producing a storybook having a page containing text and an illustration of the story which includes an image of a particular child, said method comprising : providing a storybook having a page containing an illustration of the story, the illustration including a location or range of locations for receiving an image of the child, a sticker being removably fixed to the page and carrying a second image showing an appropriate outline and pose for the image of the child and a third image showing a camera viewfinder with a diagram of a child positioned and posed for taking a photograph of which the image forms part; photographing the child positioned and posed in the camera viewfinder according to said third image; cropping a print of the photograph according to the outline in the second image to produce the image of the child; and fixing the image of the child to the page at said location or at a location within said range.

11. The method of claim 9, wherein there is produced a sequence of photographs in various poses to be fixed to different pages .

12. The method of claim 10 or 11 , wherein the image of the child is a color photograph taken by a camera that uses silver halide film.

13. The method of claim 10 or 11 , wherein the image of the child is a color photograph taken by a digital camera .

14. The method of any of claims 10-13, wherein the image of the child is fixed to the page by adhesive applied to the image.

15. The method of any of claims 1-13, wherein the image is fixed to the page by adhesive on or applied to the page.

16. A storybook for a child, said storybook having a page containing an illustration for the story, the illustration including a location or range of locations for receiving an image of the child, wherein a second image on said page shows an appropriate outline and pose for the image of the child and a third image on said page shows a camera viewfinder with a diagram of a child positioned and posed for taking a photograph of which the image forms part, the second and third images being removable or being concealed when the image of the child is in place on said page.

17. A storybook for a child, said storybook having pages containing a sequence of illustrations for the story, at least some illustrations including a location or range of locations for receiving an image of the child, wherein each page that carries an illustration including a said location or range of locations also has an image thereon showing an appropriate outline and pose for a photographic image of the child to be attached to the respective page, said image being removable or being concealed when the image of the child is in place.

18. A storybook for a child, said storybook having pages containing a sequence of illustrations for the story, at least some illustrations including a location or range of locations for receiving an image of the child, wherein each page that carries an illustration including a said location or range of locations also has an image thereon showing a camera viewfinder with a diagram of a child positioned and posed for taking a photograph of which the image forms part, said image being concealed or being removable when the image of the child is in place.

19. A method for producing a storybook having a page containing text and an illustration of the story which includes an image of a particular child, said method comprising: providing a storybook having a page containing a coloured illustration of the story, the illustration including a location or range of locations for receiving an image of the child, a second image in monochrome showing an appropriate outline and pose for the image of the child and a third image showing a camera viewfinder with a diagram of a child positioned and posed for taking a photograph of which the image forms part; color photographing the child positioned and posed in the camera viewfinder according to said third image ; cropping a print of the photograph according to the outline in the second image to produce the image of the child; and fixing the image of the child to the page at said location or at a location within said range.

20. A greetings card having an illustration including a location or range of locations for receiving a photographic image of a human or animal , wherein a second image on said card shows an appropriate outline and pose for the photographic image of the human or animal and a third image on said card shows a camera viewfinder with a diagram of the human or animal positioned and posed for taking a photograph of which the image forms part, the second and third images being removable or being concealed when the image of the human or animal is in place on said card.

21. A greetings card having an illustration including a location or range of locations for receiving an image of a human or animal, wherein the card also has an image thereon showing an appropriate outline and pose for a photographic image of the human or animal to be attached to the card, said image being removable or being concealed when the image of the human or animal is in place .

22. A greetings card having an illustration including a location or range of locations for receiving a photographic image of a human or animal, wherein the card also has an image thereon showing a camera viewfinder with a diagram of a human or animal positioned and posed for taking a photograph of which the image forms part, said image being concealed or being removable when the image of the human or animal is in place.

23. A method for producing a greetings card having an illustration which includes a photographic image of a human or animal, said method comprising: providing a greetings card having a colored illustration, the illustration including a location or range of locations for receiving an image of the human or animal , a second image in ghost or monochrome showing an appropriate outline and pose for the image of the human or animal and a third image showing a camera viewfinder with a diagram of the human or animal positioned and posed for taking a photograph of which the image forms part; color photographing the human or animal positioned and posed in the camera viewfinder according to said third image; cropping a print of the photograph according to the outline in the second image to produce the image of the human or animal; and fixing the image of the human or animal to the page at said location or at a location within said range .

24. A pack comprising a storybook or greetings card as defined in any of the above claims and a disposable camera .

25. The pack of claim 24 comprising outer packaging formed with first and second apertures, first and second blisters of clear plastics material supported in the outer packaging, the card or storybook being contained within the first blister and the camera being contained within the second blister.

26. A storybook for a child in digital form, said storybook having a page containing an illustration for the story, the illustration including a location or range of locations for receiving an image of the child, wherein a second image on said page shows an appropriate outline and pose for the image of the child and a third image on said page shows a camera viewfinder with a diagram of a child positioned and posed for taking a photograph of which the image forms part, the second and third images being replaceable by an electronic image of a child taken by the user.

27. A greetings card in digital form having an illustration including a location or range of locations for receiving an image of a human or animal, wherein the card also has an image thereon showing an appropriate outline and pose for a photographic image of the human or animal to be attached to the card, said image being replaceable by a digital image created by the user.

28. The storybook or greetings card of claim 26 or 27 recorded on a data carrier.

29. The storybook of claim 26 or 27 encoded as a signal for transmission through a computer network.

30. A method for producing in digital form a card or storybook having a page containing text and an illustration of the story which includes an image of a particular child, said method comprising: providing in digital form a card or storybook having a page containing an illustration of the story, the illustration including a location or range of locations for receiving an image of the child, and the page also carrying a second image showing an appropriate outline and pose for the image of the child and a third image showing a camera viewfinder with a diagram of a child positioned and posed for taking a photograph of which the image forms part; photographing the child positioned and posed in the camera viewfinder according to said third image; digitally imputing the photograph according to the outline in the second image to produce the image of the child; and placing the image of the child on the page at said location or at a location within said range .

31. The method of claim 30, wherein the image of the child is adjusted for size by means of a zoom tool before it is placed on the page.