I was really excited when my grandchild (AKA "Goose") asked for The Bubble Buckie as a bedtime story.
I had a wee moment of pride as we settled down and I started reading.
But about one sentence in, she grabbed the book, flipped through almost the entire story before stopping dead at her favourite page - of her little sister covered in chocolate cake. She giggled, then slammed the book shut and wandered back to the bookshelf for another story.
Tough crowd ...but to be fair, she's only two-and-a-half. Still, it made me want to make every page a 'Cake!' page.
I'm loving the learning on this new journey, so here are some things I've picked up so far, to add to your own nuggets of wisdom.
1. Little ones can have the attention span of a fish supper.
Ok - so this is clearly not a wisdom nugget. But I've been keeping this in mind throughout my storytelling journey. Beyond special time with their favourite person, I think tiny humans really only care about two things: how much effort you put into making silly sounds and voices, and what catches their eye on the page. We have the fun of making a story sparkle for them and keeping them hooked until the last page.
2. Cut, cut, cut!
There are pretty strict guidelines on word count from publishers, so all those clever little nuances or additional descriptors that made you chuckle might be a faint memory by the final draft. Generally, they demand under 500 words for a picture book, and up to around 750 words for Early Readers. There's some really good information on the Penguin Books Website if you're looking to try your luck with the publishing route.
Of course, if you're self-publishing, it's entirely up to you, but I think that following these guidelines helps to ensure that your book still meets readers' expectations and standard publishing requirements, like page numbers, formatting and the like.
Every story in the Bute Tall Tales series began as a spark of an idea that grew arms and legs ...which were then heartlessly chopped off to reduce the word count. This was actually a really good exercise in making the storyline punchier and the words more carefully chosen.
Always room for a SPLAT! or a SPLOOSH!
A well-placed 'WHOOSH' in an exciting font captures the imagination much more than 'The tiger whooshed past the monkey'. It also gives the reader and the child something to talk about (as well as reducing a precious word count).
3. Words and pictures simpatico: It matters a LOT-ico ...
With over 200 000 books published in the UK each year, it's easy to find illustrations that don't quite match the story. This is particularly true now with the advent of AI-generated imagery. Little ones want to follow the story visually, so gather as much feedback as you can to ensure that the illustrations match the storyline and reading age. Each person I asked gave truly valuable insights that I would never have picked up on myself!
4. Add a sparkle, but don't dazzle!
After realising that a chocolatey face was the only crowd-pleaser for my grandchild, I began zhuzhing up my illustrations. But there's a fine line between adding some sparkly bits to enhance your image and creating a laser show that only distracts. I dialled down the additional elements in my final drafts—and it was definitely needed.
5. The sciencey bit: how child development impacts storytelling
It's funny how stuff you learn can crop up and be useful in a completely different context! Whilst it's obvious that a child's age dramatically impacts how they process a story, I thought the 'why' behind some of these might be interesting to include:
- Very young children struggle with seeing things from another's perspective. Ask them what someone on the other side of the room sees, and they will likely tell you what they see instead. Piaget's Theory of Cognitive Development provides some insights on why some things might go over their heads.
- Small? Or just very far away? Children below 7-ish, still according to Piaget, can't easily track transformations. Regardless of whether you're drawing a monster, a mouse, or a worm, keep the scale consistent throughout the story to prevent confusion.
- Also, exaggerating size differences where you can (e.g., between a teeny-tiny mouse and a humongous elephant) creates a captivating contrast. Kids find 'different' exciting as they are still forming their understanding of the world by shape, size, colour, sound, smell and touch.
- Inference is a problem for tiny humans. Younger children can find it hard to infer meaning from partially hidden objects or incomplete images. They might try to work out the picture, get frustrated, and then lose interest.
I am terrible at drawing hands, feet, and most angles of either, so I often ended up hiding the offending limbs behind random bushes or rocks until I learned the basics. If you also hide wonky hands in pockets, I'd recommend watching YouTube videos or taking some courses on 21-Draw. - Abstract concepts are also pretty much an enigma. Metaphors, turns of phrase, or visual symbols are best avoided for very young readers. This is because their perception of the world isn't yet sophisticated enough to pick up nuance or abstract ideas.
I hope this has been useful for those on their own children's storytelling journey.
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