A hilarious novel for grown-ups; a different gift than a child's keepsake
Story Genie vs. Book by Anyone
AI-written 240-page satirical spoof books starring any adult — a gag gift for grown-ups, not a children's picture book.Here’s an honest, side-by-side look at how we’re different, including where Book by Anyone is the better pick.
Book by Anyone shows up in personalized-children's-book searches constantly, and most people who land here are one product description away from realizing they're shopping in the wrong aisle. So here's the description upfront: Book by Anyone makes roughly 240-page, AI-written satirical novels starring an adult you know. A faux biography of your husband, your coworker, your dad. It's a gag gift, reviewers adore it, and it has nothing to do with bedtime.
Story Genie makes the other thing: a hardcover picture book where a child's uploaded photo becomes the illustrated hero of an original story. If you searched 'book by anyone' while shopping for a kid's gift, the honest answer is that neither of us is a substitute for the other.
We kept the full comparison below anyway, because the two products share DNA (AI personalization, strong review scores, free-shipping stickers) and because knowing exactly what each one is saves you a mis-bought gift. Choose by recipient and you can't go wrong in either direction.
Side by side
What you actually get, row by row.
Who the book is for
Story Genie
Your child — an illustrated keepsake starring them
Book by Anyone
Any adult — a satirical faux-biography gag gift
Format
Story Genie
Hardcover picture book (standard)
Book by Anyone
6x9 paperback or hardcover, ~240 pages of text
Personalization from a photo
Story Genie
Yes — the hero in the illustrations looks like your child
Book by Anyone
Photo appears on the cover; inside is AI-written text, not illustrated likeness
How it personalizes
Story Genie
One photo + your choices; unlimited preview revisions
Book by Anyone
Questionnaire about the recipient; AI weaves the details into the story
See full story before paying
Story Genie
Yes — full story, free, before paying
Book by Anyone
Instant preview advertised; whether the full text is readable pre-payment isn't published
All-in price
Story Genie
$49.99 all-in (US shipping included)
Book by Anyone
~$39.90 paperback with free standard shipping; hardcover costs more; order tracking is a paid add-on
Trust signal
Story Genie
4.9 / 5 across 11,000+ orders since 2023
Book by Anyone
4.8 / 5 on Trustpilot across thousands of reviews
How we compared
Every claim on this page comes from Book by Anyone’s own website, help pages, and published policies, or from independent review platforms like Trustpilot. We check prices on their live product pages, shipping numbers on their shipping pages, and policies in their own terms. Where something isn’t published, we say “not disclosed” instead of guessing.
We sell one of the two products being compared, so we hold ourselves to a simple rule: every page names where the other brand genuinely wins, and if a claim can’t be traced to a source, it comes off the page.
Concretely, that means prices come from live product pages rather than old screenshots, shipping numbers from the brand’s own shipping and delivery pages, policies from their published terms, and review figures from independent platforms rather than on-site widgets (which several brands curate). When a brand’s own pages contradict each other, and a few do, we quote the range and say so. When a “sale” price never actually ends, we treat the sale price as the real price and tell you that too.
These pages are also on a clock: an automated freshness check flags any comparison whose facts are more than 90 days old, which forces a full re-verification against the competitor’s live site at least once a quarter. The date below is when that last happened for this page.
Facts on this page last verified on July 4, 2026. Competitor prices and promotions move often, so always confirm on their site before you buy.
The difference you can hold
Your child’s book, not a name swap
Most personalized books drop a name into pages that never change. Story Genie writes and illustrates the story around your child.
Story GenieMade from your photo
Your child appears in the art on every page. You pick the style, the setting, and the life lesson.
A Story About
[CHILD’S NAME]
same pages, every child
The premade template
Fixed illustrations and a fixed plot. Your child’s name goes into pages that stay the same.
Inside the book
Full-page art with your child in the scene.
A real hardcover
Stitched binding and thick pages, built for nightly reads.
The first look
They find themselves on page one.
Left: real Story Genie product photography. Right: an illustration of the common premade approach, not any specific brand’s book.
Where Book by Anyone pulls ahead
The honest case for Book by Anyone.
We won’t pretend they have no advantages. If any of these matter most to you, they’re the right pick.
- A genuinely funny, novelty-scale artifact — ~240 pages of personalized narrative is a bigger physical object than any picture book
- Excellent review profile — 4.8 / 5 on Trustpilot with thousands of reviews
- Fast, easy questionnaire flow with regenerate options for titles and covers
- Free standard US shipping on the paperback
Where Story Genie pulls ahead
Why families pick Story Genie over Book by Anyone.
