Picture book characters can seem real to a young child, especially when those characters speak. But creating effective dialogue is no easy task for children’s picture book writers, who have to make their characters come to life using a limited vocabulary. Done well, though, dialogue can make all the difference to a child; it can turn an ordinary story book character into one who’s believable and worth caring about.
So how can children’s picture book writers make the most of their characters’ words? Below are some key steps to writing dialogue that will bring characters – and stories – to life.
Know the Audience When Writing Children’s Picture Books
Writing effective dialogue for picture books requires first knowing the vocabulary and speech habits of young children. Children’s writers who don’t have children and aren’t familiar with how they talk and interact can find out by visiting a school, children’s museum, playground, or other places where young children go and listening to them.
Another way to learn the vocabulary and speech habits of a young audience is to browse through published picture books. Picture books range from those written for babies to picture books for elementary age kids. Dialogue for young children begins with simple words and short sentences and progresses to more advanced words, longer sentences, and even paragraphs.
A useful reference book for children’s writers who write for the youngest ages is a children’s word book or thesaurus that lists vocabulary words for various age levels. Whether wondering about the appropriateness of a word for a certain age group or simply looking for a word choice, picture book writers can get help from a children’s word book.
Writing Picture Book Dialogue: Make It Real
The most important thing to strive for when writing picture book dialogue is to make it realistic. Young children don’t speak in volumes, and they won’t have the patience for characters who do, so the fewer words the better. But dialogue should also flow naturally, fit the story’s setting or time period, and be free of stilted, awkward language that might cause the reader to stumble over the words.
In Seven Hungry Babies (Antheum, 2010), author Candace Fleming demonstrates realistic dialogue by using rhythm, repetition, and punchy vocabulary. In the story, Mama Bird responds to her babies’ continual pleas to “Feed us! Feed us!” with “Of course, my precious cuddle fluffs…I’ll fly to the tall grass to find you some food.” And later, Mama Bird reaffirms, “Hush, you little egg-crackers…and I’ll fly to the garden to find you more food.”
While it isn't always necessary to use tag lines (like "Mary said" or "John asked") when writing dialogue, writers need to make sure it's clear who's speaking. By giving characters their own voice and speech patterns, like in the above example, writers can help avoid any confusion for young readers and listeners.
Keep in mind that realistic dialogue won’t necessarily be grammatically correct. In fact, most children, from toddlers to teens, don’t use perfect sentences. Neither do adults. Their language is often fragmented or interrupted. Writing dialogue that’s true-to-life rather than proper, whether for a picture book or teen novel, is more effective and pleasing to a child.
Use Dialogue That Matters in Children’s Picture Books
Picture book dialogue can help define characters, set the tone, provide information, or move the story forward. Or it can serve several purposes, like when a crowd of women rages against Dolley Madison in Don Brown’s Dolley Madison Saves George Washington (Houghton Mifflin, 2007): “Your husband has got mine out fighting…You shan’t stay in this house, so get out!”
But if dialogue doesn’t have a purpose, it can harm a picture book. Purposeless dialogue isn’t always easy to spot, though. Here are some clues for what to avoid when writing dialogue for a picture book:
- dialogue that contains wordiness (remember, young children like brevity)
- dialogue that describes unimportant details
- dialogue that tells when it’s more effective to show
- dialogue that repeats what’s already been stated or shown (unless it’s part of a pattern)
- too much dialogue and not enough action
- too many dialogue tags
Writing effective dialogue for children’s picture books is trickier than it sounds. But with the above tips, children’s picture book writers can help bring their characters and stories to life – often with just a few simple words.
For more articles on children's story writing, see:
How to Write a Picture Perfect Story for Kids
How to Write Holiday Stories for Children
Susie Yakowicz - Susie Yakowicz is a Minnesota freelance writer whose work has appeared in dozens of publications for children and adults.
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