If the setting is a farm, we see that and it may not be mentioned at all in the text. In addition to everything else they do so well, the art carries a great deal of this initial informational load.

Of course, we are blessed by the illustrations in our picture books. (And she did all this with perfect meter! Note: be sure to read Karma’s earlier post, on Nov. Where: in a cave in the woods in a deep dark lair. (Verse) Karma Wilson, from BEAR SNORES ON. (And what a great hook for a young child! Why would someone do that?) (We also see a picture of that somebody-Poppa?) What: put a chocolate chicken. “One morning somebody put a chocolate chicken in the birdbath.” (Prose) Rosemary Wells, from MAX’S CHOCOLATE CHICKEN. Below are some of my favorite examples, in prose and in verse. However, as with many aspects of writing the picture book, the writer for the very young has to do it faster, with fewer words, and sometimes in verse!īetter than hearing this from me-and more fun-is studying how some of our best picture book writers, and illustrators, do it.

It is a technique every picture book writer ought to know.Īnswering those four questions right up front in any story tucks the reader in. They quickly dispense with niggly concerns and important facts so the reader can settle into the story. Good ledes are something that the news reader doesn’t really notice, but are crucial to keeping the reader’s attention. After a good lede, we were taught the story could move on into the details of how, or why. I don’t remember much from the class except that a good lede should always include the answers to four important questions: the 4 Ws. While thinking about beginnings I remembered one of my first writing classes: high school journalism. PiBoIdMo is about beginnings-first ideas, first notes, and then, hopefully, first drafts from the exciting tidbits we’ve jotted down during the month.

Mine by shutta crum