A Picture Book must:
Be visual, so think cinematically
Be a compelling read-aloud, have a musicality to your writing. Maragaret Wise Brown said, "A picture book can be whistled"
Have wonderful illustrations that can tell the story on its own
Have emotional resonance, heart. Or be really funny
Have a HOOK, something to hang your hat on
Remember:
The Page Turn is ALL
Take ownership of your work, this is YOUR lump of clay to mold and no one else's (yet) so own it! Make art notes for every page, know what visuals go with every page, dummy your manuscript- will it fit in a book? Because it has to
Page out your story! Map it out, know where you want a spread vs. a single page, this forces your word choice to be more thoughtful and therefore better
Bring artful generosity to your work. That is what makes a PB a treasure
My map is mess! I have a lot of work to do
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