by Maria Tussing

Created on: May 27, 2008   Last Updated: August 09, 2009

"'Gin."

"You want me to read it again?"

A sleepy nod was the reply.

I opened the dog-eared book for the ninth time (literally) and we snuggled in for another round of "Stranger in the Woods." I turned the pages mechanically, reciting the words from a place that didn't require any active part of my brain. And this was a book I liked.

The key to writing a successful children's book is to view it from three viewpoints, the child's, the parent's, and the publishers. The author's doesn't count.

1. Do your research, know your readers. Before you put fingers to keyboard for that lyrical masterpiece, or paint to canvas for those fantastic illustrations, go to the library, go to the bookstore. Ask the librarian or bookseller what kids are reading and what parents are buying. Try to figure out what those books have in common, and what you can learn from them. Don't ignore the parents. They're the ones with the credit cards.

Pick out a handful of books at random and read them, cover to cover. Set aside the ones you like and the ones you don't like, then sit down and figure out what you like and don't like about each of them. Notice the ones that flow and the ones that stutter.

2. Be original. Most plots have been done from forty-seven angles. You can't escape that. What you need to do is figure out which angle hasn't been done. Find what's unique in your own experience and bring that into the process. If you're a firefighter write a book that describes what fire feels like from the inside. If you're an aquatic ecologist, stage your adventure underwater. The things that are most familiar to you will ring truest to your readers, no matter how small they are.

3. Read it out loud. That's how most children's books are read; out loud and over and over again. When you think you're done writing, read it out loud, in funny voices, slow, fast, with accents and when you're tired. This is the true test. If it still sounds good after nine repeats at 2 a.m., you've probably got something to work with.

4. Pay attention to the language. Make your rhymes rhyme. If you start with a rhythm, carry it all the way through - no, not even one little exception. Use words that don't require an interruption to ask, "What's that mean?" If you must use a word that is likely to be unfamiliar to your readers, make sure the context explains it, or define it in the sentence.

If you follow these four guidelines your book may be the next to get the hearty accolade, "'Gin!"

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