When we first discovered the Lost My Name books, well, sold. They were about the most beautifully conceived, perfectly executed, personalized books for kids we had ever seen. We’ve since bought them as gifts and recommended them to tons of of our own friends. So of course we were thrilled to have the chance to team up with the smart folks at Lost My Name — who include three cool dads and one cool uncle — for the U.S. launch of their brand new title, The Intergalactic Journey Home, which takes the personalization to a remarkable new level.

And yes, we’ve said that the NYC launch party was “out of this world” and “a blast” about a zillion times, but we can’t stop ourselves.

– Don’t miss our tips on throwing an awesome space-themed party, below! –

As for the book, we think that’s pretty mind-blowing too, and not surprisingly, so did the kids who got a first look at it last week.

The book gets kids excited about STEM education and science exploration by putting your kid at the center of the story.

It features a child (who coincidentally looks a lot like your own child and even has the same name) finding his or her way home from somewhere in the galaxy, getting closer and closer, with photos on the pages that look increasingly familiar. First your kid will get a view of his home country from space, and then start to recognize landmarks in your home state, city, and finally, an actual satellite shot of your home and neighborhood. The publishers do it with the help of NASA’s open source photography of outer space, combined with mapping technologies, and of course your own input when you’re ordering.

The result is a closeup “flyby” of your own home, which is pretty darn cool.

Like, here, we show you what a sample page would look like as your explorer arrives home to either Brooklyn, DuPont Circle, or Santa Monica.

Neat, right? Plus, what kid doesn’t want to feel like the most important person in the whole universe?

new besties via dellahsjubilation

How to throw an awesome space-themed party

We’ve now learned the essential elements, thanks in part to the party-planning genius of Billie Christie and her ace team at Jargon Media. Feel free to borrow some or any of them. We know we will.

You’ll need:

1. A super cool space themed book personalized for all the guests. (Duh.)

2. Actual space aliens. From space.

3. Authentic NASA space suits for every kid. (Note: Not recommended for actual space use.)

4. Martian antennae headbands for people too big or too small for space suits.

5. An amazing photo booth complete with alien photobombs

6. Intergalactic grilled cheese sandwiches – a huge hit!  (Warning: By the end, Pluto was mysteriously missing.)

7. Lemonade naturally tinted green, blue and orange; mimosas for the adults. Those were just orange.

8. Mini ice cream in the teeniest, cutest little ice cream cones you’ve ever seen which means kids can justify asking their parents if they can eat six or seven of them.

9. Astronaut ice cream, which is nothing like the teeny ice creams and therefore doesn’t count toward total ice cream consumption.

10. Tattly space-themed temporary tattoos. Because no goody bag should be without Tattlys.

11. A massive craft station for creating your own 3-D galaxies and rockets and alien monster whatevers.

12. A space-themed bedroom area for bedtime stories and chilling out

13. Telescope giveaways for two lucky kids.

14. Kids’ names projected on the wall in stars, just like in the pages of the book.

15. Seriously fun, fantastic guests. Which also describes a few of their parents, too.

Top left photo of siblings vs aliens via Georgette Gilmore

future astronaut via Serena Norr

Is Shawana Kemp from Shine and the Moonbeams wearing the most perfect dress or what?

alien encounter via Mommyshorts on Instagram

Our big telescope winner! (It’s almost as tall as he is!)

Thanks so much to our amazing partner, the indie publishers at Lost My Name, and their fantastic new personalized story, The Intergalactic Journey Home. It’s our pleasure to help get the word out about books that get kids excited about reading, science, exploring and learning all at once.

All photography © Cool Mom Picks unless otherwise noted; photos: Aaron Adler Photography