Kids can tell wonderful stories, so why not have them write that story in the form of a picture book.

1. Picture Books Are Fun!
(And they are not just for your little brother or sister.)
They combine words and illustrations to make an exciting story
in less than 500 words.
Want to learn more? You will need too, if you are going to
become a picture book author.
By: Sherry Alexander,
Author of Oliver’s Hunger Dragon
http://www.sherryalexanderwrites.com

2. Reading picture books is fun, but
writing them is better!
Here are some
Picture Books written by author
friends.
Psst. Notice the
age levels. They
are not just for
babies!

3. By: Allyn Stotz (5-8 yrs) By: Robin Martin-Duttman (2-5 yrs)

4. By: Kelly Hashway (4-8 yrs) By: Julie Hedlund (3-7 yrs)

5. By: Selene Castrovilla (8-11 yrs) By: Alexis O’Neill (8-11 yrs)

6. What Picture Books have you read?
Come on! You can share.
Books, any books, are awesome!
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7. Picture Books, like all
other books, can help you learn
about other cultures, different
animals, your favorite sport,
or take you to another planet.
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8. They can be fiction or non-fiction
Fiction: Not true
Non-fiction: True
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9. They can be written in rhyme like: How High Will It Fly
I let my balloon go,
While I stood in the snow.
I wondered how high
The red orb would fly.
Rhyme: words that have the same sound
By: DC Swain
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10. Or . . . Getting Along With Each Other
Under the dim light of the
moon a loon, a baboon, and a
raccoon
Stood drinking at the edge of
a lagoon.
Which words rhyme? Do they make sense?
By: Sally Huss
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11. They can be written in prose like:
The Girl Who Never Makes Mistakes
For Beatrice Bottomwell,
Friday began like every other
day.
Prose: written or spoken language in its
ordinary form, without rhyming structure.
By: Mark Pett
and Gary
Rubenstein
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12. Or . . . Deep in the Sahara
Deep in the Sahara, sky yellow
with heat, rippled dunes slide
and scorpions scuttle.
Did you notice the Alliteration? The repetition
of the same sound?
By: Kelly
Cunnane and
Hoda Hadadi
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13. Picture Books writers use
different language to make their
stories come alive.

14. Picture Books use
literal language.

15. • Words that denote what they really mean.
What books or stories have
you read with literal
language?
A lion roars
at the
ground to
confuse its
prey.
His bones never
straightened.
The sky is
blue.
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16. Picture Books use figurative
language to make their stories
exciting.
Metaphors . . .similes . . .hyperboles . . .
Oh My!
• Figurative language uses words or
expressions that do not have their
normal, everyday meaning.

17. • A metaphor is a statement that compares two things
that are not alike.
My
teacher is
a star.
My room is a
disaster site!
Maria is a
chicken.
Who can think of another
metaphor?
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18. • A simile compares two things that are not alike using
“like” or “as”.
Who can think of another
simile?
As clear as
mud
I feel like a
pizza
As light as a
cloud
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19. • A hyperbole is an exaggeration so dramatic that no one
would believe it was true.
Who can think of a
hyperbole?
I am so
hungry I
could eat
a horse.
My mom is
going to kill
me!
Everyone
knows
that!
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20. • Personification gives human qualities to an object or an
animal.
Who can think of a
hyperbole?
The lunch
line slowed
to a crawl.
The wind’s icy
fingers gripped
my neck.
Lightning
danced
across the
sky.
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21. • Onomatopoeia are sound words.
What onomatopoeia can you
think of?
The wind
whooshed
past me
The frog
croaked. The
bird whistled.
Clank, clink,
clap, and
clatter; gurgle,
grunt, growl,
and giggle; bark,
bray, buzz, and
bang.
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22. What type of figurative language can you find in this passage?
The bubbling of the creek that seemed so loud a few moments ago,
sounded muffled like a secret shared between sisters. Some small brown
trout, shining silver in the sparkling sun, hurried upstream. Others sat and
stared at us from tiny cracks.
When we surfaced, a long-toed salamander scurried from one rock to
another, its black, brown, and yellow spotted body glistened in the light.
Anna shook my arm and pointed towards the sky. I rolled on to my back. A
red-tailed hawk screeched as it soared over us. It’s giant brown wings
blotted out the sun.
Onomatopoeia; Personification;
Alliteration; Simile; Hyperbole
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23. Now, if you are going to plan,
write, illustrate, and publish a
picture book, you need a story
with . . .

24. It also needs . . .
A Character A Setting A Problem A Solution
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25. Here is an example from Deep in the Sahara
sky yellow with heat, rippled dunes slide and scorpions
scuttle.
you want a malafa so you can be beautiful too.
When you tell Mama, she smiles. “Lalla, a malafa is . . .
What is the
setting?
Who is the
main
character?
What is
the
problem?
Do you
think she
solves her
problem?
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26. Why does Lalla want a malafa?
(this is the problem or conflict in the story)
Your sister, Selma, in a malafa glows.
Nothing but dark eyes show. More
than all the camels in the land, you
want a malafa so you can be
mysterious too.
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27. Why aren’t her reasons to have a malafa
enough? (This adds to the conflict/problem)
Read Deep in the Sahara
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What is her
first reason? What is
her
second
reason?
What is her third
reason?

28. Lalla’s reasons for a malafa changed . . .
(this is the solution)
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How? Why?

29. How is the story wrapped up at the end?
(Did you notice the summary?)
Did you notice the summary?
Read it together. See how all of
Lalla’s reasons are answered.
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What do you
think of the
ending?

30. Let’s think about your story.
Will you write about an animal, a
person, an event, or a thing? Will
it be non-fiction or fiction?

31. Still can’t think of a
character or a story? Here
are a few ideas.
Need more inspiration?
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32. Anything and
everything can
spark a story.

33. Rewrite a fairy
tale you
remember.

34. Did something
funny happen
to you that
could make a
good story?

35. Do you like
scary stories?

36. Or, do you like
happy stories?

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But before you get
started, you need to
know one more thing.

38. Picture Books come in different sizes, and
they share the space with the illustrations.
They can be 24, 32, or 40 pages long.
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• 7 pages for your story
• 8 illustrations
• An author’s page
This does not count your cover
which will be construction paper.
Your cover will contain the title, the
author/illustrator’s name.

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It means you will need 7 short
paragraphs of story. One
paragraph on each story page.
It also means that each
paragraph will need an
illustration. You will alternate a
paragraph story page with an
illustration page.
Hint: In Picture Books, that paragraph can be as small as
one or two words as long as it moves your story.

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Check out Sherry’s blog “Writing for kids and about kids”
http://www.rightsherry.blogspot.com