A picture book is something we all know and love. As children, we all read the enchanting stories about Peter Rabbit, the Cat in the Hat and The Very Hungry Caterpillar, and as adults, we love to read those same stories to our children. There is nothing quite like seeing a child’s reaction to the beautiful illustrations that we are lucky enough to find in picture books, both new and old.

But what is a picture book exactly?

To describe it in the simplest way, a picture book is usually a short story aimed at children, using vivid and imaginative illustrations to capture a child’s attention and intrigue. These picture books are often remembered well after childhood, which goes to show just how effective books can be to an impressionable child.

Sarah’s Children’s Books

Sarah has been drawing children’s picture books for the last 15 years. She has developed a wide range of distinct and varied styles, which allow her to create many different kinds of weird and wacky children’s books!

Here is a small collection of some books for young children, illustrated by Sarah.

I have an idea for a picture book…

But how do I bring it to life? Every great picture book starts with a great story!

Whether it’s fun, silly or just a bit quirky, a story worth telling is a wonderful thing. We get lots of requests from people who have written a story for their friends or family, often parents who have written a story for their children.

These stories are sometimes based on real events, such as Holby the Beagle that was rescued from an animal shelter, or a more fictional story, such as Who has Dirty Feet? A story about a little girl who wakes up one morning with muddy footprints on her bed, and then goes around her farm asking the animals who has the dirty feet! The point is, any story that means something to you is always worth telling!

How do you go about creating the illustrations?

We work with all sorts of people to bring their stories to life, and here are some of the questions we ask ourselves before beginning work on any project!

Can the story be broken down into simple sentences?
What style will suit the story of this book?
Does the story flow across the pages easily?
Is each page going to capture the reader’s attention?

When starting a picture book, Sarah always reads the story in full a number of times to help her build up character ideas in her head. She then creates some rough sketches and we send them over to the author to ensure that they are happy with the development. We will also send you a detailed plan of the layout for your book, so you can get a good idea right from the start of how it will look!

How can I publish my book?

Firstly, it’s important to understand that we do not offer publishing services ourselves. However, having almost twenty years of experience in the children’s book world, there is much we can offer to help and assist you in self-publishing your book. We will always be available to answer any questions you might have about the process, and we can even have a video chat to explain things in more detail if you wish. To further support our clients, we have created our own basic guide to self-publishing that includes all the steps you need to take in a simple-to-understand format, and this will be included within every book creation package. Not only that, but we also have a fantastic guide on how to market and promote your book, which we will send you along with the self-publishing guide! Therefore, with these guides and our support, you will have all the information you need to properly publish your book and get you well on the road to successfully marketing and selling your book!

What about printing?

If you are self-publishing your book then I can put you in touch with a great quality printer. I use them myself for my own books and can’t recommend them highly enough. If, however, you are working with me on a Gift Book, I handle all of this for you, and you get 2 copies of your finished book, so this is a process you don’t have to worry about!

I only want one book as a gift…

Yep, I sure can! If you have written a story and you want to bring it to life and make it a treasured gift, I can help you with each step of the way. I will design and illustrate the book, then get 2 copies made for you to treasure.

How long will it take?

Every picture book is different. A number of factors dictate how long a book will take to produce, including the style chosen, the number of pages and the complexity of the illustrations.

On average, we find that an average book takes anywhere from 3-4 months to produce, from the initial drafts to the completed print files.

How do I get my picture book published?

This is a question we get asked a lot. From the many years of experience we have, we would recommend that you have a go at self-publishing. These days there are a lot of tools at your disposal that can make this process easier.

If however you decide self-publishing isn’t for you, you will want to make sure that the publisher you are considering is right for you. Try and research the other books they have published, maybe even try and reach out to the authors via social media to see what their experience has been like. Alternatively, with the wonders of the web, there are LOTS of online publishers now that can offer help and assistance to authors to spread their works worldwide, but we always advise caution and to be careful what information you share and please be aware that services provided by some publishers can be costly.