Writing in a Child's Language - podcast

Children don't speak or think like adults. This is an important fact to understand when you're writing a children's book. The language and story must be targeted for your audience. Artist, illustrator, and author, Melanie Greenberg, provides insight about how to get the voice and language right in your children’s book. She discusses her process of writing a children's book. First, she writes the story in her own adult voice to get the story out. Next, she imagines that she's reading the story to a five-year-old child and changes the words and simplifies the story. In the process of writing a children's book, you have to think like a poet and find the essence of the story. Boil the narrative down to express yourself clearly without lecturing or preaching. The words must flow and be enjoyable to a child.