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Magic Story+: How the Personalized Book Subscription Works, and How to Gift It

How Magic Story+ works, what it costs, whether it is worth it, and how to give it as a gift, including on Christmas Day after shipping cutoffs pass.

Magic Story

Magic Story Editorial Team

10 min read
Updated

A girl on her front steps holds up a hardcover of The Emotion Emporium she has just unwrapped from a teal mailer.
In this article

Magic Story+ is a personalized book subscription for kids. If you subscribe on magicstory.com, a hardcover illustrated with your child as the hero arrives on the schedule you choose, every 1, 2 or 3 months, and you can pick a different upcoming story from your account. The standard US monthly hardcover plan is $24.99 a month plus shipping and tax, compared with $44.99 for a one-time hardcover. You can also give it: a US gift subscription covers 1, 3, 6 or 12 months with shipping included, and the family creates their child's character. Because the gift arrives by email, it still reaches the family on Christmas Day after the shipping dates have passed.

This article began as a subscription launch announcement in February 2025. It now covers the current options, how to give Magic Story+ as a gift, and an important difference between website subscriptions and app-store memberships.

How Magic Story+ works

Three steps: create your child's character from one photo, a new hardcover arrives every 1, 2 or 3 months, and change, skip, pause or cancel in your account.
  1. Create your child's character. Upload one photo and see a free personalized preview first, with no credit card needed. The preview shows your child in a scene from a book, not every page; sample interior pages show the book's sample character rather than your own completed pages.
  2. Get a new hardcover on your schedule. Each delivery is a new personalized story. Magic Story+ selects the next book based on your child's story history, and you can choose a different one before it's ordered.
  3. Stay in control. Change the next book, skip a month, pause or cancel from your account.

New website subscriptions use hardcover books. Some eligible existing subscribers keep a softcover plan, so an older account or review may describe a different format.

Ten personalized book covers from the Magic Story library, including The Emotion Emporium, Zen and the Storm Inside and Where Does the Moon Go?
A few of the books in our library, shown with their sample characters. Your account shows which titles you can choose next.

Are kids book subscriptions worth it?

For a standard US website purchase, a one-time hardcover costs $44.99 USD. A Magic Story+ website subscription costs $24.99 USD per month, a difference of $20.00 per book, or 44% less, before shipping and tax.

These figures come from our current pricing guide. Prices may differ by shopping country, selected title, or offer. Review the product page and checkout total for your own order.

So is it worth it? It usually is when:

  • Your child asks for "the one with me in it" again and again. A subscription keeps new stories coming.
  • You'd buy more than one book anyway. Each book costs less than buying it once at standard US prices.
  • You like a routine. A new book arriving every 1, 2 or 3 months gives bedtime something to look forward to.

It may not be when you want one particular title for one occasion: buy that book once. Either way, include shipping and tax when you compare totals.

Give Magic Story+ as a gift

A gift subscription is the easiest personalized gift to give when you don't have the child's photo, or when the parents would rather choose the stories. Start on the gifting page and choose Send A Gift Subscription.

Gift lengths: 1 month with 1 book, 3 months with 3 books, 6 months with 6 books, or 1 year with 12 books, one a month, shipping included, US delivery.
  1. Choose the length. 1, 3, 6 or 12 months, with one personalized hardcover a month. The gift flow shows the current price for each.
  2. Add the recipient and your message. Enter the family's email address, write your message, and choose the date the gift email goes out.
  3. Pay once at checkout. Shipping is included in the gift price, and gift subscriptions are for delivery in the United States only.
  4. The family sets it up. They follow the link in the gift email, sign in or create an account with the email the gift was sent to, create their child's character from a photo and add the delivery address.

You don't need the child's photo, and the family doesn't pay for the gifted books. For a grandchild, you might write: "I thought you could choose the stories with your dad, and tell me which one you want us to read next." That leaves the family in charge of personalization and gives you a reason to talk about the books. Our Help article on sending a gift subscription covers what to do if the gift email doesn't arrive.

The last-minute Christmas gift: Magic Story+ on Christmas Day

Every Magic Story book is printed to order, so physical books have Christmas order-by dates. For 2026 US delivery by Christmas Eve, order by December 10 with Standard shipping or December 14 with Expedited. These are estimates, not guarantees, and checkout shows the estimate for your address.

Christmas timeline: December 10, last day for Standard shipping by Christmas Eve; December 14, last day for Expedited; December 25, the gift subscription email arrives at 10:00 AM Pacific.

A gift subscription doesn't need to ship to arrive. Buy it any time before Christmas, choose December 25 as the send date, and the gift email goes out at 10:00 AM Pacific time that morning. The family opens it, creates their child's character, and the first book is on its way. If you want something to hand over on the day, write a card that says a book starring them is coming every month.

A father and son on Christmas morning look at a gift on a tablet, the boy throwing his arms up in joy.
An illustration made for this guide.

Gift subscriptions are for US delivery only. For Canada, the UK and Mexico, see will my book arrive by Christmas? for how to check delivery.

Website and app-store memberships work differently

With a membership billed directly on magicstory.com, an upcoming book is selected for regular shipment. The website account includes controls for the next story, hero, shipping details, and subscription changes.

