Kids Writing and Illustrating Their Own Picture Book

Kids can absolutely write and illustrate their own picture books. A homemade book combines drawing, writing, planning and storytelling, and holding a finished book they made themselves is a huge confidence boost. All it takes is folded paper, a simple story and a favorite character.

Children love books. Making their own shows them that books are made by people, and that they could be one of those people.

Plan the story

Keep it simple:

1. Character. Who is the story about?

2. Problem. What goes wrong?

3. Solution. How is it fixed?

4. Ending. How does it end?

For young kids, four to eight pages is plenty.

Pick a character kids love to draw

The main character needs to be drawn on every page, so pick one your child enjoys drawing. How to Draw: Cartoon Cats & Dogs is great for this: pet characters are easy to love, and kids can learn to draw their cat or dog consistently from page to page.

Make the book

• Fold three or four sheets of paper in half and staple along the fold.
• Or use a simple accordion fold.
• Add a cover with the title and "by" plus the child's name.

Draw, then write

Many kids prefer to draw each page first and then add words. That is fine; it is how many illustrators work. Young children can dictate words for you to write.

Read it aloud

When the book is finished, have a reading. Read it to the family, record a video or take it to grandma's house. Some libraries and schools even display children's books.

Make it a series

Once kids have made one book, they often want to make more. A sequel with the same character builds consistency in drawing and storytelling. For related ideas, see kids making comics and drawing gets kids ready to read.

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