Picture Books
Picture Books is an Intensive, meaning it happens in a short time span (1 day in NYC, or 2 days on Zoom). It's open to writers of any level. Farther down, you can view a syllabus for this course.
The first books that children encounter are picture books, which are distinctive for their merging of art and words to tell a story. They may look easy to conceive and write, but it’s quite challenging to create one that truly excites kids and publishers.
Picture books are typically geared for kids 3 to 7, with varying degrees of complexity, to meet the interest level as kids grow older. Some are designed to be read to kids, some designed with vocabulary to ease kids into reading. They can be fiction, like Judi Barrett’s Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, or nonfiction, like Allen Say’s Grandfather’s Journey. (There are also very simple board books for kids younger than 3.)
Here you’ll explore the craft of creating children’s picture books, gaining insight into this form’s unique requirements…and wonders.
I found this workshop/class/course beneficial in more ways than one way.
Susan Harrington
retired public classroom teacher
Notes
This course focuses on the writing element, with an eye to how the words and art will work together.
Upcoming Classes
NYC classes are being scheduled. Please check back soon.
Price
Registration fee $25, paid once per term
2-Day
-
Zoom
Real-time videoconference
Tuition: $185
Syllabus
This course gives an overview of the basics of writing children’s picture books. Course components:
Brief lectures
Writing exercises
Topics:
Intro to Picture Books
How to Start
Plot
Character
POV/Voice
Theme
The Market
Note: Content may vary among individual classes.
Teachers
Marissa Walsh
Marissa Walsh is the author of the picture book One Scoop or Two? And Other Ice Cream Questions (Union Square Books), the YA novel A Field Guide to High School (Delacorte Press), the memoir Girl with Glasses (Simon and Schuster), and the nonfiction book Tipsy in Madras (Penguin). She edited the anthologies Not Like I'm Jealous or Anything (Delacorte Press) and Does this Book Make Me Look Fat? (Clarion Books). She has worked as a literary agent with Fine Print Literary Management and as an editor at Random House. She holds a BA from Smith College.
Read moreis the author of the picture book One Scoop or Two? And Other Ice Cream Questions (Union Square Books), the YA novel A Field Guide to High School (Delacorte Press), the memoir Girl with Glasses (Simon and Schuster), and the nonfiction book Tipsy in Madras (Penguin). She edited the anthologies Not Like I'm Jealous or Anything (Delacorte Press) and Does this Book Make Me Look Fat? (Clarion Books). She has worked as a literary agent with Fine Print Literary Management and as an editor at Random House. She holds a BA from Smith College.
