Creating a children’s book is distinct from writing a book that is composed of only words. There are many design elements to take into account, such as images, word positioning, and page number. Fortunately, with the right knowledge, it is possible to craft a children’s book template. By the end of this article, you will be able to design a template of your own!

Creating a children’s book requires knowing the target age range of the readers. It is beneficial to determine this before beginning the design process, as there are various types of books that are suited for different age groups.

Children’s picture books will be the primary focus of this article.Picture books are typically targeted towards kids between the ages of two and five. These types of books integrate both words and illustrations to create a story. This combination can be a difficult task for those who are just starting to write children’s books.

Board books designed for kids aged 0 to 3 typically feature minimal text since the story is mainly conveyed through visuals.

Chapter books are the opposite of picture books and are suitable for children between the ages of 6 and 10. They are also referred to as “early reader” books. Though these books have illustrations, they are not present on each page.

For a broader look at formatting children’s books with lots of images/illustrations, you can check out our article on how to format a children’s book.

Side Note: We recently reviewed another great course on publishing children’s books, read our review here.

Creating a children’s book requires careful consideration of the design elements prior to delving into the details. These components may include:

• Word Count
• Page Count
• Layout

Let’s go through each component of the formula, examining the standard conventions to give you a structure to adhere to. Even though you don’t have to be 100% exact to the standard, staying close to it will give your picture book the best odds of succeeding.

Most picture books have between 200 and 400 wordsChildren’s books should be kept relatively short, usually not exceeding 500 words. The perfect combination of illustrations and text is crucial to keep the reader, both child and adult, engaged. This ensures an enjoyable experience for everyone.

A good rule of thumb for the amount of words on a page of a children’s picture book is usually between 15 and 30. However, it is acceptable to have a few pages with more than 30 words as long as no page has more than 50 words and the number of pages with more than 30 words is not too frequent. On the other hand, it is still okay to have a page with 10 words or less.

Children’s Book Page Count

The vast majority of traditionally published picture books are 32 pagesMany self-published children’s book authors prefer to stick to a page count of 32. However, some picture books can contain anywhere from 24 to 48 pages.

If you’re self-publishing a book for young children, you’ll need to plan for requirements levied by the two major self-publishing companies: Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing

For a paperback book, Amazon KDP Print requires at least 24 pages and for a hardback, at least 76 pages, with both page counts needing to be divisible by 4. IngramSpark has a different requirement for kids’ books, which must contain at least 16 pages and the total count must be divisible by 2.

If you are uncertain which print on demand service to use, it is best to make sure that your book meets the requirements of both services in order to keep your choices open. A 32-page children’s book will fulfill this criterion.

When it comes to designing a children’s book, page count is an important factor, but there are some other considerations to keep in mind. It is not just a matter of selecting the right amount of pages.

Pro Tip: For the best chance of success, you will want to create a print book. Most children’s books are sold as print books, although you can also format for ebook to reach the widest possible market.

As a rookie writer, it can be easy to overlook the beginning and concluding parts of your book. The initial portion may contain components such as the title page, copyright page and a dedication. The terminal section may include acknowledgements, and promotional info such as your other books.

These sections are especially important when designing a picture book because they’re included in the total page count. In other words, you need to plan for your front and back matter andTo determine the format of a book, it is important to consider whether it should be paperback or hardcover. This decision can influence the number of pages in the narrative.

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Let’s start with paperback children’s books, since they’re the most popular type.

When creating a 32-page book for children, it is essential to decide if the story should begin on a single or double page. The first and last pages, 1 and 32 respectively, will be single pages, while all the other pages will be double-sided, so both can be seen at once.

If you are looking to begin your story with two facing pages, make sure it starts on an even-numbered page. Otherwise, the opening page can be an odd number.

Here are some ideas to think about for the beginning of your book.

• Page 1: Title Page
• Page 2: Copyright (And Dedication, if you want)
• Page 3: Story Begins

This option would result in your story beginning on an odd-numbered page, located on the right side of the page.

• Page 1: Half Title Page
• Page 2: Copyright
• Page 3: Title Page
• Page 4: Story Begins

With this option, your story would start on a left-hand page, giving you the option to do a double-page illustrationYou can create two distinct drawings on pages four and five.

If you decide on either option, it is important to think about the conclusion of the book. If your book is part of a series, you may want to include a page in the back of the book to inform readers about the sequel.

If you’re self-publishing, you’ll want to account for the very last page (page 32) in the book, as this needs to be blank. Both IngramSparkIt is necessary to include a blank page at the end of the book when using Amazon KDP Print as they require it for the barcode. If a blank page is not provided, they will add extra pages to meet their page-count criteria. This not only adds to the cost of printing but also makes the book appear unprofessional with all the blank pages at the end.

