How to Write for Young Children
This article may contain affiliate links. This means we might make a small commission on anything you buy through a link on this page. This comes at no extra cost to you. Commissions help us to run our free 7 Day Story Writing Challenges.
Article by: Kay Lesley Reeves, freelance writer at Globe Soup.
A good book that can be read and reread is one of the greatest ways of introducing children to the world of reading. Intended to be shared with parents, carers and teachers as well as the children themselves, writing these books can be extremely demanding. It can also be great fun.
Starting
Like any other writing you need a start, a middle and an end. So do you start by thinking of a story with limited vocabulary that a young child might use? Well, actually there's a lot more to consider than that. Maybe it would be easier to start by creating a character, one that would appeal both to the child and to the adult reading . The character needs to have strong visual appeal but, unlike in adult stories, its appearance and behaviour is limited only by your imagination.
Once you have the character in mind start drafting the story.
Language
It is a common misconception that a children's book should contain a very limited vocabulary. Think, if you can, back to the days when "see kitty run" was considered the ideal wording for a child’s book. How to bore any child (and adult), to tears.
Most children live in an environment where they hear rich language around them from birth. They may not initially understand or be able to reproduce all they hear but through repetition they learn the sounds and words of their own culture. They derive immense pleasure from the rhythms and music of words and will quickly come to recognize the words of favourite stories. Use simple language but remember that children enjoy the range of sounds even if, initially, they don't understand 100% of the words. Your language should flow and be pleasurable to read or listen to.
Story
Whether it is a modern retelling of a classic story like 'The Three Billy Goats Gruff, (Jerry Pinkney and several other versions), or an original story ('Bears in the Night ' - Stan and Jan Berenstain), a children's story must be engaging. It should take the reader through a clear sequence of actions. The main character sets out on an adventure which leads to a dramatic climax and is resolved in a satisfactory ending, often a reassurance of safety and restoring order ( see 'We're Going on a Bear Hunt ' by Michael Rosen). Occasionally the climax is the end of the story, a surprise leaving child and reader laughing together ('The Dark, Dark House' by Mary Lou Colgin from her collection 'One Potato, Two Potatoes, Three Potatoes, Four).
Repetition
Repetition is widely used in children's stories as children enjoy predictability and quickly begin to 'read' along. Sometimes stories like 'We're Going on a Bear Hunt' can be read as a chant with actions incorporated and the child becoming an active participant. Phrases like 'Can't go over it, can't go under it" are keenly anticipated and enjoyed.
Education
Teachers in particular appreciate an educational element incorporated into a story that is fun to read. Eric Carle's 'The Very Hungry Caterpillar ' managed to incorporate counting, the days of the week and concepts of big and small into his beautiful book about the transition of a Caterpillar into a butterfly. I doubt there is a primary school in the UK that does not possess at least one copy and schools are a great market for books.
Humour
Often this will come through the illustrations rather than directly through the story. If you do decide to write humour into your story remember it needs to be very overt. Dr Seuss ( e.g. 'Green Eggs and Ham'), is an excellent example of combining all the above elements with humour at a level that even a young child can appreciate.
Rhyme
Rhyme can be used very successfully as in 'Each, Peach, Pear, Plum' by Janet Ahlberg. It can also make a book very quickly boring to read if it is not well integrated into the story. If you do choose to use rhyme, I would recommend lots of talking points in the illustrations, to break up the tendency for the reading to become sing-song. Remember books should be as enjoyable for the reader as they are for the listener.
Illustration
For young children at least 50% of the pleasure in a book comes from the illustrations. Unless you are an artist and familiar with this sort of illustrating it is well worth finding a professional illustrator. Your main character may be human, animal, vegetable or mineral. A good illustrator can bring them to life. They can fill pages with visual sub- stories or jokes if you want ('Rosie's Walk' by Pat Hutchins) or spotlight your words with simple but visually striking illustration.('The Very Hungry Caterpillar'). They can make monsters fun but not frightening ('The Gruffalo' by Julia Donaldson or Maurice Sendak's 'Where the Wild Things Are'). A good illustrator can elevate your story to the level of a best seller.
So you’re ready to write your own book aimed at young children. You have a lively engaging story, an eye catching main character and loads of repetition. You can picture an adult reading the book with the child and their shared enjoyment of the jokes and illustrations. You even have embedded teaching elements without spoiling the fun of the book. Draft your story then track down the perfect illustrator to bring your work to life. Writing for Young Children is great fun so get writing and enjoy it.
Kay Lesley Reeves is a retired UK teacher now living in Spain. She is the published author of several poems and short stories. As a teacher, mother of two and grandmother of four she can testify to having read all the stories referred to and is looking forward to reading them to her great-grandson very soon.