The Art of The Picture Book

with
Shadra Strickland
THE ART OF THE PICTURE BOOK
Supplies & Resources
SUPPLIES
Picture Book Development
Library card
Mechanical pencil (Strickland prefers size .05 lead)
Wax or oil pencils (Faber-Castell recommended)
Sketchbooks for every project
Kneaded eraser
Making the Dummy
Invisible tape
Glue stick
Ruler or bone folder for folding pages
Binder clips
Coloring medium of choice (Strickland
recommends Windsor-Newton watercolors and
Holbein gouache)
RESOURCES
For more information about the business of
picture books:
The Society of Children's Book Writers and
Illustrators:
SCBWI.org
This organization hosts regional events and
is a great way to connect with other
picture- book makers in your area.
Instructor website: shadrastrickland.com
Self-publishing resources:
Lulu.com
Blurb.com
Shutterfly.com
2013 Craftsy and Sympoz Inc.
WORKING WITH COMPLETE TEXTS

For complete texts, search Project Gutenberg, an
online database of copyright free stories that are
available for use by the public:
www.gutenberg.org
The British Library also released over one million
works into the public domain, which can be
found on Flickr.com
Running into problems thinking of your own
story? Try using one of these classic popular
childrens stories. Can you adapt one and create
your own version?
Goldilocks and the Three Bears
Little Red Riding Hood
The Three Little Pigs
The Ugly Duckling
The Lion and the Mouse
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Common Themes
TIPS FOR GENERATING STORY IDEAS

Think of two complete story ideas for each theme
listed below.
Friendship
Making new friends, resolving conflict between
friends, imaginary friends. Examples:
The Rainbow Fish, 1st Edition by Marcus P. Pfister
and J Alison James (North-South Books, 1999)
A Sick Day for Amos McGhee by Philp C. Stead &
Erin Stead (Roaring Brook Press, 2010)
Best Friends for Frances by Russell Hoban
(HarperCollins, 2009)
Loss
Loss of pet, loss of loved one, loss of friend (moving
away). Examples:
Big Cat Pepper, 1st Edition by Elizabeth Partridge,
(Bloomsbury USA Childrens, 2009)
Goodbye Mousie by Robie H. Harris and Jan
Ormerod (Aladdin, 2004)
Nana Upstairs & Nana Downstairs by Tomie
DePaola (Puffin, 2000)
Love
One of the broadest and most universal themes in
picture books, love can be defined and illustrated in
many ways. Certainly, love of family comes to mind,
but what about love of play, love of nature, love of
learning? Examples:
Guess How Much I Love You by Sam McBratney
(Walker Books Ltd, 2007)
All the World by Liz Garton Scanlon and Marla
Frazee (Beach Lane Books, 2009)
The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein (HarperCollins,
1999)
Anger
An important issue, books about anger, managing it,
and conflict resolution are quite interesting ideas to
play with. Examples:
Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak
(HarperCollins, 2012)
When Sophie Gets AngryReally, Really Angry by
Molly Bang (Scholastic Paperbacks, 2004)
Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good,
Very Bad Day by Judith Viorst and Ray Cruz
(Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2012)
Adventure
Adventure is also a broad theme and can include
exploration of fantastic spaces to their own physical
worlds. Examples:
The Magic School Bus series by Joanna Cole
(Scholastic, various publication dates)
The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats (Puffin, 1976)
Sector 7 by David Wiesner (Clarion Books, 1999)
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Aural Elements
AUDITORY CHECKLIST
When reading your manuscript aloud, listen for
common pitfalls.

Does the story have a definite flow?

If you find yourself stumbling when you read
aloud, or stop to pause at uncomfortable word
choices, your reader will more than likely have
the same issues.
Are you being preachy?

As adults, we have established an authoritative
distance between children and ourselves. When
writing for children, it is important to remove that
distance and remember that you are crafting an
experience for a child, not teaching them the
rights and wrongs of the world as a parent would.
Are the sentences too pedantic? Can you simplify

your language?
We never want to talk down to children, but also
remember that a childs vocabulary isnt fully
developed. Unless you are crafting an
instructional book about a particular subject like
astronomy or life science, try to refrain from using
many unfamiliar words that would require a
glossary at the end of your book.
Listen to the rhythm of your story.

