Birthday book picker
I never stand in a bookstore guessing again. I give a book and lucky money at kids' birthdays. I tell Claude the kid's age and what they're into, or share a photo of what they love doing, and it gives me two or three books with a one-line reason each, then one clear top pick.
- Why
- Generic "best books for age six" lists give every kid the same present. I wanted books tied to what that particular kid actually loves, a slight reading stretch and not babyish, and ideally about persistence, curiosity or making things.
How I built it
- I told Claude my habit: a book and lucky money for every kid's birthday.
- I listed what makes a good pick: tied to real interests, a slight reach for the age, character-driven, educational when possible.
- I had it save that as a skill that switches on whenever I mention a kid's birthday or ask what book to get.
- I set the process: find the age and the interest, ask one quick question if either is unclear, never guess.
- I set the answer format: two or three books, a one-line reason each, one top pick, short enough to read in the checkout line.
- I added a starter list of books by interest and told it to treat the list as a starting point.
- To copy it you need
- Claude, or the AI of your choice. Nothing else. The gotcha: without the "slight reach, not too young" rule, it plays safe and picks books the kid outgrew a year ago.
Try it yourself
Copy this prompt and paste it into ChatGPT or Claude to try it yourself.
I want to copy the birthday book picker from Frances Tang's What Are We Building profile. She gives a book at every kid's birthday, and her AI picks it: she shares the kid's age and what they're into, and it suggests two or three books with a one-line reason each, then one top pick. Her rules: tie it to that kid's real interests and not a generic bestseller list, make it a slight reading stretch and not babyish, and favor stories about persistence, curiosity or making things. If the age or interest is unclear, it asks one quick question instead of guessing. Her gotcha: without the "slight reach" rule the picks come out too young. Save these as my standing gift rules, then try it: ask me about the next kid's birthday on my calendar. Ask me for anything you need.
Tools I used for this project
