What to Write Inside

You have the book. You have the pen. And now you’re staring at the inscription page like it’s a test you didn’t study for.

“To Emma, Love Grandma” feels too thin. A quote feels impersonal. You want to write something that matters, something she’ll read when she’s thirty and finally understand. But the words won’t come, and the pen is still hovering.

This is the hardest part of giving a book. It’s also the most important.

Why the Inscription Matters

The book might be forgotten. Loved, yes, but eventually absorbed into the shelf with the others. The inscription, though, has a different life. It gets read every time the book is opened. It becomes part of the experience of the story.

And unlike the printed pages, the inscription is yours alone. Your handwriting. Your words. Your presence, captured in ink.

Twenty years from now, when the child is grown and finds this book in a box somewhere, the inscription is what will stop them. Not the story. Your words.

What to Include

Be specific. Not generic “I love you” sentiments, but details that anchor the message to this moment in time.

Their age. The date. What they’re obsessed with right now. What makes them laugh. What you’ve noticed about who they’re becoming.

“February 2026. You’re four and a half, and you love dinosaurs more than anything. You told me last week that you want to be a paleontologist AND a firefighter. I believe you can.”

Those details are what make the inscription irreplaceable. Anyone can write “Love, Grandma.” Only you can write about the dinosaur phase and the dual career ambitions.

What to Skip

Skip the pressure. Don’t write about who you hope they’ll become or the great things you expect from them. Children don’t need more expectations in their lives.

Write about who they are now. What you see. What you love about this specific version of them, even knowing they’ll grow and change and become someone you can’t yet imagine.

The inscription is a snapshot, not a prophecy.

When the Words Won’t Come

Start with the simplest true thing. “I love watching you become yourself.” “You make me laugh every time I see you.” “Being your grandparent is the best thing that ever happened to me.”

Then add a detail. One specific thing you’ve noticed or shared or remember.

Then date it. Always date it. The date transforms a message into a time capsule.

The Gift Inside the Gift

A personalized book is already meaningful. A child seeing themselves as the hero of a story changes something in how they understand their place in the world.

But the inscription is what makes the book a gift from you. It’s your voice, joining the story. Your words, read aloud alongside the printed ones.

When you don’t know what to write, remember: you’re not trying to be clever. You’re just trying to say, in your own way, that this child matters to you. That you see them. That you wanted them to have a story of their own.

That’s enough. That’s everything.