You Can Write Children’s Books by Tracey E. Dils (Writer’s Digest Books, 1998)

You Can Write Children’s Books Workbook by Tracey E Dils (Writer’s Digest Boos, 2003)

You’ve read your zillionth children’s books while putting your little cherubs to sleep and it suddenly hits you: “Hey — I’ll bet I could write something like this!” You have some ideas, you jot them down, maybe you even come up with a picture book manuscripts that the little ones love. So then what? Could you get it published? Where do you start?

Where you start is with real information from real authors. You can find articles on our website, here: The Writing for Children Resource Site. But you’ll also want some resources on your bookshelf. Tracey E. Dils has one of the best for beginners.

You Can Write Children’s Books is a comprehensive introduction into writing and publishing for children. The first chapter starts straight off with some of the common misconceptions about writing for children: that it’s easier than writing for adults, that children’s stories should always have a moral, that kids are unsophisticated consumers, that publishers might steal your idea, that you need an illustrator, and more. After setting the reader straight on these (it’s actually harder to write for children; kids don’t want to read preachy stories; kids today are more selective than you think; publishers have no incentive to steal ideas; publishers choose the illustrator), Dils discusses the business end of the publishing industry. And don’t let the cute covers fool you: the children’s publishing industry is a business.

The next three chapters cover three broad categories of children’s literature: picture books, fiction (beginning readers, chapter books, and novels), and nonfiction. The final four chapter are about the business part of being a writer: coming across as a professional, finding the right publisher (and avoiding scams), writing query and cover letters, and living the writing life.

Want lots of practice but can’t afford a writing workshop? No classes offered in your area? Want to polish your writing before presenting it to a critique group? Try the You Can Write Children’s Books Workbook. Each chapter contains practical exercises to help the beginner learn the ropes and help the experienced writer find fresh new beginnings. Start with your own roadmap, as you identify what it is you want to write and why. Learn to develop effective writing habits and discover your preferences. Discover “prewriting,” the useful things you do before you begin writing. Sketch out your draft, and explore ways to revise it. Research publishers and prepare to send your precious words out. And finally, discover your sources of inspiration.

Octagon Magic by Andre Norton (1967; reprint 2005 by Starscape)

Second in Andre Norton’s Magic Books series, Octagon Magic is Norton at her best and most surreal in children’s fiction.

Lorrie Mallard lived with her grandmother in Canada until her grandmother became sick and had to be cared for by a friend. Now living in the U.S. with an aunt, homesick Lorrie has trouble fitting in. She doesn’t like gossip, giggling, and listening to pop music with the girl next door. She hates it when the boys on the street call her Canuck and chase her around. But when they chase a kitten that belongs to the mysterious Octagon House, where a witch supposedly lives, Lorrie runs to the kitten’s rescue — and finds escape for herself as well.

For Octagon House holds its own secrets. Gentle Miss Ashemeade couldn’t be less like a wicked witch, nor is her cook, Hallie. Miss Ashemeade sits at an embroidery frame, surrounded by fine threads and special golden needles, and her sitting room is lined with museum-quality needlework. She teaches Lorrie some of her art, but more, she allows Lorrie to explore any room of the house — that is, any room that will allow her in. And the room that calls to her is the room that contains a miniature Octagon House. No mere plaything is this dollhouse. Keys appear in the drawers at the base. Lifelike dolls inhabit the drawers. And when she places the dolls and rides the magnificent rocking horse that stands near the house, Lorrie is transported into the past to witness the secrets of Octagon House.

Who — or what — is Miss Ashemeade? Is she really as old as Lorrie’s rockinghorse visions seem to tell her? Who is Hallie? What ever happened to the people who sought and found refuge at Octagon House? And what will happen to Miss Ashemeade if the plans to run a new superhighway straight through the Octagon House property are approved? Can Lorrie and her friends save Octagon House?

Steel Magic by Andre Norton (1965; Starscape reprint, 1995)

Though the great science fiction writer Andre Norton has passed away, her work lives on forever. Norton wrote for all ages, and her works for young people received no less care, attention, and imagination than her books for adults.

Starscape is now reprinting Norton’s beloved Magic Books series of middle-grade novels. Though a series, each book stands alone, with a separate cast of characters.

Steel Magic is a classic quest tale. Three children, visiting their uncle somewhere in New England, set out to explore the overrun gardens and woods, planted a generation or two ago by a mysterious Mr. Brosius, who then disappeared. Fans of Arthurian legends will come to instant alert at that name — Brosius? Ambrosius? As in the surname sometimes ascribed to Merlin?

But of course.

The boys, Eric and Greg, want to find a lake that supposedly lies in the tangle of woods. Their sister, Sara, tags along, the picnic basket she won at a fun fair firmly in hand, despite her terror of spiders. They find the lake, and in the middle of it, find the ruin of a small castle. Thinking it no more than a folly built by the former owners, the children enter — and find not a playhouse, but a doorway to Avalon.

There they find Avalon in serious trouble from dark forces. Only they who are capable of touching cold iron can find the three treasures that have been lost, but only if they can overcome their own fears. With the help of magical guides and the steel utensils in the picnic basket, Sara, Eric, and Greg set out to save Avalon and their own world.

While the pattern of the story and the ending are somewhat predictable, the telling of the three children’s adventures reveals Norton’s halmark imagination and surreal visions of her fantasy worlds.