With a membership billed through the App Store, Google Play, or Amazon Appstore, the store sets the price and the membership earns a credit each month instead of automatically shipping a book. Those memberships are managed through the original store.

The Magic Story+ help guide explains the options. Use the settings for the website or store that bills your membership when you want to make a change.

Choose the next book before it is ordered

Account controls for website memberships: change next book, skip next book, pause for 1, 2 or 3 months, and cancel in your account before renewal, with the notice period given below.

For a website subscription, open Account > Subscriptions, select the relevant child's subscription, and choose Change next book. Review the available titles and their sample pages before making your selection. The picker leaves out books already purchased for that hero, so a book you already own won't come up again by mistake. If you follow a series, its books are listed first.

Make the change before the next billing date and before order processing begins. Changing an upcoming selection cannot replace a book that has already been ordered and is being made. Some books can't be chosen for a subscription delivery, including non-personalized books, books with companion characters, and individual books from the Six Days Until Christmas set. See how to choose a different story.

It can help to check the subscription at a regular moment, such as after reading the current book. Ask, "Would you like another animal story, or shall we look for an adventure?" Keep the choice small if browsing a whole collection feels like too much.

If a grandparent pays for the membership, agree on who will manage those selections and where deliveries should go. One adult should know the renewal date and keep the account details current.

Pause, skip, or cancel when your plans change

A website subscription can be managed from your account. A skip moves the next billing date forward by one calendar month. A pause moves it forward by 1, 2 or 3 months and keeps your current rate. You can also choose how often books arrive: every month, every 2 months or every 3 months. Cancellation stops future subscription billing and deliveries.

To avoid the next charge, cancel at least 24 hours before the renewal date. Follow the cancellation guide through the final confirmation and check for the cancellation message. Canceling does not undo a book that has already been paid for and is being made. See also how to pause or skip a month.

For an app-store membership, manage cancellation in the subscription settings of the store that bills you.

Save the relevant confirmation if you make a change. If your account status or next billing date does not look right, contact support with the details before assuming the change has taken effect.

Subscriptions for siblings

Two children at a sunny breakfast table, each reading their own picture book.
An illustration made for this guide.

Each Magic Story book has one main child hero, so a subscription stars one child at a time. You can switch who stars in future books from your account, or give each child their own subscription and their own starring role. Either way, you can add every child to the same account and manage all of their books and subscriptions from one sign-in. Read more about books for siblings.

Understand the digital access

Memberships include digital access to purchased books in the Magic Story app, available on iOS and Android. This can be useful when the hardcover is at home and you are visiting family.

The Magic Story app on a tablet and a phone, showing a personalized book ready to read.

Explore the features available on your device and open the purchased books in your library. Our Magic Story+ guide explains what the membership includes.

A boy slides a book onto a low shelf while his father kneels beside an open cardboard delivery box.

Start Magic Story+, or send it

Explore Magic Story+ when regular deliveries suit your plans, send a gift subscription from the gifting page, or browse individual books for a one-time gift. In either case, check the selection and order total before checkout. Series fans can also follow a monthly series, such as The Dream Carriers or the Theo collection.

Sources

Questions parents ask

Are kids book subscriptions worth it?

A subscription is worth it if your child loves rereading stories they star in and you want a new one regularly. At standard US prices, each Magic Story+ hardcover costs less than a one-time hardcover, and you can change the next book, skip, pause or cancel from your account. If you want one particular title, buying it once is simpler.

How do I give Magic Story+ as a gift?

On the gifting page, choose Send A Gift Subscription. Pick 1, 3, 6 or 12 months, add the recipient's email address and a message, and choose the date the gift email is sent. The family then creates their child's character and sets up the books. Gift subscriptions include shipping and are for US delivery only.

Will I be charged again after a gift subscription?

You pay for the gift once, at checkout, for the length you choose. The family does not pay for the gifted books, which arrive one a month. If you have a question about what happens after the last gifted book, contact us before you buy.

Can I give a book subscription for Christmas if it's too late to ship?

Yes, in the US. A gift subscription is delivered by email, so you can buy it after the Christmas shipping dates pass and choose December 25 as the send date. The gift email goes out at 10:00 AM Pacific time on the date you pick, and the family personalizes the first book from there.

Do I need the child's photo to give a gift subscription?

No. The recipient provides the photo and creates the child's character when they set up the gift, so you don't need to collect a photo yourself.

What if the next subscription book is one we already own?

For a website subscription, open Account > Subscriptions and choose Change next book before your next billing date. The picker leaves out books already purchased for that hero, and the series books come first if you follow a series.

Can siblings share one Magic Story+ subscription?

Each book has one main child hero, so a subscription stars one child at a time. You can switch who stars in future books from your account, or give each child their own subscription. Either way, every child can be on the same account, managed from one sign-in.

Does every Magic Story+ membership ship a book each month?

Website subscriptions ship a selected book on the schedule you choose, every 1, 2 or 3 months. App Store, Google Play and Amazon Appstore memberships work differently: they earn monthly credits instead of automatically shipping books.

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