Writing teacher and children’s book author, Darcy Pattison (www.darcypattison.com/books) explains the craft of writing children’s picture books. Why format matters, how to appeal to kids and parents, writing a read-aloud friendly book, and more. Tips on marketing your manuscript to publishers.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
PICTURE BOOK BASICS
Picture Book Structure: Why 32 Pages?
Does EPUB Change the 32-page Illustrated Picture Book?
Dual Audience for Children’s Picture Books
Picture Book Settings: Exotic v. Familiar
Children’s Picture Book Characters: Folk Tale or Modern Story
PICTURE BOOK GENRES
How to Write a Children’s ABC Book
How to Write a Read Aloud Friendly Book
How to Write a Rhyming Picture Book, Part 1
How to Write a Rhyming Picture Book, Part 2
Rhyming Picture Book Bibliography
How to Write a Poetry Collection Picture Book
How to Write a Picture Book Mystery
How to Write a Humorous Picture Book
How to Write a Children’s Picture Book Biography
How to Write a Creative Non-Fiction Picture Book
WRITE A PICTURE BOOK
Good Writing: The Basics
Plotting a Picture Book
Plan Your First Draft
17 Picture Book Topics to Avoid
10 Suggested Directions for Titles
Did You Write a Picture Book or Magazine Article?
Let’s Make a Dummy or a Mock-up of Your Picture Book
From Shakespeare: 2 Ways to Look at Picture Book Structure
Revising Your Picture Book Text
5 Ways to Make the Reader Turn the Page
Phonics for Picture Book Writers
Create a Compelling Voice for a Picture Book
Page 32: The Last Page of a Picture Book
SUBMIT YOUR PICTURE BOOK
The Self-Publishing Question
The Biggest Mistake You Can Make in Submitting a Picture Book
The Illustrator Doesn’t Tell YOU What to Do
Titles and Subtitles Sell Your Work
How Do I Find an Editor’s Name for Submission?
RESOURCES
APPENDIX: BONUS WORKSHEETS
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Children’s book author and writing teacher Darcy Pattison has received recognition for her work with starred reviews, the Irma Simonton Black and James H. Black Award for Excellence in Children’s Literature Honor award, and one title is reprinted in a Houghton Mifflin textbook. Twice her books have been named National Science Teacher’s Association Outstanding Science Trade Books of the year.
Picture book titles include:
•Abayomi, the Brazilian Puma: The True Story of an Orphaned Cub (Mims House), 2015 NSTA Outstanding Science Trade Book
•Wisdom, the Midway Albatross: Surviving the Japanese Tsunami and Other Disasters for Over 60 Years (Mims House), a starred review in Publisher’s Weekly
•Desert Baths (Arbordale), an NSTA Outstanding Science Trade Book 2013
•Prairie Storms (Arbordale)
•I Want a Dog: My Opinion Essay (Mims House)
•I Want a Cat: My Opinion Essay (Mims House)
•My Crazy Dog: My Narrative Essay (Mims House)
•The Journey of Oliver K. Woodman (Harcourt), which received an Irma Simonton Black and James H. Black Award for Excellence in Children’s Literature Honor Book award, starred reviews in BCCB and Kirkus, and has been published in a Houghton Mifflin textbook
•Searching for Oliver K. Woodman (Harcourt)
•19 Girls and Me (Philomel)
•11 Ways to Ruin a Photograph (Mims House), winner of “The Help” Children’s Story Contest.
Join our newsletter at mimshouse.com/newsletter for a free ebook.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
PICTURE BOOK BASICS
Picture Book Structure: Why 32 Pages?
Does EPUB Change the 32-page Illustrated Picture Book?
Dual Audience for Children’s Picture Books
Picture Book Settings: Exotic v. Familiar
Children’s Picture Book Characters: Folk Tale or Modern Story
PICTURE BOOK GENRES
How to Write a Children’s ABC Book
How to Write a Read Aloud Friendly Book
How to Write a Rhyming Picture Book, Part 1
How to Write a Rhyming Picture Book, Part 2
Rhyming Picture Book Bibliography
How to Write a Poetry Collection Picture Book
How to Write a Picture Book Mystery
How to Write a Humorous Picture Book
How to Write a Children’s Picture Book Biography
How to Write a Creative Non-Fiction Picture Book
WRITE A PICTURE BOOK
Good Writing: The Basics
Plotting a Picture Book
Plan Your First Draft
17 Picture Book Topics to Avoid
10 Suggested Directions for Titles
Did You Write a Picture Book or Magazine Article?
Let’s Make a Dummy or a Mock-up of Your Picture Book
From Shakespeare: 2 Ways to Look at Picture Book Structure
Revising Your Picture Book Text
5 Ways to Make the Reader Turn the Page
Phonics for Picture Book Writers
Create a Compelling Voice for a Picture Book
Page 32: The Last Page of a Picture Book
SUBMIT YOUR PICTURE BOOK
The Self-Publishing Question
The Biggest Mistake You Can Make in Submitting a Picture Book
The Illustrator Doesn’t Tell YOU What to Do
Titles and Subtitles Sell Your Work
How Do I Find an Editor’s Name for Submission?
RESOURCES
APPENDIX: BONUS WORKSHEETS
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Children’s book author and writing teacher Darcy Pattison has received recognition for her work with starred reviews, the Irma Simonton Black and James H. Black Award for Excellence in Children’s Literature Honor award, and one title is reprinted in a Houghton Mifflin textbook. Twice her books have been named National Science Teacher’s Association Outstanding Science Trade Books of the year.
Picture book titles include:
•Abayomi, the Brazilian Puma: The True Story of an Orphaned Cub (Mims House), 2015 NSTA Outstanding Science Trade Book
•Wisdom, the Midway Albatross: Surviving the Japanese Tsunami and Other Disasters for Over 60 Years (Mims House), a starred review in Publisher’s Weekly
•Desert Baths (Arbordale), an NSTA Outstanding Science Trade Book 2013
•Prairie Storms (Arbordale)
•I Want a Dog: My Opinion Essay (Mims House)
•I Want a Cat: My Opinion Essay (Mims House)
•My Crazy Dog: My Narrative Essay (Mims House)
•The Journey of Oliver K. Woodman (Harcourt), which received an Irma Simonton Black and James H. Black Award for Excellence in Children’s Literature Honor Book award, starred reviews in BCCB and Kirkus, and has been published in a Houghton Mifflin textbook
•Searching for Oliver K. Woodman (Harcourt)
•19 Girls and Me (Philomel)
•11 Ways to Ruin a Photograph (Mims House), winner of “The Help” Children’s Story Contest.
Join our newsletter at mimshouse.com/newsletter for a free ebook.
