How to Write A Children's Picture book

A picture book is one aimed at very young children in the two to five year-old age group which usually runs to around 32 pages with a word count seldom more than 500 words.

That may sound simple enough to write, but in fact it has to conform to very tightly defined conventions – partly because of the need for it to appeal to an international market. It is the co-editions in overseas markets that often make it economic for the extensive use of colour illustrations in the picture book.

Andrea Shavick has written several children’s picture books, and in her how-to book she explains the demands of the market: how to structure your picture book, what subject matter to choose, how to handle it in terms of storyline, characterisation and dialogue, and how to sell your idea to a publisher.

If you feel this is a market you would like to tackle, her book could save you years of learning the hard way.