Hi everyone! I wrote a children’s book manuscript that I’m pretty excited about based on my daughter and making every day tasks feel magical

I’ve been researching and am really confused how to find an illustrator and how to publish! Any guidance would be so appreciated

Ever wondered how much a children's author gets paid for a book? How much they earn from a sale? Whether those six-or-seven-figure deals you hear about happen all the time?

The topic of money is probably the least transparent area of publishing.

Which is why I've decided to talk (well, write) about it.

I’m a UK-based traditionally-published children’s author (of 20+ titles, most of which are picture books) and I'm on a bit of a mission to try to make the opaque world of publishing more transparent through sharing my experience - with detail and candour - on my Substack, Authorly Honest.

It provides an awfully honest, warts-and-all insight into the writing, feelings, finances and life of a children's author. I discuss my submissions (with examples of the manuscripts submitted), my acquisition/rejection rate, earnings, and much more, including sources of inspiration, my journey to becoming an author, etc.

I hope it will prove a helpful resource to aspiring authors, and entertaining for everyone. I'd love for you to check it out, and to ask me anything you like!

I've spent a LOT of time reading Grufallo's child to my toddler over the last week, and I've got some questions about the narrative.

In the Gruffalo, the Mouse manages to persuade all of the animals that he is mates with the Grufallo, and that they should flee before the Grufallo gets there. He then manages to convince the Gruffalo that it's actually him that the animals are scared of.

In the Grufallo's child, the child is searching for the mouse, and each of the animals she bumps into tells her that the mouse is eating Grufallo in some way or another. What's the motive/reasoning for that? Do the animals now believe that the mouse is an apex predator too?

Which children’s books translated from dutch can i read iv i like Carry Slee and Enid Blyton?

Hello!

I apologize if this isn't the right place to post this, but I have been searching for a picture book from my childhood in the 80s. The book contains beautiful painted images on each page and is about a mouse who is kind of like a tooth fairy. He rides around on futuristic floating speeder bike, collects teeth, and might even live in space (?) Does anyone have any memories of this book?? Thanks so much.

If you're holiday shopping for a middle grade reader in your life who hasn't quite discovered book joy yet, this is a pretty good list of recommendations.

What are some other recommendations for reluctant middle grade readers?

I read this around 2nd grade and can't remember the title. A young horse living with her herd in a valley falls off a cliff and magically grows wings, but then they disappear again. Her parents tell her a story of how she was actually born in a different valley, and that they found her as a baby alone during a storm. She had two parents and a sister. When looking for answers, her teacher tells her how a long time ago he found a horse with a broken wing near the edge of the valley and helped nurse her back to health. The winged horse came from another valley past the forest of brambles that none of the horses have ever gone beyond before. The protagonist travels beyond the brambles to find her home. I think it was a trilogy.

Hi parents! 👋

We’re offering a free 1-month subscription to LittleStoryTree, where we provide bedtime stories designed to make bedtime easier and more magical for families.

Our stories are thoughtfully curated with a little help from AI, but each one is carefully reviewed by our team to ensure it’s warm, engaging, and perfect for kids aged 3-5.

We’d love your honest feedback on how we can improve. If you’re interested, just DM us your email, and we’ll create a free account for you.

Thanks so much for helping us make storytelling better for busy families!

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i just found this subreddit and im very glad i did, because there are a few books ive been looking for, for a long time, since i remembered them but never found them in my search. the specific one im thinking of is a book probably printed between the early- to mid-2000s, with a blue ocean cover with a chestnut colt on the front, most likely a square shape? it's not a very long book but i remember the colt going into the ocean, his mother calling him back, and it ending with him asleep in a stall. if anyone knows what im talking about, id really appreciate any help!

Hi @everyone, I’m excited to share that I am writing a book about teenagers dealing with alopecia! This story is not just about alopecia; it features a dynamic group of young adventurers who come together to unravel captivating mysteries in their hometown. More importantly, it's about empowerment. I aim to inspire and empower teens, helping them feel acknowledged and connected. Through relatable narratives, I hope to give young readers the confidence to celebrate their individuality and discover strength in their unique journeys. Let’s embark on this adventure together!

hi! i was in elementary from 2007-2012 and i’m trying to find a book i vaguely remember… i know it was about a poor family (maybe married couple maybe mother and child) and they lived in a tiny cottage eating only potatoes in boiling water. they end up finding a pot of gold and i remember there being some leprechaun and a stream with buckets involved.

there’s a chance this is two books that i’m blending together, but any help figuring this out is very appreciated!!!

I currently have a book written and searching for an illustrator! I have a vision in my head of what I want the illustrations to look like for the main character (which is based off my son) but open to all styles! Thank you.

I read a book as a kid about 10 years ago that I can't figure out the title of no matter how much I google and search around. I read it maybe 10-15 years ago, its a book for children and I read it in elementary school somewhere around second to fifth grade. It is about a girl who becomes friends moves to a new place and becomes friends with both the most popular girl in school and the least popular girl in school. She also believes she is in an experiment or something like that where the people all around her arent real people and don't actually have feelings, and that they are kind of like paper cutouts or something like that. She says she feels bad that the experimenters show her that her grandma is sad despite knowing that she isn't technically real. There is a moment at the end of the book where the character realizes that other people also have feelings and are real people.

