The farming year
Spring: Plow and Sow
Spring began with the plow. Families farmed long strips in open fields, and their ridges still show today. Your child leads the oxen while you sow.
Life in a Medieval Village
A year of real village jobs
- 32 pages
- 8 × 11 in (21 × 28 cm) Hardcover
You and your child spend a year in one village: plowing with oxen, shearing sheep, taking grain to the windmill, skating on bone skates. Along the way they learn how families grew their food and made their clothes.
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From two photos to your own picture book
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One everyday photo of the child and one of their grown-up. We use them only to draw the characters.
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Read and learn together
Live a year in a medieval village: the cottage, the fields, market day and the harvest feast. Every story page has a true fact and a question to answer from the picture.
A sneak peek
Look inside
10 of the 30 story pages in Life in a Medieval Village. Each one has a true fact and a question to find in the picture.
Shown with an example family. In your book, it’s your family. The printed book has 32 pages: an opening, 30 story pages and a closing.
Inside Life in a Medieval Village
What you’ll discover together
Follow one village through a year with your child: plowing in spring, the smith’s forge, market day and the harvest that fed everyone.
The craftspeople
The Blacksmith’s Forge
Many villages had a smith to mend plowshares, sickles and horseshoes. Your child pumps the bellows, which blow air to make the fire hotter, while you shape a pot.
Trade
Market Day
Villagers walked eggs and wool to the nearest market and bought what they couldn’t make. Your child sells your eggs while you count silver pennies, the everyday coin.
Celebration
When the Harvest Was In
Whole villages cut the wheat together, and when the last sheaves were in, they celebrated. Your child dances around the bonfire with you under the full harvest moon.
The Amazon collection · Personalized learning books
What if their next learning book starred the two of you?
Grown-up
Child
Tap a page to look inside
Life in a Medieval Village
32 pages · 8 × 11 in (21 × 28 cm) Hardcover
$54.99USD
Personalized picture book: you and your child spend a year in a medieval village, plowing, shearing, harvesting and skating. 30 pages, 30 true facts.
Questions, answered
What will my child learn?
How a village fed and clothed itself through the year: plowing strips, shearing and dyeing wool, harvesting and threshing wheat, keeping bees, and skating on bone skates in winter.
Who is in the story?
Your child and one grown-up, drawn from your photos, are on every page, working side by side. Both names go on the cover.
Did people really share their homes with animals?
Some did, especially on cold nights, but it varied by region and period. The cottage pages show one way people lived, not how everyone lived.
Is it accurate?
Every page has a real fact about village life, written to be true for a typical English village of the Middle Ages.
What is this book?
A personalized hardcover picture book about the Middle Ages. Your child and their grown-up are drawn into all 30 story pages, from a knight’s training to castle feasts and village life. Each page is one moment of the story, one true fact and one question your child can answer by looking at the picture.
What age is it for?
Ages 2 to 10. Little ones find themselves in the pictures while you read aloud. Older kids read the facts and answer the questions on their own.
How big is it, and what’s it made of?
A landscape hardcover, 8 × 11 in (21 × 28 cm), with 32 pages: an opening, 30 story pages and a closing. Printed in full color on thick 170 gsm silk paper, with a matte-laminated cover.
What can I personalize?
The child’s photo and name, and the grown-up’s photo and what the child calls them: Grandma, Nana, Dad, Auntie. The names go on the cover, like “Starring Maya & Nana.”
Will the characters really look like us?
Each character is drawn from the photo you upload, so your child will know the faces. A clear, front-facing photo in good light works best. Not happy? Add another photo and preview again, free.
Can I see the book before I buy?
Yes. Add your photos and tap Preview your book. In under a minute you’ll see your cover and a few pages, free. No account, no card, nothing charged until checkout.
Can I order more than one book?
Yes. All Cradl books share one cart, so you can mix titles and formats, and every book is the same price: $54.99 for a hardcover and $39.99 for a softcover.
When will it arrive?
Each book is printed close to you: in the US, the UK and Canada for those countries, and in New Zealand for Australia. It arrives in 5 to 7 business days in the US, 4 to 5 in the UK and Canada, and 7 to 12 in Australia.
How are my photos used?
Only to draw the characters in your book. They’re never shared publicly or used in advertising, and they’re automatically deleted 7 days after you upload them.
What if something’s wrong with my book?
You’re covered by our 30-day guarantee. If the book doesn’t match your preview, or arrives damaged or misprinted, tell us within 30 days of delivery and we’ll reprint it free or refund you in full, your choice.
How much is shipping?
One flat price per order, however many books are in it: $9.99 in the US, £4.99 in the UK, C$12.99 in Canada and A$12.99 in Australia. Prices include tax.
Still have a question? Email hello@cradl.co.