Are the sentences varied enough, or are you
repeating the same sentence structure over and
over again? Think of the Dick and Jane books back
in the 70s. Remember how static the sentences
were? Dick and Jane went to school, Dick and
Jane learned to count, Dick and Jane played with
friends, and so on. Though clear and concise, this
type of writing is better used in emergent reader
books where children are learning how to read.
This type of writing in a mass-market picture book
wouldnt be very entertaining, however.
Show. Dont tell.

Make sure that your story is rich with sensory details.
In addition to pushing a narrative along, you are also
creating a world with language and art. Remember
to support your illustrations with language. For
example, we can see a boy barreling down a steep
hill on a sunny day in an illustration, but remember
to show us with language how the wind sounds
whizzing past his ears and how he regrets ignoring
his mothers advice to wear sunblock as the July
sun begins to sizzle his freckled skin.
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Characters
BUILDING GREAT CHARACTERS

Active
Active characters are interesting. Think about the
energy that children naturally have within themselves.
Even in books that are quieter in tone, characters are
active in their expressions and movements.
Relatable
Children are curious, but if the character that they
read about isnt at all relatable to them, they will more
than likely not continue to care about that
character. Think about characters you know and love.
What makes them special? How did you relate to
them when you were a child?
Interesting
Make your characters interesting. No one wants to
read about about a perfect girl with perfect parents,
who always does everything right. Shake things up a
bit. Make your character stand out from the crowd.
RULE OF THREES
In storytelling, art and content creation, our culture
utilizes the "rule of threes," which simply states that
things are more engaging, satisfying and more effectively presented in groups of three.
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Character Biographies
CHARACTER BIOGRAPHY
General
Type of character (kid, monster,
chicken, lovable ant, alien, etc.)
Color
Name
Gender
Age
In what era does it live?
Tall or short?
Round or angular?
Funny or dull?
Where does he/she/it live?
Does it have parents, and if so,
are they similar? If not, what
happened to them?
Is it sensitive? Easily upset?
Angry? Sweet? Charming?
A Few Favorite Things
Color
Friend
Food
Item of clothing
Book
Music
Classes
Other
Extras
Disposition
Hobbies
Talents
Pet Peeves
Flaws
Secret
Give your character a problem.
How does he or she solve it?
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SELF-ENDED BOOK LAYOUT TEMPLATE

The 32-page self-ended book typically yields 12 spreads. In a self-ended layout, your endpages will be
illustrated. Some illustrators use endpages to begin the visual narrative, utilizing all of their book real
estate for storytelling. (Note: this template is just a guideline. Adjust your own dummy to reflect trim size.)
2-3
PASTEDOWN
END PAGES
4-5
COPYRIGHT
6-7
8-9
10-11
18-19
20-21
DEDICATION
12-13
14-15
16-17
22-23
24-25
26-27
28-29
30-31
END PAGES
PASTEDOWN
The Art of the Picture Book with Shadra Strickland

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SEPARATE-ENDED BOOK LAYOUT TEMPLATE

The 32-page separate-ended book typically yields 14 spreads. With separate ends, the book is
bound to the board with a separate solid sheet of paper. Every page in the layout is illustrated.
(Note: this template is just a guideline. Adjust your own dummy to reflect trim size.)
1
HALF
PASTEDOWN
TITLE
2-3
4-5
6-7
8-9
10-11
12-13
14-15
16-17
18-19
20-21
22-23
24-25
26-27
COPYRIGHT
&
DEDICATION
TITLE
PAGE
28-29
30-31
32
PASTEDOWN
The Art of the Picture Book with Shadra Strickland

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Shadra Strickland
Picture Book Critique Sheet
BOOK INFORMATION
Author:
Story Title:
Trim Size:
Age Range:
FOR THE REVIEWER
Trim Size
Is the proposed size of the book appropriate for this story? Why or why not?
Page Count
Is the story too long? Too short?
Characters:
Is the character interesting? If the character is too generic, what can be done to make it more specific? Does
the character have defined hands and feet? Is the character alive? Why or why not? What can the artist do to
improve?
Pacing
How does the story read from beginning to end? Is the visual narrative cohesive? Are the compositions varied?
Does the overall pacing hold your interest? Are any spreads unclear?
Compositions
Are the compositions active? Do the page designs lead your eye from left to right throughout the story?
Do the compositions fit the tone of the story? Is any important information lost in the gutter? Has the artist left
enough room for text?
What would you change/add?
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Resources for Further Study
RESOURCES FOR FURTHER STUDY

