For example, if you are writing for a 2-4 or 4-7 age range, you should use simple language and very short sentences. If you are writing for an 8-10 age range, you can use language that is a bit more complex and sentences that are longer than four to five words.
For example, maybe you had a strange day in third grade that you could turn into an entertaining story. Or perhaps you experienced a foreign country when you were very young and have a story from the trip kids would enjoy.
For example, you may take a common event like going to the dentist and make it fantastical by having the machinery used by the dentist come alive. Or you may take a child’s first time in the ocean and make it fantastical by having the child go into the deep depths of the ocean.
For example, you may explore the theme of friendship by focusing on the relationship between a young girl and her pet turtle.
For example, you may notice that there is not a lot of children’s stories where a young girl of color is the main character. You may then create a main character that fills this void.
For example, you may have a main character who always wears her hair in long braids and has an obsession with turtles. Or you may have a main character who has a distinct scar on her hand from that time she fell off a tree.
For example, you may have exposition like: a young girl named Fiona who wants a pet discovers a turtle in the lake by her house.
For example, you may have an inciting incident like: Fiona’s mother says she cannot have a pet because it is too much responsibility.
For example, you may have rising action like: Fiona captures the turtle and hides it in her backpack, carrying it everywhere with her in secret so her mother does not find it.
For example, you may have a climax like: Fiona’s mother discovers the turtle in her backpack and tells her the turtle cannot be her pet.
For example, you may have falling action like: Fiona and her mother get in an argument and the turtle escapes. They then both go in search of the turtle when they discover it missing.
For example, you may have a resolution like: Fiona and her mother discover the turtle in the lake and watch it swim away together.
Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak Charlotte’s Web by E. B. White The Gruffalo by Julia Donaldson The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
For example, the first line of “The Beginning of Smoke” by Brunei Darussalam is: “At the beginning of the world, smoke was a man. At that time, there was a boy named Si Lasap, an orphan, who was constantly harassed by the village youths…” This opening establishes character, tone, and a fantastical element to “smoke. ”
For example, you may describe a setting as “loud and bold” or “hot and sticky. ” You can also use sounds like “crash,” “bam,” “bang,” or “whoosh” to make the story entertaining for your readers.
You may use perfect rhyme, where the vowel and consonant sounds match. For example, “eat” and “sweet” would be a perfect rhyme. You can also use imperfect rhyme, where only the vowel or the consonant sound match. For example, “eat” and “leaf” would be an imperfect rhyme, as only the “ee” vowels match.
For example, you may repeat a question, such as, “Where did Dorothy the turtle go?” throughout the story. Or you may repeat a phrase like, “Oh no!” or “Today is the day!” to keep the pace and energy of the story moving.
Metaphor is when you compare two things together. For example, you may include metaphors like, “The turtle is a green shell floating on the lake. ” Simile is when you compare two things together using “like” or “as. ” For example, you may include similes like, “The turtle is as wide as my hand. ”
Another common conflict in children’s stories is fear of the unknown, such as learning a new skill, going to a new place, or getting lost. For example, you may have a main character who struggles to fit in at school, so she decides to make a turtle her best friend. Or you may have a main character who is afraid of the cellar in her house and has to learn to conquer her fears.
Try showing the moral through the actions of your characters. For example, you show the young girl and her mother hugging by the lake as the turtle swims away. This could explore the moral of finding support through family without telling the reader the moral.
In many children’s books, the illustrations do half the work of getting the story across to the reader. You can include character details like clothing, hairstyle, facial expression, and color in the illustrations. In most cases, the illustrations for children’s books are created after the story is written. This allow the illustrator to draw based on the content in each scene or line of the story.
You can also try self-publishing your children’s book and selling it online to readers.
