Skip to main content
VXBE Get started

Buddy for bedtime stories

Tell me who the story is for and what they love right now. I’ll write it, draw a picture for every page, and send you a link you can read together tonight.

A mom in Lubbock, Texas, twenty minutes before lights out.

The storybook in this conversation is the one Buddy made: his pictures and his words.

Tell me who it’s for and what they’re into this week. Send a photo and I’ll draw them the way they look.

  • Make a bedtime story about our dog, with pictures.
  • Here’s a photo of Grandpa’s farm. Set tonight’s story there.
  • Make it a short one tonight. She’s already half asleep.
How Buddy makes and shares storybooks
  1. Today 7:45 PM
  2. You: can you make Theo a bedtime story tonight? he’s 4 and obsessed with garbage trucks
  3. Buddy: Yes! Does the truck have a name? And who else should be in it?
  4. You: Rumble. and our cat Biscuit, she’s orange and very bossy
  5. Buddy: She sounds perfect for this. Give me a few minutes 🌙
  6. 7:53 PM
  7. Buddy: Here it is: Rumble Finds the Moon. Ten pages, a picture on every one.
  8. Rumble Finds the MoonStorybook, ten pages
  9. Buddy: Biscuit steals page 6. You’ll see.
  10. You: he’s already asking for the next one Buddy loved this.

This page is Biscuit’s now.

Biscuit is driving.

Rumble may not talk on this page.

Biscuit says: purr, purr, slow down, wait for the cloud.

Biscuit says: now look up.

Tell me who the story is for and what they love right now. I’ll write it, draw a picture for every page, and send you a link you can read together tonight.

From one text to a storybook

  1. Tell me who it’s for

    Their name, their age, and whatever they can’t stop talking about. Add a photo if you want someone drawn the way they look.

  2. I write it and draw it

    A short story with a picture on every page. If it runs too long or gets too scary, say so and I’ll make another version.

  3. Open the link together

    It opens in a browser, so you can read it on a phone or a tablet, or share your screen so Grandma can follow along on a call.

More you can ask for

  • Make Theo a bedtime story about a garbage truck, with a picture on every page.
  • Write a story where Theo drives a garbage truck at night and isn’t scared of the dark.
  • Make a story that helps Mia get ready for her first day of kindergarten.
  • Write it in Spanish so Abuela can read it to him on their call tonight.
  • Make a story about two sisters who share a room, with a happy ending.
  • Turn tonight’s story into a PDF I can print.

What you get back

  • A storybook you can share

    A page in the browser with pages you turn, one picture each. Anyone with the link can open it, so keep last names and addresses out of the story.

    How shared pages work

  • Up for three days, or longer if you ask

    Every storybook link stays up for 72 hours. Ask me to keep one live and it stays up while you’re a member, up to ten at a time.

  • A copy to keep

    Prefer paper? Ask for a PDF and print it, or keep it with the others.

    Work with files

  • Drawn from your photos

    Send a picture of your kid, your dog, or the backyard, and I’ll draw the story from it. Tell me what has to stay the same.

    Images and video
Rumble Finds the Moon

Rumble Finds the Moon. Ten pages, a picture on every one.

Made by Buddy from this request.

Questions people ask

Who can see the story?

Anyone you send the link to. A published storybook is public, so leave out anything private, like a last name or the name of a school.

How long does the link last?

72 hours. Ask Buddy to keep it live and it stays up for as long as you’re a member, up to ten at a time. He can bring back an expired one too, though he may need the original file.

Can I change it after it’s made?

Yes. Tell Buddy what to change, like a gentler ending, a shorter story, or a different picture, and he’ll make another version.

Can we keep it?

Ask for a file instead of a link, like a PDF you can print. Making a file and publishing a link are separate, so say which one you want.

Can he send a new one every night?

Yes. Ask for a new story at the same time each night, and Buddy keeps sending one until you tell him to stop.

Tonight’s story could be about anything.

Get started

Rumble Finds the Moon

Made by Buddy from this request.

  1. Rumble Finds the Moon

    A bedtime story for Theo

  2. Rumble the green garbage truck rolls out of his cozy garage at night, with Biscuit the orange cat sitting proudly on his roof.

    Night came to the little town.

    The stars blinked on, one by one.

    Rumble the garbage truck gave a big, rumbly yawn.

    “Tonight,” said Rumble, “I am going to find the moon.”

  3. Biscuit stands tall on Rumble’s roof, pointing forward like a little captain, while Rumble smiles up at her.

    Biscuit the orange cat hopped up on Rumble’s roof.

    “I am coming too,” she said. “I am the boss.”

    “Okay, Biscuit,” said Rumble.

    Biscuit pointed one paw. “That way.”

  4. Rumble empties a bin with his lift arm on a quiet street lit by golden streetlights, with Biscuit riding on top.

    Rumble rumbled down Maple Street.

    Clank, clunk. He lifted the bins, one by one.

    “Is the moon here?” asked Rumble.

    There were only streetlights, glowing gold.

  5. Rumble crosses a stone bridge over a river full of shimmering golden lights while Biscuit peers down at the water.

    Rumble rumbled over the bridge.

    Down below, the river wiggled with little lights.

    “Is the moon in the water?” asked Rumble.

    Biscuit looked. “Just lights,” she said. “Keep going.”

  6. Rumble climbs a grassy hill, puffing softly, toward a sleepy cloud with a faint glow behind it.

    Up, up, up the big hill went Rumble.

    Puff, puff, puff.

    A sleepy cloud sat on top, and something glowed behind it.

    “Is the moon up there?” Rumble whispered.

  7. Biscuit sits in the driver’s seat with her paws on the steering wheel, looking very proud, while Rumble’s eyes look on, amused.

    This page is Biscuit’s now.

    Biscuit is driving.

    Rumble may not talk on this page.

    Biscuit says: purr, purr, slow down, wait for the cloud.

    Biscuit says: now look up.

  8. A huge, glowing golden moon fills the sky as Rumble and Biscuit look up at it in wonder.

    Rumble looked up.

    The sleepy cloud floated away, and there it was.

    The moon. Big and round and shining.

    “Oh,” whispered Rumble. “There you are.”

  9. Rumble and the smiling moon greet each other, while Biscuit waves a paw from the roof.

    “Hello, Moon,” said Rumble.

    The moon gave a sleepy smile. “Hello, Rumble. I hoped you would come.”

    Biscuit waved one paw.

    “I told you to keep going,” she said.

  10. Rumble drives home down the hill with the big moon above him lighting a silvery road, and Biscuit riding relaxed on his roof.

    Then it was time to go home.

    The moon came too, shining on the road all silver and gold.

    Rumble rumbled softly, rumble, rumble, rumble.

    He felt warm and happy all the way down.

  11. Rumble sleeps in his garage with Biscuit curled up on his roof and soft moonlight spilling through the open door.

    Rumble rolled into his garage and closed his sleepy eyes.

    Biscuit curled up on his roof, round as an orange.

    The moon peeked in the door.

    “Goodnight, Rumble,” said Biscuit.

    “Goodnight, Biscuit. Goodnight, Moon.”

  12. The End