Product Description

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #29795 in Books
• Published on: 2008-10-20
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 160 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780762431489
• BUY WITH CONFIDENCE, Over one million books sold! 98% Positive feedback. Compare our books, prices and service to the competition. 100% Satisfaction Guaranteed
• Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.

About the Author

Customer Reviews

Perfect for the Aspiring or Beginning Children's Book Author/Illustrator
Most parents who have sat with a child on their lap (or in my case, two children) for story time have probably considered writing their own children's book. After all, it can't be all that hard - most of them are only 32 pages and just a sentence or two on each page, right? But when it comes to putting pencil to paper, the idea just seems to slip away. /The Encyclopedia of Writing and Illustrating Children's Books/ just may change that. It is very well organized, starting with how to come up with the concept and market, developing your ideas and art, how to tell the story for different ages, write dialogue, use points of view, and how to begin and end your story. There is a chapter on writing for the children's nonfiction market, what sorts of media to use, and even the basics of paper engineering. The final chapter on getting and protecting your work will be highly helpful to new authors trying to sell their first book. The book is well developed, highly illustrated, and contains lots of useful examples from published books. If you ever want to go from thinking "I could do that" to "I did that," here is your guide.

Visually fun and very informative
I wish the publisher of this book would allow Amazon to show a peek of what's inside. I've purchased many books on writing and illustrating children's books, but was wary about purchasing this one because only a cover illustration is shown. While the illustration shown is good, it's not in my style, so I was unsure if the contents would just be more of the same. Let me assure you there are a variety of styles shown. This book is fun to read and fun to look at, with plenty of illustrations and photos. As an encyclopedia, it is not an exhaustive "be all to end all" study of each topic, but rather it is chock full of introductory information with plenty of sidebars containing tips, exercises, and references to other books for further reading. Here is a copy of the table of contents:

*Introduction

*Chapter 1: Creating Children's Books
--The idea of a picture Book
--Target Markets
--Themes
--Coming Up With an Idea
--Research

*Chapter 2: Developing an Idea
--Sketchbooks
--Observing Children
--Media and Drawing Styles
--Developing Your Own Style
--Developing Characters
--Proportion
--Expression
--Movement
--Babies and Toddlers
--Boys and Girls
--Adults
--Anthropomorphism
--Figure and Ground
--Frames and Borders

*Chapter 3: Telling the Story
--Story Structure
--Writing Dialogue
--Avoiding Patronizing the Reader
--The Writer's Voice
--Point of View
--Beginnings
--Endings
--Age Level
--Novels
--Graphic Novels
--Page Dynamics
--Pace and Flow - Storyboarding
--Dummy Books
--Color Theory
--Designing with Color
--Paper Engineering (Reviewer's Note: Pop-up books)
--Novelty Books
--Book Jackets

*Chapter 4: Nonfiction
--The Nonfiction Market
--Illustrating Nonfiction
--Writing for Different Ages
--Creative Nonfiction

*Chapter 5: Media and Techniques
--Gallery of Techniques
--Translucent
--Line and Wash
--Dry Color
--Black and White
--Mixed Media and Collage
--Digital
--Making a Dummy Book

*Chapter 6: Professional Practice
--Working Life
--Copyright and Licensing
--Showing Your Work
--Getting a Commission

*Glossary
*Index
*Credits

The authors of this book are Welsh and the book was originally conceived, designed, and produced by Quarto Publishing in London. However, this is not a "Market Guide" for the United Kingdom, so if you don't live anywhere near the U.K., do not let that deter you from this book. Some reference books cited for further reading are U.S. published, and some are U.K. published. This book is a wonderful introduction to anyone interested in writing and/or illustrating a children's book. For example, basics such as "How to write a story plan" and how to incorporate "page turning appeal" are applicable to any writer. Most topics are given a two-page spread, but the six-page photo spread entitled "Making a Dummy Book" is great for first-timers. I recommend this book for beginners and for any children's book writer and illustrator who is a visual learner and, like me, is interested in amassing a huge library of reference books.

Like a treasure chest
This book is full of wonderful surprises! I have many books of this sort but this one tops them all! It is inspiring, good information, each chapter includes things you can do to further your understanding or hands on experience with that chapter's theme. You will not be disappointed in this book.
I especially like that the word magical is in the title because this books is just that. My own book, Fantastical Tales for the Heroine's Quest has no pictures but it is also magical--as are all the best books for children.