Writing a Series: Picture Books

By Gloria G. Adams

If you have ever thought of writing a picture book series, here are some thoughts on building one.

1.       Have a theme that will tie them all together. 

2.       Have a purpose. If teaching something through non-fiction, is there enough material for multiple books? Do you offer kid-friendly activities in the back matter? If it’s fiction, what is the reason you think kids will benefit from getting to know your characters? 

3.       Setting: Is this a place to which kids will want to return in every book? 

4.       If it’s fiction, is your character the right age for your story and target audience? Do you have enough (very short) stories to make a whole series? Does your character learn things over the course of each book to which your readers can relate? 

5.       Will you self-publish or pitch to traditional publishers? There are pros and cons to both. Learn all you can about them before you decide. 

6.       Research the market; is there a similar series out there that’s been recently-published?* 

7.       Whatever you decide, make sure you read as much as you can so that you know your market and your competition.

The two picture book series I wrote this year are Boost My Reading Skills and Backyard Biomes.

Boost My Reading Skills is a color concept series with back matter that teaches how to use these books to help kids boost their pre-reading skills. It also includes a page of resources for parents about reading.

Backyard Biomes is about…biomes! It includes colorful pictures of plants, animals and geology for Forests, Oceans, and Deserts. Back matter includes information on the specific biome and a page with directions for children on how they can make a book about their own backyard ecology.

Both series are in rhyme and were vetted by a reading teacher. They are targeted at grades K and 1 but will also work well as library story hour books for 3 and 4-year-olds. They are published through Slanted Ink, www.slantedink.com, and are for sale on Amazon.

*I researched Backyard Biomes two years ago but failed to double check again; after my books were published, I discovered that a series with the same title had been published in 2017. Make sure to keep checking the market, especially if you are not publishing traditionally.

"Peer Review"

By Lana Wayne Koehler

Squirrels. The bane of my existence! They have been a part of my life ever since we moved to our home over 20 years ago. Kent State University once did an experiment with black squirrels and, when they were done, set them loose on the community. Because of that, we are overrun with black squirrels, grey squirrels with black tails, and every combination you can think of. 

 

I love to sit and watch them play in my yard—until they dig up my flowers to plant their nuts or do some other destructive activity. Yet, somehow, they intrigue me enough to keep watching.

 

When Michelle Barnes asked Julie Fogliano for a May challenge on Today’s Little Ditty (https://michellehbarnes.blogspot.com), she suggested that we look out our window and write a poem about what we see.

 

So I wrote about squirrels.

 

 

PEER REVIEW

 

By Lana Wayne Koehler

 

Squirrels

With their

Chattering, climbing, jumping,

The way they leave hickory nut shells

On the previously white railing

Scampering up to my window

To peer into my life

Like I peer into theirs

Waiting for me

To watch them

Again.

 

© 2018 Lana Wayne Koehler. All rights reserved.

Ode to a Piano

by Lana Wayne Koehler

While I don’t consider myself a poet, every now and then I feel the urge to write something that doesn’t have to be vetted and critiqued by impatient peers and editors alike. To that end, I indulge in poetry.

No one would accuse me of being devoid of ideas, but following Michelle Barnes on her blog, “Today’s Little Ditty”, she invites authors and others to give parameters with which to focus my attentions. And, occasionally, if the poetic muses visit, she likes what I write and makes it a focus of the day.

Her recent challenge by Helen Frost, When My Sister Started Kissing, was to find an object that had no sentimental value but could be described using each of the five senses, one for each line. And, in the end, ask a question, answer a question, or both.

This was my offering for March, 2017. If you want to see it on her blog, here’s the post. 

ODE TO A PIANO

It was love at first sight: Watching fingers tickle the ivories as

the sound tickles my ears;

Tasting joy,

While the fragrance of the music

Lingers, waiting to embrace

Me.

© Lana Wayne Koehler. All rights reserved.

One of my poems was selected for her end-of-the-year book, “The Best of Today’s Little Ditty Volume I”, but you’ll have to buy it to find out which one it is!  

If you have a little bit of the crazy and want to join me on my poetic diversions, check out, “Today’s Little Ditty”, https://michellehbarnes.blogspot.com.

May the odds be ever in your favor!