- Made for children — an illustrated hardcover where the hero is drawn from your child's photo on every spread, not a text novel with a photo cover
- Free, full preview of the entire book before any payment; their pre-purchase preview depth isn't published
- Unlimited revisions during preview; their reviewers report regenerated titles losing saved favorites
- Published 30-day photo-deletion policy
Common ground
What you get with either.
The honest sorting hat
Which book fits your kid?
Pick Book by Anyoneif…
- The recipient is a grown-up — a spouse, coworker, or milestone birthday; a 240-page satirical novel starring them is a genuinely funny gift no picture book replaces
- You want a big physical novelty artifact — 240 pages of personalized narrative out-sizes any children's keepsake
- You trust the crowd — 4.8 / 5 on Trustpilot across thousands of reviews, with print quality consistently praised
Pick Story Genie if…
- The gift is for a child — an illustrated hardcover where the hero looks like them, not a text novel with their photo on the cover
- You want to read everything before paying — our preview is the entire book; the depth of theirs before payment isn't published
- You want likeness in the ART — their photo stops at the cover; our photo drives how the hero is drawn on every page
Price at a glance
One book. One price.
Story Genie
$49.99
All-in. Hardcover children's book, free US shipping, unlimited preview revisions.
Book by Anyone
~$39.90
Paperback spoof novel, free standard shipping; hardcover and order tracking cost extra. Verified via review sources 2026-07; their site blocks automated price checks.
The bottom line
This is the rare comparison where both products can be the right answer, for different people on your list. Book by Anyone makes a 240-page AI-written roast novel for adults, and by its reviews it lands the joke, with print quality to match. Story Genie makes an illustrated hardcover where a child sees their own face in the story. Searching one and finding the other usually means you're on the wrong page, and that's fine: gag novel for the grown-up, keepsake for the kid. Choose by recipient, not by brand. A practical test if you're still torn: picture the recipient opening it. If the laugh is the gift, buy the novel. If the point is a child hugging a book at bedtime because the hero has their face, buy the picture book. The overlap between those two moments is zero, which makes this the easiest decision on our comparison hub.
Weighing more than two brands? See how all 12 stack up in our 2026 buying guide.
Common questions
Quick answers.
What formats does Book by Anyone actually sell?
Two main lines as of mid-2026: the flagship ~240-page satirical books in 6x9 paperback or hardcover, available in Fiction and Nonfiction (faux-biography) flavors, and a separate personalized comic-book line at 20 saddle-stitched pages. The comics are the closest thing they make to a kid-friendly product, though the flagship humor is written for adults. Story Genie makes exactly one thing: a 24+ page illustrated hardcover starring a child, which keeps this comparison mercifully simple.
Book by Anyone vs Story Genie for a kid's birthday?
Story Genie, and it isn't close — not because theirs is worse, but because theirs is a 240-page text novel written as adult satire. A six-year-old wants pictures with their face in them. Flip it for a 40th birthday: the spoof novel wins and the picture book makes no sense. Same technology, opposite shelves.
Does Book by Anyone have discount codes?
Coupon aggregators track a steady rotation of codes for them, though the specifics churn. Worth a search before checkout. On our side, WELCOME25 takes 25% off a first book automatically from most of our links — different product, same instinct to check for the code first.
How long does Book by Anyone take to arrive?
Standard shipping is free and commonly cited at roughly 9 to 13 business days order-to-door, with reviewers often reporting faster. One quirk worth knowing: order tracking is a paid add-on on top of the free shipping.
Is Book by Anyone actually written by AI?
Yes — a questionnaire about the recipient feeds an AI that writes the full narrative. Reviews are strongly positive overall; the minority complaints mention repeated dialogue or odd passages discovered after delivery, which is the risk when the full text isn't confirmable before purchase.
Is Book by Anyone a children's book company?
Not primarily. Book by Anyone makes ~240-page AI-written satirical books starring any adult — a gag gift for a spouse, coworker, or friend — plus personalized comic books. If you want an illustrated keepsake starring your child, that's a different product, and it's the one Story Genie makes.
Does Book by Anyone put a photo in the book?
The photo goes on the cover. The inside is AI-generated text, not illustrations of the person. Story Genie illustrates the hero from your child's photo across the whole book.
Do either of you run discounts?
Book by Anyone runs promo codes through coupon sites. Story Genie's evergreen offer is WELCOME25 — 25% off your first book, applied automatically when you arrive from most of our links.