DID Children's Book

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children’s book
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Begin Plotting
Sometimes seeing how a story unfolds can be the most
challenging part of creating a children’s book. To help get a
basic understanding of plotting, flow and developing a
story arc, begin with a very simple tool: StoryJumper.
Step-by-Step Tutorial
Go to: http://www.storyjumper.com/
1. click on CREATE
2. BUILD A BOOK FROM SCRATCH
3. start with BOOK COVER
4. add a DEDICATION PAGE
5. complete all 16 PAGES with full color images and
body text – keep text to a sentence or two per pg
6. complete the BACK COVER PAGE
7. do a print screen or share your book with your
classmates and instructor
8. (please remember to keep things school appropriate
and keep audience in mind)
Get Inspiration
Now your final story is going to be far more sophisticated
than the StoryJumper example. This is a good point to look
at Children’s Books and Children’s Illustrations. Here are a
list of authors which might help you come up with an idea:
1. Maurice Sendak - Where the Wild Things Are
2. Dr. Seuss - Green Eggs and Ham
3. Eric Carle – The Very Hungry Caterpillar
4. Bill Peet - The Whingdingdilly
5. A.A. Milne - Winnie-the-Pooh
6. Shel Silverstein – Where the Sidewalk Ends
7. Ezra Jack Keats – The Snow Day
8. Crockett Johnson - Harold and the Purple Crayon
9. Richard Scary’s Busy, Busy Town
10. John Tenniel – Alice in Wonderland
11. Arthur Rackham - A Midsummer Night's Dream
12. Quentin Blake – The BFG
13. Beatrix Potter – Peter Rabbit
14. Arnold Lobel – Frog and Toad
15. Edward Gorey - The Gashlycrumb Tinies
16. Tim Burton – The Melancholy Death of Oyster Boy
Exploring the Process of Making a Children’s Book

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The Process
Here are the steps you will need to complete in order to develop a strong Children’s Book.
Step-by-Step Tutorial
1. Complete the STORY PLOTTER (below)
2. Write and edit the ROUGH COPY of your story.
3. Share your Rough Copy with a peer and complete the PEER EDITING FORM
4. Place your story on the STORYBOARD TEMPLATE provided by your teacher and make rough
sketches of your illustrations.
5. Decide on the size of your book and what materials you will use for the cover board, pages,
binding, etc.
6. Count the pages you will need in your book. Be sure to include Title Page, Copyright Page,
Dedication Page, etc.
7. Using your Storyboard as your guide, create the text on each page
8. Complete fully rendered illustrations to correspond to your text
Exploring the Process of Making a Children’s Book

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plainfield central – mr. lawler art + design 4
Peer Editing Form

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Storyboard Template