Writing Children's Books For Dummies. Peter Economy

© 2020 Darlene Beck Jacobson. Illustrations copyright © 2020 Simon Stahl. Reprinted by permission.

      FIGURE 3-12: Wishes, Dares, & How to Stand Up to a Bully.

Popular books about school issues include The Diary of a Wimpy Kid series by Jeff Kinney (Harry N. Abrams), and The Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling (Scholastic), about young wizards and witches in a magical school.

      A coming-of-age story often includes a school environment, though not always. The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky (MTV Books) is a stand-out coming-of-age story that was also made into a movie. And old standbys like The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain (Reader’s Library Classics) and The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger (Bay Back Books) still captivate readers today.

      Developmental milestones and first experiences

From the very start, children grow and change. Kids go through so many first experiences and developmental milestones — from the first word, to giving up the binky, to learning a sport, to going through puberty. Books about these experiences abound in every format and every age (see Figure 3-13). How traumatic did you find the time-outs you had to take for throwing tantrums? You can find books about that! What about the magic of your first crush? Or the trauma of your first real friendship breaking up? You can explore anything involving developmental milestones and first experiences in a book for children of any age.

      

Never talk down to a child about the milestones they achieve (or want to achieve) and the first experiences they have. Always treat these big events in a child’s life delicately and with respect.

      a) From No More Tantrums. Reprinted with permission of the author/illustrator © 2016 Maria van Lieshout. b) From Bye-Bye Binky. Reprinted with permission of the author/illustrator © 2017 Maria van Lieshout.

      FIGURE 3-13: Example titles celebrating developmental milestones.

      Prose poetry

Prose poetry, a relatively new genre, is defined as imaginative poetic writing in prose (so most of the text doesn’t rhyme and isn’t metered). Prose poetry can have the effect on the reader of glimpsing into the heart of the writer in bits and pieces that manage to work as a whole. Good prose poetry blends the techniques of prose with the emotion and lyricism of poetry. Poets looking to break free from form along with prose writers seeking new means of expression may find creative freedom in prose poetry. Prose poetry is often also called “a novel in verse,” even though it doesn’t rhyme; see Figure 3-14.

      a) From Alone, by Megan E. Freeman. Text copyright © 2021 by Megan E. Freeman. Reprinted with the permission of Aladdin, an imprint of Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing Division. All rights reserved. b) Cover and c) interior from I Am Here Now, by Barbara Bottner. Copyright © 2020 by Barbara Bottner. Reprinted by permission of Imprint, a part of Macmillan Publishing Group, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

      FIGURE 3-14: Example prose poetry titles, including a look inside.

      I Am Here Now, by Barbara Bottner (Imprint), shown in Figure 3-14, is an autobiographical look into the author’s teen years. It examines what happens when you shatter your life and piece it all back again; it also looks at how an artist comes into being. Clap When You Land, by bestselling author Elizabeth Acevedo (Quill Tree Books), is a novel in verse about a young Latina woman and what happens when her beloved hero of a father dies in a plane crash.

      Romance

      

You write a romance for teens much like you write a romance for adults. You can choose from many subgenres (diversity, Christian, contemporary, fantasy, historical, inspirational, LGBTQIA, paranormal, romantic comedy, suspense, time travel — just to mention a few). All those subgenres have conventions that you have to fulfill; romance readers know what they want. If you’re writing teen romance, make sure to read up in the genre (and subgenres) to make sure you get the tone, style, and content just right.

Giving Stories a Message

Some children’s book authors write with a purpose beyond simply entertaining their readers. Some authors give their books a message, like the one in Figure 3-15, which offers a message about how we can make the world a better place working together. These books can impart knowledge or lessons to children, or illuminate religious teachings. Other books deal with current topics (such as diversity) and cultural issues, while yet others take on family issues, mental health, and dark topics such as drugs and addiction.

      Learning/educational

      The most skilled writers disguise learning in the most elegant manner so that the reader doesn’t even know they’re learning. You mostly find the learning/educational genre in board books, picture books, early readers, coloring and activity books, and middle-grade nonfiction.

Workbooks, subject-based readers, leveled readers, and supplementary school materials fill up stacks and stacks of shelves in most chain bookstores, so if you have an educational or teaching background and are a good storyteller, you can likely find work writing for children. Figure 3-16 shows two examples of nonfiction educational books.

      From How to Change the World in 12 Easy Steps, published with permission of Tanglewood Books. Author © 2021 Peggy Porter Tierney. Illustrator © 2021 Marie Letourneau.

      FIGURE 3-15: How to Change the World in 12 Easy Steps.

      a) Animated Science: The Periodic Table reprinted with permission of the illustrator © 2021 Shiho Pate. Text © 2021 John Fandon. b) Planet Ocean: Why We All Need a Healthy Ocean written by Patricia Newman. Photographs by Annie Crawley. Text copyright © 2021 by Patricia Newman. Photographs copyright © 2021 Annie Crawley. Reprinted with the permission of Millbrook Press, an imprint of Lerner Publishing Group, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without the prior written permission of Lerner Publishing Group, Inc.

      FIGURE 3-16: Example nonfiction educational books.

      Historical-figure biographies, activity books, and how-to books all fall into this genre. You can also find issue-based books on puberty, sex, divorce, race, adoption, understanding the LGBTQIA community, and all the cultural hot-button issues of the day for children and teens. (Although a lot of fiction also covers these topics.)

For the younger set, What Makes a Baby, by Cory Silverberg, illustrated by