Writing for Children

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TheJaynes
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Writing for Children

Post by TheJaynes »

Hi,
I'm looking to write a children's book (younger children around kindergarten - 2nd grade), but at a loss of where to start. I already have my concept and ideas, but I need some advice on length and overall tips for writing for children. I've read quite a few children's book myself to get some ideas and see what works, but any extra advice would be great!
Thanks!
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KS Crooks
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Post by KS Crooks »

With a few young children of my own one of the first thing I look at when buying them a book is whether it is one where they try to read on their own or one in which I need to read to them. Both types are important for bonding and learning, but obviously a book that a child reads on their own will have less to it than one where the parent does all the reading. Many children books also have a lesson embedded in the story, which may or may not be something that interest you. Finally, the length can vary greatly depending on the size of the pictures used. Most children perceive a book as being large based on the thickness/number of pages. This will intimidate some from trying to read on their own as they think it's too big, when another book with larger pages and is thinner may actually have more words. I would say when I read to my son at night a small book takes under 5 minutes, a large book around 10 minutes. Hope this helps.
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Post by ronrogers »

A book that a child reads on their own will have less to it than one where the parent does all the reading. Many children books also have a lesson embedded in the story, which may or may not be something that interest you. Finally, the length can vary greatly depending on the size of the pictures used. [removed by mod]
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willow23
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Post by willow23 »

when i comes to kids for that age range you need to make it bright and colorful and limited words per page because their attention span is pretty minimal (speaking from experience here)
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Alexatheauthor
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Post by Alexatheauthor »

I wrote two books - one for probably 2-3 year olds and another for 3-9 year olds. Darn Baby was a simple rhyme book with about one line for each page. That was for the very young audience. The other book, the Christmas Tree, was for an older audience. That was about 25 pages and also rhymed. It had a lot more colorful pictures and was more detailed than the other. I think the younger the audience, the more simple the colors and words you want, especially since early readers get very distracted easily.
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mina3177
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Post by mina3177 »

To write for children you have to be able to put yourself in children``s shoes, to think like children do, to know how to fantasize in measure of a child, to be like a child yourself. It is harder than writing for adults and needs knowledge of children`s development, to have a sense for children`s needs.
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Post by Shelle »

I have a first grader and a two-year old and we read A LOT of books together. My oldest is reading more and more books by herself now, and she loves funny stories, silly rhymes, and colorful characters. My two-year old likes it when Mommy reads with funny voices. My older daughter gets a bit restless if her book takes longer than 20 minutes to read, unless it's a chapter book.
A book is a gift you can open again and again.
-Garrison Keillor
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JCunha77
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Post by JCunha77 »

I have written one children's book and I found that my biggest inspiration for me was watching and listening to my kids play. Best of luck with your book. Now that I have written it I just have to get it published. Does anyone have any advice on how to get the process going?
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Post by P_hernandez »

My youngest likes the sentimental children's books. I guess it just depends on what you consider children's or what you want to communicate.
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inspiredbybooks
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Post by inspiredbybooks »

Shelle wrote:I have a first grader and a two-year old and we read A LOT of books together. My oldest is reading more and more books by herself now, and she loves funny stories, silly rhymes, and colorful characters. My two-year old likes it when Mommy reads with funny voices. My older daughter gets a bit restless if her book takes longer than 20 minutes to read, unless it's a chapter book.
Hi Shelle, I too have a first grader (well, now she's moving on to 2nd) and an almost 2 year old :) My daughter is really enjoying reading her old picture books to her little brother. And she loves them!

To answer TheJaynes question, I believe you write what is in your heart and know that there is an audience out there regardless of age. There are some picture books that I think should be in every adult's book collection...i.e., The Giving Tree, Charlotte's Web, The Story of Ferdinand, Polar Express, Marcel & Farfallina, Lucky Ducklings...so many more I can't think of. Don't write for an audience, write what you love and the audience will find your book.
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inspiredbybooks
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Post by inspiredbybooks »

Shelle wrote:I have a first grader and a two-year old and we read A LOT of books together. My oldest is reading more and more books by herself now, and she loves funny stories, silly rhymes, and colorful characters. My two-year old likes it when Mommy reads with funny voices. My older daughter gets a bit restless if her book takes longer than 20 minutes to read, unless it's a chapter book.
Hi Shelle, I too have a first grader (well, now she's moving on to 2nd) and an almost 2 year old :) My daughter is really enjoying reading her old picture books to her little brother. And she loves them!

To answer TheJaynes question, I believe you write what is in your heart and know that there is an audience out there regardless of age. There are some picture books that I think should be in every adult's book collection...i.e., The Giving Tree, Charlotte's Web, The Story of Ferdinand, Polar Express, Marcel & Farfallina, Lucky Ducklings...so many more I can't think of. Don't write for an audience, write what you love and the audience will find your book.
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Rabecca Witzke
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Post by Rabecca Witzke »

As a parent, I find it really difficult to get my toddler to sit still for a book with more than a sentence per page. She loves books that are funny and colourful and full of animals. As a 2 year old she has difficulty finding books about people interesting unless they are babies. Books with touch and feel things in them really grab her attention. Books that have pop out paper pages are an awful idea, as they get tugged on and ripped right away. It seems really hard to find children's books for really young kids that are actually interesting and well-written. One of our favourites is "It's a Book."

Rabecca
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Post by Amagine »

I write children stories as well and I'm always trying to come up with new and exciting ideas for children. The books that I want to write for children of this age are the kind of books that they can read with a parent. As children get older, parents stop reading with or to them. It's so sad because I believe parents should read aloud to children even when they are able to read for themselves. So I would want to write a book that encourages families to read together and to enjoy it.
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