Customer Reviews

How to Write a Children's Picture Book: Learning from The Very Hungry Caterpillar, Chicka Chicka Boom Boom, Corduroy, Where the Wild Things Are, The Carrot Seed, Good Night, Gorilla, Sylvester and the Magic Pebble, and Other Favorite Stories

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Eve Heidi Bine-Stock's HOW TO WRITE A CHILDREN'S PICTURE BOOK (VOLUMES I, II and III)is a constant companion and rich resource in the planning and revision of picture books. The deconstruction of picture books, and the detailed classification of crucial characteristics - using classic picture books to illustrate each detailed point - make these books invaluable. Although I particularly use Volume I and II in the planning stage of a new manuscript, all three volumes are again by my side during each revision, and each step of each revision. There is no question in my mind that these books are the biggest resource in pushing my writing to the next level. The volumes are not read-once-and-put-aside books; they are books you will want on your writing desk for constant reference.

Eve Bine-Stock has written a completely useful book. She's gone beyond all the ordinary advise found elsewhere and examined the actual structure of a picture story book. Her method of diagramming a story and reducing it to its essential elements will prove invaluable to those who craft tales for children. In years to come, many writers will be able to look back and attribute their success to the simple and effective methods she outlines here. Highly recommended!

As an author of many books for children, I found this book to be one of the most practical and helpful tools to format a picture book during the writing process. I'm already using the techniques to structure new projects to make my picture book manuscripts shine! I plan on recommending it to my critique group as well as buying copies as gifts for my writer friends.

How To Write A Children's Picture Book focuses especially upon structure as the key to creating a memorable and entertaining treasure for children to read, share, and learn from. Distinguishing between picturebooks and picture storybooks, and closely examining such enduring children's classics as "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" and "Where The Wild Things Are", How To Write A Children's Picture Book is a highly useful and focused guide that dissects the nuts and bolts of writing with a keen eye toward higher achievement and quality. A "must-have" for any aspiring children's picturebook writer.

I have at least a dozen books on writing for children and I especially like this one. Not only does it focus exclusively on picture books, which few others do, it provides solid, concrete information that you can apply directly to your own writing. Too many other books offer vague tips that may be helpful in polishing an existing manuscript, but don't help with building your story from the ground up. I've been trying (sporadically) to sell picture book manuscripts for several years now, and I believe that what I've learned from this book will help get me closer to my goal of being a published author. Volumes II and III are on their way to me now and I can't wait to see what they have to offer!

The book takes popular children's book and breaks apart the beginning, middle and ending so that you get a very clear picture of how your story should progess. An excellent resource.

All three volumes of Bine-Stock's "How to Write a Children's Picture Book" are very simple in concept, teaching only a few lessons about what makes a great and satisfying picture book. But simple is often better, and in this case simple is superb. Add to this the fact that Bine-Stock examines twelve classic picture books and shows you the structure of each, what is the first half and what is the second half of each story, and what and where the plot twists are, and you have a book that teaches through concrete example as well as through explanation. If you want to write picture books for children, don't skip over this book. Read it again and again, follow the examples, and you will see your writing improve dramatically. My only criticism of this book is that it seems to be priced too high for a softcover 200-page book.

This book reverse engineers the structures in classic storybooks. By so doing it only presents the structures that are in those given books. It does not clearly define structures that you can use in your own books. For instance, the 3-part beginning, middle, end structure is traditional and explained well, but when it gives an example of a 2-part structure, it doesn't define or explain it well enough to use it other than in the way the classic book did. This is not a comprehensive book on picture book structure but it does give various examples that you can mimic in your own writing. It essentially breaks down the books into parts for easy understanding. There is enough variety to help you think creatively. The final part of the book simplifies the way to plan your own book and is useful for a beginner. What I gained the most out of was seeing the variety of structural combinations that some classics have used.