Children’s books are being written everyday by veteran authors and new authors alike. They are being produce by professional and amateur writers and many others who have decided that they too can create children’s books. There are authors who are consciously trying to adhere to a style and there are those attempting to create all new styles and patterns of children’s books. There are also hundreds of revised and newly embellished versions of many of the old classic stories. As with anything where there is lots of individual creative producers, there is bound to be a wide assortment of good, bad, and ugly children’s books produced.
Now all the children’s books of old and new being thrown into one humongous pile forms a mountain range of children’s books. And like finding a needle in a haystack, parents and teachers are tasked with selecting the best of the lot. And with busy schedules and overflowing work loads there is very little time to go mining for the best children’s books. You also do not want to allow passage of books to your children by forfeiture or default. There must be something to help make the best selections of the lot of children’s books easier. And not just the marketing, the accessories, the gimmicks, and the adorable characters. Children’s books are adorned with tons of appealing aspects and any one of them are powerful enough to drive the sale of the books.
Indeed, children’s books are equipped with several components able to convince you to buy, but a good story is paramount. A good story means that all or most of the component of the story are present. The story is casted well with lead and support characters that navigate the pages of the book. The setting must be consistent and appropriate for the story to take place and unfold. The theme too must be one with the setting and believable that the characters could find themselves in similar situations. The plot must have a good rhythm and pace so that excitement builds through the conflict, climax, and the resolution of the story. In a good story all the components, of characters, setting, theme, plot, conflict, climax, and resolution work homogeneously. The story is orderly, purposeful, easy to follow without being predictable and is memorable.
Many children’s books that hit the market have been reviewed. It may be a good idea to begin by reading the opinions of these nonbiased reviewers that are published in their periodicals. Children’s books abstracts provide some insight and a quick thumb through should be enough to select or reject the books based on the quality of the story. When you have identified the type of story quality that meets your criteria, you may use that story as a standard bearer for future selections. If a book is endowed with a good story, it has a better than average chance of being entertaining, educational and/or empowering to children. A good story should be of paramount importance because without it you can not have a good book. Written by Mister Wilson, Astoryplus Children’s Books…
Leave a Reply