Writing A Personalized Children’s Book I
If someone had asked me three years ago, “Would you like to write a children’s book?” I would have had that deer in the headlights look, and responded, “No way.” That was twenty books ago! My books cover a wide range of topics, from poetry to non-fiction, to fiction. The books I am going to talk about today were written with a particular child in mind.
“If you don’t get off that egg when it hatches you will be somebody’s momma.”
Generating a Concept
My grandson Cody’s book is an excellent example of writing with a particular child in mind. The idea for his book came from an event at the Naples Zoo. When we visit the zoo, there is a wooden ostrich egg that the kids sit on each year. This time Cody’s dad said, “If you don’t get off that egg when it hatches you will be somebody’s momma.” That statement gave birth to this book, “Cody’s Egg Sitting Adventure.”
The Characters
Decide which animals would be a part of the story. Obviously, the animals would all have to come from an egg. AND, I decided that I would have to answer the following questions to build a story.
Where do those animals live?
What would Cody like about the habitat?
What would he not like?
What would he miss about his own life and the people in his life?
Tying It All Together
The Pose
Between each animal, Cody thinks up another animal. This repetition ties the story together and gives a level of expectation for what will happen next for the young reader.
The Illustration
The Conclusion
The story ends with Cody making the realization that he has sat on this egg before, and it has never hatched. He is happy to be himself in his own home with his own life!
Illustrating the Story
So once the story was written, the illustrations came next. I am a Zen Doodle artist and can draw fun animals and colorful landscapes. The hard part for me was drawing a couple of pictures of Cody. I had pictures of him sitting on the egg and posed him so that it would look like he was thinking. That thinking pose was on each page of the book, again using repetition to tie the story together.
Your Turn to Create a Story
You can do this too! Think of the special child in your life and how much a personalized book would mean to him or her. Think about what the child is interested in or a special event. Let your imagination be your guide! Create your characters. Outline where you will go and how your story will come to an end. Try illustrating either through drawings or pictures. Give it a try! Just think of how special it would be to have a story written about your child by YOU. I truly believe we all have it in us to do.