Character Design (Lesson 3)
Student Work: Monsieur Antonius by Elizabeth Lily
and Rainy Days by Mo Lorde
Environment (Lesson 3)
On your own
All the World, 1st Edition by
Liz Garton Scanlon and Marla Frazee (Beach
Lane Books, 2009)
City Cat by Kate Banks and Lauren Castillo
(Farrar, Straus, & Girroux 2011)
Trim Size (Lesson 4)
A Place Where Hurricanes Happen by Rene
Watson and Shadra Strickland (Random House,
2010)

On your own
Nutshell Library: Alligators All Around, Chicken
Soup with Rice, One Was Johnny & Pierre box
set by Maurice Sendak (Harper & Row, 1962)
The Tale of Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter
(multiple editions)
Page Turn/Pacing (Lesson 5)

Please, Louise by Toni & Slade Morrison and
Shadra Strickland (Simon & Schuster, 2014)
On your own
Wave by Suzy Lee (Chronicle Books, 2008)
At Night by Jonathan Bean (Farrar, Straus, &
Girroux 2007)
Mood (Lesson 6)
Bird by Zetta Elliott and Shadra Strickland (Lee &
Low Books, 2008)
White Water by Michael Bandy, Eric Stein and
Shadra Strickland (Candlewick Press, 2011)
Creating the Storyboard (Lesson 5)

Template
Composition (Lesson 5)
Picture This: How Pictures Work by Molly Bang
(Chronicle Books, 2000)
Sketchbook
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CLASS EXERCISES
Here are the exercises we'll complete throughout this
class. Feel free to complete each one at your own pace.
Lesson 1
If you know what you want your story to be
now, go ahead and write a draft of your script.
You can also use exercises from the next few
lessons to help you think of more ideas. Our next
lesson will focus on developing a character and
understanding a setting for your story.
Exercises & Acknowledgments

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Student Work
Untitled, girl character studies by Sarah Anderson
Monsieur Antonius and Tall, Lean Geraldine by
Elizabeth Lily
Fox, Tortoise & Hare by John Kim
Rainy Days by Mo Lorde
Goldilocks and the Three Bears by Jaime Kim
The Gullibles by Kaitlyn O'Brien
Lesson 3
Published Work
In a Pinterest board, add images that are related
Bird: Text copyright 2008 by Zetta Elliott,
to your environment. Include at least 20 examples,
illustrations copyright 2008 by Shadra
such as clothing, food, objects, weather, etc.
Strickland. Permission arranged with Lee & Low
Complete a Character Worksheet (see page 5),
Books Inc, New York, NY 10016
and generate an expression sheet.
Please Louise: Text copyright 2014 by Toni &
Slade Morrison, illustrations copyright 2014
Lesson 4
by Shadra Strickland. Permission arranged with
Read the story out loud and listen for repetition,
Simon & Schuster Inc, New York, NY.
sound and lack of clarity (refer to the Auditory
White Water: Text copyright Michael S. Bandy
Checklist on page 3).
and Eric Stein. Illustrations copyright 2011
Post a 3-5 sentence synopsis of your story.
Shadra Strickland. Reproduced by permission of
Lesson 5
the publisher, Candlewick Press, Somerville, MA.
Make a rough draft of thumbnails in a sketchbook.
A Place Where Hurricanes Happen. Copyright
Decide on trim size and customize the template
2010, permission arranged with Shadra Strickland.
to your trim size.
BOOKS ILLUSTRATED BY SHADRA STRICKLAND
Please Louise by Toni & Slade Morrison
(Simon & Schuster, 2014)
A Place Where Hurricanes Happen by Rene
Watson (Random House Books, 2010)
White Water by Michael Bandy and Eric Stein
(Candlewick Press, 2011)
Bird by Zetta Elliott (Lee & Low Books, 2008)
END
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Supplies & Resources

2013 Craftsy and Sympoz Inc.

WORKING WITH COMPLETE TEXTS