Help! I'm trying to find a book that I encountered about ten years ago, and now can't remember the title. I know it's a long shot, but thought it might be worth posting here.

It's an illustrated children's book, with minimal but lyrical and poetical prose, that follows a river to the sea. Over the course of the (short) book, the river passes through forests, and gets polluted as it passes through human civilisation, and the prose increasingly takes on a melancholic tone. There are no characters, other than the river (although it's not named, and I think it's referred to in the 3rd person), and it's truly beautifully written. The illustrations were full-page, and quite bold, and while figurative were very stylised. I remember the book having a fairly strong eco message, although I don't think this was explicitly mentioned. If I remember correctly, the format was A4 portrait, and it was a very short book, but I don't recall if it was hardcover or softcover.

Does this rings a bell to anyone?

For years I have tried remembering what book series this is but to no avail. I think they were from the 90’s possibly late 80’s. All I remember is the series was about dinosaurs that lived in a little town together. I don’t believe there were any humans in any of the books. All the dinosaurs were cartoony, not normal colors (they were like pink, yellow, blue etc) and not drawn to accurate scale. Pretty sure they were all about the same height but all different types of dinosaurs.

The books were purple (maybe blue) and my favorite one was about a yellow dinosaur that snuck into his neighbors houses at night to steal food from their refrigerators because he was so hungry. Then his neighbors realize that he’s been stealing their food and they sit him down and tell him it’s not ok to steal, and he could have just asked. Then I think the end is him eating some food that everyone gave to him?

Hi everyone! I recently completed a children’s storybook about snowmen. The process of creating this story was so much fun, but I've realized that I still have a lot of room for improvement in my storytelling and story-building skills.

I would really appreciate it if I could get some advice from you all on how to enhance my storytelling abilities. Here are a few areas I’m curious about:

1. Are there any recommended books or resources that can help improve my writing skills?
2. What special methods or tricks do you use when constructing plotlines and characters?
3. How do you handle creative blocks or periods of feeling uninspired during the writing process?

If you have any other tips related to creative writing, I’d love to hear them! I’m really looking forward to your feedback, and thank you all for your support! 💖

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I have seen many ads on Facebook about this, but can't seem to place it now.

He is a children book author who writes on subjects that explain how the world works. Topics like Blackrock/States Street, Free Masons, capitalism. Any ideas?

Hi,

Is there any way to guarantee the success of a children’s book?

I have a book launching Jan-mid Feb. There are other manuscripts in the works as well. Someday I would want to be a writer full-time and have it as a primary source of income.

What are some ways I could promote a book based on the likes and dislikes of a character who happens to be autistic?

How can I guarantee a good turnout to a book signing with little to no media presence?

I’m not a big social media person so I’ll be starting with 0 followers.

Someday I would also want to collab with networks such as Disney or Nickelodeon to turn my stories into animated series/cartoons.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance.

There’s a book I read a lot growing up. It was a hardback book with a dark blue fabric binding, I don’t believe there was any illustrations on the cover. It contained a collection of children’s stories. Three of them I remember. One was called Mrs Blye’s plum pie, there was another about three girls who needed a hat for an event, and there was another about a milkman who’s cart got stuck in the snow and the town helped him move it. I expect there were others but this book was very sentimental to me and one day i hope to own it again or read any of the stories.

My sister and I had a book as kids that I want to locate.

Details I remember:

There was an old lady who knitted constantly and had a knitting basket over her arm. There was a knitted rabbit hanging out of it.

She transforms into the rabbit and distracts hunters(?) as the rabbit.

One particular phrase stands out: “as if butter wouldn’t melt in her mouth.”

It had a green cover, and is at least 40 years old and geared towards readers around kindergarten age.

Thanks!

He takes shelter in the lighthouse during a storm. He is scared of thunder until the lighthouse keeper teaches him to count the distance. I had the book in the early 60s.

Hi all! I hope this is alright to do here, but I’ve been trying to find a certain children’s book for several years now, with only snatches of memories to go on. There was a little boy with black hair who drove a red car around, and ate at a trucker diner. I remember colorful scoops of ice cream in the diner. It was a board book and wasn’t cut in a rectangle—the edges were scalloped, almost. Does anyone know the title of this book, and where I could get my hands on a copy or two? Google searches only really yield The Little Red Car by Nicola Baxter or the series by Matthew Price, but it’s neither of those. Any help would be appreciated!

Is there a forum for parents looking for fast-paced adventure stories for young readers (5-9)?

Books like Eind Blyton's Famous Five series.

My wife recently published The Christmas Cracker, a fun, fast-paced mystery set in Greystones (Ireland). 🇮🇪 Her style is similar to Enid Blyton's. 😊 The reviews from kids are fantastic! (4.7+).

She's self-published and struggling to get her 'Adventures of Finn O'Shea' series titles in front of like-minded parents.

https://www.marianbrennan.com/the-christmas-cracker

The Christmas Cracker - Marian Brennan

My mom used to read me a book where the child would ask the mother if I were a [blank] what would you be? And the mom would respond I would be [blank]. For example it would say if I were a bird what would you be and the mother would say I’d be the wind to carry you on your way. Idk if that’s actually in the book but it was a lot of similar things like that. I can’t find it anywhere so any help would be great.