Writing Children’s Books: How to Use Pictures to Teach Kids

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September 5, 2017

Children’s Books Ideas to Stimulate Children’s Imagination

write a childrens book

Children love picture books. Images do stimulate their young minds. So if you’re writing children’s books, it’s always a great idea to include pictures that attract even the youngest of readers.

When teaching something to kids, keep in mind that you may want to use images in conveying your tale.

But you also need to remember that it’s not just about including images. The quality of the book—based on how kids comprehend it—will also matter a lot.

There’s no point to teaching a story that kids will have a hard time understanding. So, if you want to write a children’s book with pictures, here’s how you can get started.

1. Focusing on an age group will help in story development.

It’s easier to be consistent with your story, language, and tone if you have an age group in mind. For example, children between three to eight years of age have simpler vocabulary and are attracted to bright pictures. Older kids will outgrow children’s picture books and prefer chapter books or non-fiction.

2. Kids get excited about fantastic stories.

Children, with their active imagination and affinity for magical creatures, take delight in stories of pirates, fairies, superheroes, and princesses. Imagine your book’s illustrations displayed in a bookstore when writing stories for kids. Would it make kids want to pull out your book from the shelves?

writing stories for children

3. Lively words will give life to your story.

Paint pictures with words. You won’t be able to stir a child’s imagination if you’re not descriptive. Don’t give too much detail about the scenes, however. Establishing the context will be the job of the illustrations, along with writing books for children.

4. It’s always a fun time when you rhyme.

Repetition is catchy and makes it easier for kids to memorize words. Recurring words and sounds can also encourage children to join story time. Make the story more vivid, by using other literary devices, such as alliteration and onomatopoeia.

5. There’s already a plethora of picture books about overfamiliar topics.

Topics like the first day of school, wanting a pet, visiting grandma and grandpa, and personal hygiene are some of the topics to avoid. These topics aren’t taboo, but they are so common. If you want your book to stand out from the rest, you have to create something unique when publishing a kid’s book.

publishing a children book

6. Children are attracted to pictures even if they don’t understand them.

The scientific explanation behind this is that the visual system is the last to mature in humans. Vision only reaches adult levels at three to five years. Bright colors excite kids because they stand out more in a child’s visual field. Keep that in mind when writing books for preschoolers.

7. A picture book doesn’t have to have pictures.

If you’ve read The Book with No Pictures by B.J. Novak, you’ll understand why children’s books don’t have to rely on pictures to be enjoyable. A lot of the fun in reading children’s books comes from how the story is read and the story itself.

Stimulating a child’s mind will help in improving the state of their creativity in the future. If you’re planning to use images in books to teach kids, then consider the points above to yield great success.

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