When writing for children, I feel it is best to begin by going to your local bookstore or library and reading numerous children’s picture/chapter books.

If you are a parent of young children, you may have already accomplished this part. I would also suggest you roughly develop the whole story before beginning your manuscript. It makes writing a lot easier to know the direction in which you are headed.

Anastasia.

As with all books, you will need subject matter, a main character and some sort of dilemma for the main character to play a role in overcoming.  There should be a “three act structure”…in other words, a beginning, middle and end. In the beginning, you describe what life is like before the dilemma. In the middle, the situation gets worse and the problem is revealed. The ending of the book offers a resolution and, of course, a happy ending. The main character always plays a part in the problem, as well as the solution.

Remember, picture books are simpler and shorter than chapter books, as their audience is younger. Usually by fourth grade, many children are reading chapter books. The type of book you write should always be age appropriate.

In my picture book “Anastasia Pickering, Anastasia’s Rain,” the main character, six year old Anastasia, is getting her very first dog as a birthday present. The introduction explains there is something a little different about Anastasia because she always runs into rain showers….colorful and magical rain showers! When the problem is revealed, the rain starts to fall. As she listens to the sage advice of her ponytail riding, blueberry snitching, invisible fairy, her problem solving begins. The rain magically changes into rainbow colors, as the fairy guides her through her conundrum.  Patience, the fairy, is Anastasia’s voice of reason and is also described in the introduction. The lesson for Anastasia in this book is patience.

The first part of the book describes her life before the dilemma; her birthday excitement, her parent’s role and the dog shelter experience. The middle part of the book produces a complication and reveals the dilemma. Once they leave the shelter, her new dog, Rufus, appears to be nervous or maybe sad. Anastasia feels he expected to see his previous family and her problem solving rain starts to fall. As she listens to Patience and allows her new dog time to get used to his new family, the rain changes into all the colors of the rainbow. In the last part of the story, the lesson is learned, a beautiful rainbow appears and they all head home with her new best friend.

Here are a few helpful hints when writing books for children:

- Be original. Whatever your message, do it through an original and creative story. It should also appeal to the masses, because you want a broad spectrum of children to enjoy it.

The best children's books, like Goodnight Moon, are easy to follow.

- When you first start to write your story, don’t be too concerned about exact wording. Believe me, you will write and rewrite many times before it becomes the manuscript you send to a publisher. If you are an excellent writer, maybe you won’t need an editor, but it is always good to have an experienced ear and eye be your critic. Publishers have their own editors, but you want your manuscript to be as good as possible before sending it to publishing houses.

- When writing a picture book, you have to consider the corresponding picture for your content, so write your story with enough “scenes” in mind. If you can draw, consider sketching what you imagine in the pictures. It will help with descriptive details you may not have thought about otherwise.

- Young children relate best to a book written in third person. (told by an outside observer). First person is used more for young-adult and middle-grade readers. Third person is acceptable for any type of book.

- Your sentences should be simple, short and direct. Use dialog as much as possible to explain what is going on with the characters. A few choice words from the character are much more effective than a long narration.

- Choose a setting that will be interesting to your readers. Have your main character be about the same age as your readers and have him/her be someone with whom your readers can relate. Explain a few mannerisms or physical traits of your main character as well.

- Read your manuscript to children in your target age group and ask for their input. I read mine to a class of third grade students and had them draw a picture of the story afterwards.  Their drawings helped me determine if the children retained the book’s content and which parts of it were the most impressionable.

- Lastly, Children’s Writer’s and Illustrator’s Market is a yearly publication that gives information on publishers’ preferences. It will help you figure out what they are looking for now.

I recently bought my niece a gift from Barnes and Noble called “Illustory.” The way it works: A child writes a story and illustrates it. Upon completion, the parent sends it to “Illustory” to be typeset, printed and bound in a hardcover book. I am my niece’s mentor as she writes her story, and it has been a lot of fun for both of us. If your child enjoys reading, maybe the two of you can work together on a writing project. Just letting your imaginations run wild may be a great experience for both of you!

Whether you are writing for fun or to be published, I hope this information has been helpful. I would like to leave you with some words from Charles W. Eliot:

“Books are the quietest and most constant of friends; they are the most accessible and wisest of counselors, and the most patient of teachers.”