While most of what I write tends to be for either teenage/YA or adult markets, I have a very well developed idea for a children's book. However, since I have never actually wrote for anybody younger then teens, I want to do some research into writing children's books to get the nitty-gritty down of how to do it. I understand some of the basic principles, I am not going off of NO information. However, what I am mainly concerned about is the level of vocabulary that I can use in a children's book and just how much I have to "tone down" the vocab when I write. For this and other assorted reasons I want to do some research, but am not fully sure what place to start. I know there is probably a "for dummies" book on this topic, so I have considered heading down to my local library and checking to see if they have it, but are there any other books or online resources that those of you more experienced with writing children's books could point me to, preferably focused on the more technical aspects like vocab level? Also, just so you know, I am not planing on writing for really young kids or writing a picture book. This idea would be a chapter book(s) for older kids, but not teens. The work was partly inspired by children's cartoon series(Both the SATAM sonic cartoon and Disney in general where large influences) and is based around anthropomorphic animal characters. So while it has some extremely dark/heavy themes for a children's work, it is not aimed at teens due to the nature of the setting and characters, and a big reason for writing the story is to introduce children to some very real issues in the world in a way that makes it accessible and understandable for them. Think of it kinda like Animal Farm for kids, except tackling slightly different themes and with more fantasy elements and action. So, do any of you know some resources that could help me?
i write children's books and can send you a raft of resources... you can email me at: maia3maia@hotmail.com
Have you checked out the Society for Children's Book Writers and Illustrators? I don't write children's books and am not a member of that group, but I've seen their name come up occasionally, and I would investigate them if I wrote children's books. (You can find them by googling.)
it's 'society of'... you can google for SCBWI, as that's what it goes by... and it's one of the legit resources on my list...
