(Kids love to play the teacher role, so showing a child passing on their new knowledge to someone else is a great solution!) At the same time, do not explain what the character is learning.īad: “And Kim realized that sharing IS caring!”īetter: A scene of Kim sharing with her friends and finding satisfaction in it, but without this satisfaction being explicitly explained.īetter: Kim encouraging a younger sibling to share, but also without explicit explanation. So how do we write picture books that show character change without explicitly stating the lesson? It’s a rather simple answer: let the character have some realizations and then act upon them. Agents and publishers cite moralizing as one of the main reasons they pass on a picture book project. Picture Books That Show Character ChangeĪs you may know from other posts about picture book lessons and writing child characters, I am not a big fan of morals delivered in a didactic way. ![]() But how do we do this effectively, without turning readers (and agents and publishers) off with too much lecturing? It’s all about character! Your character CAN learn something in your story, but the best picture books that show character change are subtle and character-driven, instead of moralizing. Like those cookbooks for moms who want to sneak veggies into brownies. A strong takeaway is expected because we want our young readers to be eating a little bit of medicine (the moral) with their syrup (the story). ![]() ![]() Picture books, more than any other category of kidlit, are about character change, a moral, or a lesson. One of the biggest challenges I encounter in my editorial practice is picture books that show character change in a clumsy or overbearing way.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |