Do you want to write for children? Develop your own library of how-to books for both instruction and encouragement. Here’s a list of five titles I like to recommend.

1. Children’s Writer’s Word Book by Alijander Mogilner and Tayopa Mogilner. Arranged like a dictionary by grade level, this one can help when just the right word is eluding you or when you wonder if children will understand a word you want to use. Especially helpful if you write for educational magazines or publishers.

2. You CAN Write Children’s Books by Tracey Dils. Covers picture books, easy readers, chapter books, nonfiction, middle grade, and young adult, plus publishing how-to. Get the workbook too.

3. The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Publishing Children’s Books by Harold Underdown. Focuses on  understanding the publishing world and process plus approaching your writing as a business. Get the third edition. Underdown has a wonderful website for children’s writers too, the Purple Crayon.

4. Writing Picture Books by Ann Whitford Paul. You’ll develop step-by-step understanding of the picture book genre and work on your own manuscripts with this book as your guide.

5. Writing It Right! by Sandy Asher. Teaches you how to revise your manuscripts by taking you through the real revisions of published works.

Do you have other favorite writing resource books? Add them to my list by leaving a comment!

DIANE