I mentioned a few posts back that there are some things that everyone thinks they can do:

- Make a greeting Card
- Make a funny t-shirt design
- Write the text for a children's book

However, all of these things are deceptively complicated.

I recently entered a contest sponsored by MeeGenius, a company that makes eBooks for kids 4-8.  The books can read themselves to the children or they can read them themselves.  My kids love the free books I've downloaded to my iPad.

You can read (and vote for...) my entry at the following link.

http://www.meegenius.com/challenge/wet-paint-by-gregg-greer

Let me know what you think of it!

So here are my tips on writing a great children's book:

- Go short or go home:

Children get about one additional minute of attention span a year.  So, my four year old can have a four or five minute book read to him before he starts squirming.  (My four year old does a better than that, but he's exceptionally bright!)  The MeeGenius format limits you to (I think) 420 characters per page and twenty pages per book.

- Watch your language:

Use simple words, simple sentences and use sight words carefully. Have a new reader read it to you and see where they stumble over words.

- Watch your content:

I grew up reading stories about lying little boys getting eaten by wolves, little pigs roasting big bad wolves in their kettle, and witches blinding princes unwise enough to enter a tower via braid.  Children's books take a much softer approach now.  MeeGenius specifically changed the stories I referenced above to make them a little more palatable for today's parents and children.

- Watch your names:

Give your characters simple names and use them often. Children may get confused by "he said" / "she said" and wonder who is talking.

- Watch your tense:

Use sentences with Active Voice, not Passive.  Active sentences are shorter, easier to read and understand.

- Bring your "A" poetry game:

If you can do great poetry, make your book rhyme.  I don't do this very well, so I didn't have my book rhyme. 

- Have a message, but be subtle.

All writing should have a message of some kind. People who don't have much to say don't usually write books. But, don't you hate the books that say, "Then Molly learned a valuable lesson about..." or "Never again did Molly [insert moral here]"?  

Have a message for your reader, but let them figure it out. Admittedly, in the description of "Wet Paint!" I say, "...Molly learns an important lesson about reading".  Once you get into the text that will be read to the child, the book never says, "If you don't learn to read you'll miss important messages!", but I think that it's fairly obvious.

- Be Funny!

This can be hard, but children have a lot of patience for silliness and slapstick humor.  Remember to build up the suspense for the humor.  One of the secrets to the humor in the Far Side cartoons was figuring out what would happen next. Molly eventually sits on the bench with the "Wet Paint!" sign, but it takes several pages before that happens

- Have Pictures!

They really are worth a thousand words!  Sadly, this is another thing that eludes me.  But children would rather have poorly drawn pictures than no pictures at all.  If, like me, you are completely hopeless with a sketchpad, Amazon's CreateSpace has an illustration service that may be able to help you. (Better bring your checkbook...)

Those are the valuable lessons I've learned from Wet Paint!

If I had it to do over again, I would probably tone down the comments to the illustrator for the purposes of the contest. (Yes, that is what my wife suggested that I do, don't ask me why I didn't.)  I would also have the mother chasing her hat in the background of all the pictures.

I ran across a link to this blog in the "Writers" LinkedIn group and I thought I would try to answer it here as well.

My wife is a certified reading specialist and this is a question she runs into quite a bit.  I'll attempt to "channel" for her for a moment.

1.  Read to your child early and often.
Rebecka (another person who responded to the post) is completely right.   But, don't stop when they can read for themselves.  Keep reading to them as long as they'll let you.

2.  Make reading accessible and interesting.
Try to make sure that your child has access to reading material that is on their reading level and of interest to them.  My wife suggests a ten page rule.  If your child doesn't like the book by the first ten pages, put it away and find something else to read.  (The Scarlet Letter is a notable exception to this rule -- especially if you have to read it for school.) Public libraries often have very large selections of books for children and young adults on a variety of subjects.  Most children can find an author or or genre they like after a few tries.

3.  Don't be afraid of introducing your child to other formats.  
I was not much of a reader until my mother started letting me buy comic books. (People who know me will tell you this was apparently a formative experience.)  Once I loved the comic books, I started finding books in the library that were fantasy and science fiction.  (Although, if you haven't read a comic book in the last few years, they've really changed and you should always pre-view them to make sure they are age appropriate.)  Kids who are interested in sports may want to skim the sports section of the local newspaper.  Kids who like humor may want to read the comics section.

4.  Limit the time spent on electronic devices.  
In our house we have a thirty minute limit on computers, video games, ipods, etc.  We don't have specified limits on television, but it is something we try to minimize.  We could probably do a better job of enforcing these limits.  But the basic idea is that if kids are spending all their time pushing buttons, they'll be less likely to sit and read a book.  Our kids had some books assigned to read over the summer by their school.  We asked them to be sure and read at least a chapter out of the books before "plugging in".  Another option is to require a minute of reading for every minute of electronic access.  So, you have to read for thirty minutes before you play video games for thirty minutes.

5. Make reading portable.
You don't have to have a Kindle, Nook or iPod to take your reading with you.  Have your children take books with them in the car or other situation where they will have to wait for something.  (This assumes they can read in the car without getting carsick.)  

6. Model good reading behaviors.  
Read books yourself.  Talk to your kids about what you're reading.  When possible, read the books they are reading.  Talk with them about the books you've read together.  What did you like or dislike about the books?  What happened that surprised you? What would you have done differently?

7.  Realize that it may be slow going at first.  
Younger readers will not be able to sit and read independently for long periods of time.  Older children who haven't gotten used to reading may have to work up to reading for more than thirty minutes at a time.  If there is some sort of reading problem or disability, try to have them break their reading into "chunks" so they won't be so frustrated.

What did your teachers and parents do to encourage you to read as a child?