Picture books must be enjoyed by both kids and adults. This is because kids listen to their parents read to them. And parents are adults who have to endure reading the same book over and over again. Because of this, it is really important that the picture book is well written, has great rhythm and cadence, and really has a great point of theme, one that an adult will enjoy reading and that the child will enjoy listening to. Too often, picture books stories appeal mostly to the child. Therefore, the readers get to dislike the book so much that they have to stoop to many immature tactics to avoid reading such books to kids, such as hiding the books under the bed, tucking them behind others books or just having the book mysteriously disappear. There are also some picture books that appeal to the adult reading the story but is not as appealing to the child. This makes the child’s bedtime really stressful and sooner or later the child doesn’t want to have that book read over and over unless the parent finds a way to bride the child in some way with a snack before bed or some other incentive. Probably the most difficult part of writing a picture book is to write a book that will be loved by both child and adult. It is extremely difficult to bring this kind of balance about when writing. What is most necessary is for the writer to write a story that has depth and breadth. This week I will talk about how writers can create such a story. I hope that you enjoy my posts and are encouraged to write a story that has these two chief characteristics. ~ Irene