How to Write a Children’s Book for Your Own Child

There are several reasons to write a book for your child. You are creating a one-of-a-kind gift for your child. You are able to tailor the book to your child (the appropriate reading level, their interests, favorite character or stuffed animal, etc) It is a wonderful way to show your love for your child by putting personal time and effort into something that can be treasured for years to come. I have written a few children’s books of my own and it does feel good when my children pull a book off the shelf that I created to have me read it to them. When I was writing them, I took into account my children’s ages, attention span, favorite things, etc to make a book that they could enjoy. I was able to do each in about a week working an hour a day after everyone went to bed.

When writing your own children’s book, first come up with the basic story you want to tell. It can be anything so long as it gets the interest of your child. A party for their favorite character, a day out for their most played with stuffed animal, a trip to someplace special with your child as the main character, Elmo coming to visit, a numbers or letters book. The subject matter should draw your child into the story.

For illustrating the book: Some children’s books are very elaborately illustrated. Others, less so (Kipper series comes to mind). Both are effective and convey the proper feeling with respect to the story. You will have to decide how which way is best depending upon the type of story it is. Mine was to be simple. I searched the internet for coloring pages I could use as my drawing ability is lacking. I downloaded some images, opened them in Microsoft Paint and used the ‘bucket fill’ option to color them in. It was a simple, colorful way to illustrate the books. For another book I used pictures I had taken of my daughter’s favorite stuffed animal in a variety of settings. My books are graphic intensive as that is what appeals to my audience (my children), yours may be less so.

Writing the words: Children’s books come in all manner of wordiness. Some very simplistic, (Spot books,) others have more of a storyline (Rainbow Fish.) When writing a book for your own child you must take into account their reading level. For the books I wrote, I kept it very simple as my children are young and have short attention spans. Just one or two lines per page in some relation to the picture. I expect to write longer passages as my children’s attention span lengthens.

Putting it together. I put the text into the images in Paint and printed them on colored card stock or heavy matte photo paper. I wanted to use something rather heavy so as not to tear easily. I then used double sided tape and taped two pages together to make it stiffer. For the cover I just cut a piece of foam board and taped a page to it. Finally, I put the pages in the right order and punched holes on the left side of each (when all together) so I could use rings to bind them. You could also bring the finished pages to a Staples or Office Depot- type store for proper bookbinding. I have since found a ‘blank board book’ in a craft store that would require less work putting it together as you could either write/draw directly on the pages or, as I have done, affix the printed pages with double sided tape or glue. They are much sturdier, but I have only found them as 12 page books which limits what you can do. As my children get older I envision writing longer books, but for now, these work fine.

One of my life’s pleasures is reading with my children. I find that writing children’s books for my own children is a great way to keep attuned to how they are growing up. I hope that others may be encouraged to do the same.