Book dedication examples for your children
A dedication to your children is a note they will read again when they are grown, so names matter more than cleverness. Below are examples sorted by tone. Choose one to see it on the page, or write your own.
By the Proselis team · Updated
Short dedications to your children
For Maya and Leo.
To my children, my best story.
For my kids, who asked for one more chapter.
For Maya and Leo, always.
Heartfelt dedications to your children
For Maya and Leo. May you always find your way back to the page.
To my children, who taught me that every story needs a happy ending.
For Maya and Leo. Read this when you’re older, and know I was thinking of you on every page.
To my children, who are the reason I keep writing.
For Maya and Leo, who turned our kitchen table into a writing desk and a battlefield.
Funny dedications to your children
For Maya and Leo, who interrupted the writing of this book about four thousand times. I wouldn’t change one.
To my children. Now you know what I was doing in the study.
For Leo, who wants it known that he came up with the dragon.
To my kids, who were promised this book would be about them. Look closely.
Dedications to your grown children
For Maya and Leo, who grew up faster than this book did.
To my children, now adults and still my favorite people to tell stories to.
For Maya and Leo. You’re grown, but you’ll always be the reason I write.
How do you write a dedication to your children?
Use their names so each child can find themselves on the page years from now. If you have more than one, list them in birth order or in alphabetical order, and keep the line short enough that nobody counts words.
Should a children’s book be dedicated to your own kids?
It’s a natural choice, and it often fits the story. If the book grew from a bedtime tale you told them, say so. Readers love knowing where a story began.
Where does the dedication go?
In a printed book, the dedication gets its own right-hand page after the copyright page, usually centered about a third of the way down. Some books share that page with the epigraph. In an ebook, it comes right after the copyright page.
How long should a dedication be?
Most are one or two lines. Anything longer usually belongs in the acknowledgments at the back, where you can thank everyone by name.
Questions
How do I dedicate a book to just one of my children?
Name that child, and dedicate the next book to the other. Some authors take turns across their books, and some explain the plan in the line itself.
What if I have more children later?
Dedicate a future book to the new arrival, or write a line that welcomes everyone, such as “For all of my children, now and later.” Readers understand that a dedication captures one moment in a family.
Can I dedicate a book to more than one person?
Yes. Name them together, as in “For Maya and Leo,” or give each person a line. If the list grows past three or four names, move your thanks to the acknowledgments.
Do I have to include a dedication?
No. Many books have none. Leave it out if nobody comes to mind, because a forced dedication shows.
Should the dedication be in italics?
It’s common but not required. Most dedications are centered and set in italic or small type so they stand apart from the text.
Give your dedication its own page
Proselis has a dedication page ready in its Front Matter menu, so your dedication lands in the right place in your EPUB and print PDF. Writing is free. Publishing a book as an EPUB and a print-ready PDF is a one-time $20.