I write for young children – picture books and board books. One of my goals for 2018 is to learn how to write early readers.
One of the first things I learned about writing for children is that I have to use a leveled vocabulary that each age group is familiar with. Yes, I usually add a couple of longer or newer words for the adult who is reading the picture/board books aloud to explain to the child. After all, one of the purposes of picture books and board books is to create a shared experience between the adult and the child.
Sometimes my manuscripts are rhymed, sometimes not. But they are always filled with poetic devices such as internal rhyme, assonance, consonance and onomatopoeia.
As I choose individual words I also make sure that the meaning of those words will be clear to the young children. That is also a reason I use children’s editions of the reference books.
All of these aspects of word choices eventually weave together to make a satisfying story written in kid-friendly but evocative language.
EVERY WORD DOES COUNT.
Below you’ll find a list of reference books that will help you as you work on your writing for children. I refer to them dozens of times in the course of creating every story. Often several are spread out across my bed so I can hop back and forth between them.
Yes, you can find this information online. But I find it easier to work with all five elements simultaneously if the hard copies are spread out before me.
I hope you find these volumes useful as you write for children of any age.
Children’s Writer’s Word Book (2nd Edition) by Alijandra Mogilner & Tayopa Mogilner. ISBN 035313110313.
The Emotion Thesaurus: A Writer’s Guide To Character Expression by Angela Ackerman & Becca Puglisi. ISBN 9781475004953.
Merriam-Webster’s Elementary Dictionary. ISBN 9780877796763.
Scholastic New Pocket Dictionary of Synonyms, Antonyms & Homonyms. ISBN 9780545426671.
Scholastic Rhyming Dictionary by Sue Young. ISBN 0-439796423.
BIO
Jean Hall lives in Louisville, Kentucky. She is represented by Cyle Young of Hartline Literary. Her premier picture book Four Seasons series was recently signed by Little Lamb Books. Jean is a member of the SCBWI, Word Weavers International, and the Kentucky Christian Writers. Visit Jean at www.jeanmatthewhall.com, on Face Book at Jean Matthew Hall, and on Twitter as @Jean_Hall.
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