Genius Hour: Creating a Children's Book

I remember curling up in bed with my favourite book when I was younger, completely immersed in the world of the story. Books allow people to use their imagination, permitting the reader to travel to a distant realm of fantasy. Children books are written to teach youngsters valuable lessons which deliver them springs of enjoyment and inspiration. Have you ever thought about creating your own children’s book? This is a process I have always wondered about and something I have been interested in doing myself. So…I propose the question: How can I write and illustrate my own children’s book?

       

The first step in creating a children’s book would be to actually read many of them again. This will give me a good idea as to if I want to make my book fiction or non-fiction, what age group I should target, etc. During this process I would also decide if my book were to be mostly words, mainly pictures or a good balance of the two. I would then start thinking about the writing process. First I would focus and brainstorm on the main components of the story (i.e. characters, setting, plot, climax, resolution). I would then think of and include a “message” or “lesson” of the book. After I have finished the brainstorming process, I would start writing the rough draft. During this phase I will need to be cautious of the vocabulary and sentence structure depending on the age group I decide to write for. Revising my book over and over again would be a huge part of the process. Not only is spelling and grammar an important element of writing, but taking out irrelevant pieces of the writing is a huge part of the art of literacy. Publishing the book would be a step of the process I am very unfamiliar with; I will need to take this stage into further consideration and ask many questions. My goal is to have created and published a children's book by January. Do you think this is possible? 

Thanks for reading! I will keep you posted with weekly updates on my genius hour. 

Miss Le Pera

Images: 

"Very Hungry Catepillar" Retrieved from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Very_Hungry_Caterpillar

"Goodnight Moon: Retrieved from: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/goodnight-moon-board-margaret-wise-brown/1105127857