If you’re looking to market your children’s book in hardcover form, keep in mind that the first and last pages may be stuck to the binding of the cover when printed. This is referred to as a “self-ended book”. Therefore, if the book has a total of 32 pages, neither page 1 nor page 32 can have anything printed on them since they are both glued down.

Creating a hardcover children’s book necessitates endpapers or end sheets to attach the content of the book to the cover. This comprises 4 blank pages in the front of the book and four in the back. Thus, if needing to produce a 32-page book, eight extra pages must be added, making it a 40-page book, since the additional pages are not meant for content.

These are considerations for designing a

traditionally published hardcover children’s book — or if you’re planning to use an offset printer (which we don’t recommend). If you’re looking to self-publish your hardcoverCreating a children’s book for Amazon KDP requires a minimum of 76 pages at present. This can be too lengthy for a book intended for children.

IngramSpark could be a great choice to consider when publishing short hardback books. However, if the book is fewer than 48 pages, there won’t be enough space on the spine to display text.

It is fortunate that the majority of authors who self-publish children’s books have success with just the paperback and e-book versions.

Now that we’ve covered some important aspects of children’s book layout, we can delve into creating a design template. It’s important to note that this isn’t a done-for-you picture book template. If that’s something you’re looking for, check out this article.

It is recommended that those who wish to write multiple children’s books brush up on some fundamentals of design. Having knowledge of Adobe Photoshop or Adobe Illustrator will be useful if you plan to collaborate with a designer, but it is still beneficial to be aware of the basics that will be discussed in this section.

A children’s book design template, also called a book map, is a way to ensure that your placement of text and image is varied and optimized for the best reading experienceYoung readers have a great sense of when a book’s design is too repetitive or formulaic. To ensure that their attention is held and the pages keep turning, it is important to provide variation in images and text, as well as an engaging story. Here are some tips for achieving this.

Knowing how your story will begin can help determine the placement of the front matter, as well as the design of the rest of the book. Let your story guide you in deciding whether it should start on a single page or a double-page spread. From there, you can plan accordingly.

Every page or double page should have its own unique story. This can help you when creating the plot and illustrations for your story. The right-hand page should draw the reader in, making them want to turn the page to find out what happens next.

It’s helpful at this stage to create a book dummy or a storyboardCreating a book dummy can help you better visualize the progression of a story. To make one, simply use paper, a rubber band or staples, and sketch out basic outlines of the text and images.

One way to begin crafting a story is to create a rough draft in a program of your choice, such as Microsoft Word or Adobe InDesign. This will enable you to decide where the text should go and how to best design the story.

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Consider Common Page Layouts

When constructing your book dummy or storyboard, search for the scenes that are the most significant. These are the scenes you should dedicate two-page spreads to.

Varying up the page layout can be a great way to give a book visual interest. For instance, inserting a “page break” to separate text from illustration can be a nice way to break up the narrative into vignettes. Even though full-bleed images that go all the way to the edge of the page are the most popular, spot art pages are also an option.

By skillfully combining pages with no margins, spreads with no margins, vignettes, and pages with drawings accentuating the story, you can create a diverse and suitable page layout to match the content of your narrative!

It is important to bear in mind that your book template should remain within a word count of 30-50 words per page. If any scene exceeds this limit, you may need to create a spread for it or modify the text to reduce it to the desired length.

Everyone has their own approach to writing. If you have a written draft, you may have ideas of what you would like each illustration to illustrate. If not, make a note of your ideas for the designer (if you are working with one).

Anything from character movement and angle to color palette and font can help your designer get on the same page with you (pun intended!). If you have graphic design experience and will be acting as your own designer, you may still want to jot down art notes so you don’t forget moments of inspiration when it comes time to design the children’s book!

Creating a storyboard or template for your book can be a great way to figure out what size and shape would be best for it. Amazon and IngramSpark provide a variety of size options, so it’s important to decide whether you’d like a portrait or square orientation for your illustrations.

There’s no right or wrong way to craft your children’s book. You can start with the text in MS WordCreating unique content is an important part of writing. It’s essential that the ideas presented in any written work are original and not copied from another source. To avoid plagiarism, authors should strive to come up with their own ideas and express them in their own words. Additionally, citing any sources used is essential to ensure that all work is properly attributed.

When beginning the design process, it can be beneficial to be aware of standard page numbers, word numbers, and age categories. This information can help you lay out the text, illustrations, and narrative flow by creating your own children’s book structure. Consider this a first version of the book. You may need to make some adjustments as you progress, but having an initial plan to follow can be very useful, even if you have prior experience in writing children’s books!