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Considering writing a children’s picture book?  Here are a few essential elements that you will want ot keep in mind:

Layout:  A picture book is an illustrated story book for 0-6 year olds and have a specified number of pages between 24 and 40, which is always divisible by eight. These include the front and back covers so, It is essential to decide how your text will be divided out across these pages in relation to the pictures.

Empathy: Picture book writers need to have an empathy with young children and be able to retain and reproduce childhood feelings and experiences of what it is like to be small.

Illustrations: Writers do not need to be able to illustrate their own books, although many popular picture writers do. Unless you are a professional illustrator it’s probably best not to try. Just send the text to an editor and he or she will provide an illustrator if they decide to publish.  Stories for picture books need to provide the opportunity for imaginative illustration and the text should suggest strongly where and what these pictures should be.

Simple plot: There should be only one plot line which is easy to follow. Young children learn from repetition and like to join in with the story, so skilled use of repetition and refrain is an advantage. Rhyme, alliteration and onomatopoeia are also popular. Sudden actions and unexpected mishaps go down well.

Memorable characters: Animals are well-liked, especially bears. These animals usually act as humans with the story being told through them.  Publishers usually want to market the book abroad. Animals are more easily transferred than people with varying dress and customs. This also applies to live toys and monster characters.

Adult appeal: Picture books must appeal to adults as well as children since it is the parent or teacher that will buy the book then read it to the child, often repeatedly. Parents and teachers want educational value so if a book includes learning concepts such as color, shape and number it has extra appeal.

Themes: Real life situations such as starting school, potty training or moving house are popular as are family relationships, domestic activities, pets and machines. Modern or updated versions of traditional stories also sell well, especially if they approach the story from a new angle.

Writing picture books for children can be fun, but it’s also a craft.  As with any other craft, it takes time to develop so take your time, research your niche and get down to writing.