PICTURE BOOK FOCUS Making your Non-Fiction Picture Book Unique
In this feature, Natascha Biebow shares Top Tips on how to find
a fascinating lens to make your non-fiction picture book unique.
These days, you
can Google pretty much anything. In fact, most kids do. So, if you’re aiming to
write non-fiction in this competitive market, it has to do something more. It
needs to show the facts through a different LENS. When your brain
experiences something that doesn’t match up, it sits up and pays attention. It
asks WHY? It wants to know more. A child reading a book that does this is an
engaged reader. S/he is not just reading a (boring) list of facts, but instead
an exciting book on a cool non-fiction topic. Fascinating!
So how can you
come up with an unusual lens for hooking in young readers?
PLAY with your idea!
Try listing out
your topic’s facts and change:
• The order: What if you turn the events on their head and place them in an illogical or
unexpected sequence? Can you create an unusual framework? Can you find a new connection?
• The tone: Will your book’s voice be lively or lyrical, conversational or sassy, goofy or
humourous?
• The point of
view: Tell your facts from as many different points of view as possible.
Surprise yourself! Which one feels different?
• The structure: Can you create a story with an unexpected structure?
After you’ve
done all this, consider how you can make links with your young readers and their
lives. It needs to be exciting, but relevant!
Finally, get hold of a collection of books on your topic to compare and contrast
what's already in the marketplace. Have fun, and PLAY!
Create a unique take on your topic.
Create a unique take on your topic.
Discover YOUR fascinating LENS!
Natascha Biebow is
an experienced editor, mentor and coach, who loves working with authors
and illustrators at all levels to help them to shape their stories. www.blueelephantstoryshaping.com
She is the author of THE CRAYON MAN 
and has been awarded an MBE for her
services to children's book writers and illustrators as Regional Advisor of SCBWI British Isles.
services to children's book writers and illustrators as Regional Advisor of SCBWI British Isles.
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