Opportunity for First-Timers

Even experienced children's authors & illustrators like these had to start somewhere.

( l-r Jen Mc Veity, Felicity Marshall, Krista Bell, (Hazel), Meredith Costain, Corinne Fenton, Susanne Gervay)

Photo credit: Meredith Fuller

Picture Book Opportunity for First-Timers

Schools set create-a-book projects and adults wish to design their own. Many ask Hazel for mentoring hints.

Most first-timers do not realise creating picture books is a BIG challenge.

So , as an inbetween step, Hazel offered her text (words) based on several existing stories for students to use.

Five Senses will now be publishing Hazel's original stories in a collection called 'Like Me' in October 2017, so the stories have been taken down from here.

But Hazel will leave the hints:

To encourage:

beginners to explore techniques based on an existing manuscript
appreciation of the time and skills needed in creating a work
discussion of issues within the stories
diversity of cross cultural stories & viewpoints

Hints

A picture book is usually 24 or 32 pages.

Allow thinking/planning time.
Look at lots of picture books for design ideas.
Play with a storyboard,deciding where text and illustrations will go.
Where will you make the page breaks? Allow for title page and endpapers.
Design a cover so the title can be easily read and illustrations hint at the most important ideas in the story.
Add names of author and illustrator(you).
Or make a dummy book. Consider an app?
Decide on the kind of illustrations: Photos? Cartoons? Collage? Pen and ink? Colour?
Who will be your audience? Age? Reading ability?
Write a 2 line back cover blurb