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Picture books give delight to readers 3 to 8 years old (see the classic retelling in Figure 2-3). Generally, picture books have 24, 32 — or less frequently, 40 — pages and anywhere from 100 to 1,500 words. These books can capture the vastly different interests and attention spans of kids in this age range. Picture books most often measure in at 8½ x 11 inches.

Everyone in the children’s book world wants to debate word length in picture books. Some editors refuse to even look at a picture book that has more than 500 words. But some nonfiction picture books go well into 2,000 words or more. Unless you’re writing a nonfiction picture book that you plan to put in a 40- or 64-page book (rarer page counts), stick to the 500-words-or-less rule.

From Quick as a Cricket by Audrey and Don Wood. Reprinted with permission of the author and illustrator. © 2020 Audrey Wood and Don Wood. Used by permission of HarperCollins Publishers.

FIGURE 2-3: Quick as a Cricket, a picture book.

Nothing speaks more poorly of a writer than submitting a picture book of 5,000 words, even if it’s nonfiction. Early chapter books can be 5,000 words.

Here’s a rundown of the not-so-standard picture book varieties:

  Licensed-character picture books: Feature characters generally culled from popular television shows, toys, videogames, apps, and movies. Some licensed characters that have been around for a while and will probably stick around for a while more include Elmo, Barbie, My Little Pony, and SpongeBob SquarePants. According to publishing expert Jane Friedman, a third of all children’s books sold today are based on licensed characters. These books are assigned authors by the publishing or licensing company.

 Board book adaptations of picture books: These titles have already had successful runs as picture books, and they get a second life as board books. In general, these board books keep the same text and illustrations as the original picture books (sometimes with an editorial nip and tuck here and there, but usually not enough for the casual reader to notice).

 Softcover picture books: Although the 8x8s (books measuring 8 inches x 8 inches) are the most common softcover picture books out there (see Figure 2-4), softcovers come in many sizes and shapes. In the old days, all picture books had a first run (the first printing of the book) as hardcovers. If the hardcover picture book was successful, then the publisher would follow up with the cheaper softcover. Nowadays, publishers often release picture books initially in a softcover format (sometimes referred to as picturebacks). You can often find them in spinner racks at bookstores and markets.

a) Countdown to Grandma’s House and b) Grandpa Lets Me Be Me by Debra Mostow Zakarin. Reprinted courtesy of the author.

FIGURE 2-4: Example picture books.