Every so often, a friend will hand me a children’s book manuscript and ask if I would review it and offer an honest opinion. I’m always delighted to do so, but, over the years, I’ve discovered that almost every one of those potential book projects suffers from a critical and quite frequent mistake. When I ask them about it, they will often hang their head and sheepishly admit that, yes, they are guilty of breaking this rule:

If you are going to be a successful children’s author, you MUST read children’s books on a regular basis!

Interestingly, many novice writers think that just because they’ve raised some children or read a book to their grandchildren, they are ready to write their own children’s book. Unfortunately, that alone does not adequately prepare one for writing juvenile literature. Prospective authors need to soak themselves in the culture of children’s literature, regularly! They need to know the language, the themes, the concepts, the tenor, and the presentation of children’s literature. And, the ONLY way to do that is to read children’s books on a regular basis…every day…every week…every month.

If you are not reading children’s books, then you are putting yourself at a severe disadvantage in the marketplace. The books you read as a child are not the same books kids read today. Today’s books have a certain flavor, spark, and presentation. You need to experience that unique culture if you are to write equally compelling and engaging books.

Reading current children’s literature on a regular basis has enormous benefits for you as a beginning children’s author.  Here are a few:

1) Introduces you to a wide range of authorial styles. If you want to get a sense of what good writing is all about, you need to sample many different kinds of writing – the good, the bad (and the ugly). In so doing, you are getting a full picture of what writers can do (or, what they are unable to do) in terms of characters, conflicts, and settings.

2) Shows you language patterns that resonate with readers. When you read the stories and books of other authors, you can get a sense of the language appropriate for different age groups. You’ll also immerse yourself in the semantics and syntax of different genres.

3) Gives you the opportunity to compare good stories with bad stories. To know good books you need to experience bad ones. The bad books give you a frame of reference necessary to your compositional efforts. That diversity is essential to your writing success.

4) Allows you to see how different authors handle similar themes. By exposing yourself to a wide variety of storytellers, you learn a sense of how various authors tackle universal themes. By studying the various ways of presenting a story, you give yourself an education available nowhere else.

If you want to write children’s books you have to read children’s books! One without the other is like vacationing in Maui without going to the beach. It’s only half-done! Read, and keep reading, lots of children’s books. and you will notice a decided improvement in your own ability to craft stories for a new generation of readers.

BIO:  Anthony D. Fredericks (www.anthonydfredericks.com) is an award-winning children’s author. His recent book – Tall Tall Tree – was selected by the Children’s Book Council as 2018 Outstanding Science Trade Book. This article is an excerpt from his forthcoming adult nonfiction book: Writing Children’s Books: Everything You Need to Know from Story Creation to Getting Published.