Teacher – Laurie Ornstein
Introduction
You are going to write a children’s book. I’m sure you will enjoy this creative writing project and I’m sure I’ll enjoy reading your books.
Before you begin, go to the library and visit the Children’s Book
Section. Take some time to look at the titles and notice the different genres of children’s books. See their different sizes and shapes and illustrations. Read a few books of your choice. Next, remember your favorite children’s books and try to recall what you liked most about them. If you see them on the shelf or have them at home, reread them.
Guidelines
Now decide what kind of book you would like to write. You may write a fairy tale, mystery, fantasy, science fiction, historically-based story or even a biography for children. Choose at least 2 books of the same genre and read them carefully. Pay attention to the style of writing, language, characters, illustrations, etc. Take notes. You will include these books in your bibliography. It’s now time to begin the writing process.
1. Brainstorm and write down your ideas.
2. Read and collect information that is relevant to your book. Use books, magazines, Internet, newspapers, interviews, etc. Take careful notes and keep all bibliographical information.
3. Begin writing your first draft. Don’t worry about making mistakes; you will correct and edit your work later. Refer to the list of questions below. They will help you form the skeleton of your story, characters and setting (time and place) and more. a. What is your prior knowledge of the subject? b. Who is/are the main character/s?

c. What does he or she look like? d. What is his/her personality like? Is he/she a “good guy” or “bad guy”? e. What are the relationships between the characters in the story? f. Where does the story take place? g. When does it happen? h. What is the “problem” in the story? i. What is the solution to the “problem”? j. Does the story have a good or bad ending?
4. Read and revise your first draft. Make necessary changes and corrections. Use a dictionary to check spelling. Use your grammar book for checking language structures.
5. Ask a friend to read your work and make comments and corrections. Edit your book. Remember, this is process writing which focuses not only on the final product but also on the different stages of writing. Process writing will help you improve your writing skills.
6. Decide on a title for your book.
7. Illustrate your book. You may draw or paint illustrations.
Alternatively, use photographs to illustrate the book. Illustrations may be in color or black and white. If you “borrow” artwork, you must give credit to the artists in your bibliography.
8. Design a book jacket.
9. Write a blurb.
10. Write a short biography of the writer.
11. Write the cover page. Include the title, author, publisher and year.
12. If there is more than 1 chapter, write a Table of Contents.
13. Number your pages.

14. Bind your book.
Enjoy your writing. Don’t forget! All your work must be original!
*Please note that we will have at least 2 conferences to check on your progress. You will hand in your drafts as well as the final project.
Oral presentation
You will present your book to the class in a story-telling session in the library. You will practice reading your book aloud in advance of the presentation.
Self-Assessment
Assess your Children’s Book Writing Project based on the criteria below: (This includes both the book and book jacket)
Communicative ability
You have fulfilled the task:
-content is relevant excellent good pass fail
-message is clear excellent good pass fail
-well-organized excellent good pass fail
-creative excellent good pass fail
-rich vocabulary excellent good pass fail
Accuracy
-correct use of language structures excellent good pass fail
-correct spelling and punctuation excellent good pass fail
Illustrations excellent good pass fail
Teacher Evaluation
Your grade will be calculated as follows:
1. Communicative ability – 70%
2. Accuracy - 20%
3. Illustrations - 10%
4. Effort and overall presentation – 10%
*This project was inspired by Rachel Duzzy’s “Writing Books Project”.