How to write a love story and Valentine’s Day books for young readers
This Valentine’s Day, you can celebrate with your whole family through the magic of books! Adults are not the only ones who can embrace the love that is in the air. While the parents are reading their steamy romance novels, the children can read their own age-appropriate books celebrating the day. Authors can cater to this audience. Valentine’s Day books for children come in all forms and can cover a wide range of love in one’s life.
Most schools hold some sort of Valentine’s Day celebration, so children’s interest in the holiday will be piqued. From books that talk about first crushes to celebrating the love amongst one’s family, children can learn invaluable lessons and be endlessly entertained reading about why people show their love on February 14.
The Audience for Children’s Books
The key to writing a children’s book for Valentine’s Day is to understand the audience you are writing for. Avoiding mature themes is obvious, but there is still room for complexity and nuance. Children’s book writing can be just as fun as it is for young people to read and listen to!
There are so many kinds of kid’s books — the writing process starts with figuring out what kind of book you are crafting. Picture books are the shortest and least complex. But, if you are writing a short chapter book for young independent readers, there needs to be a little more development into more traditional components of literature.
Plotting of a Valentine’s Day Book for Kids
With your target audience in mind, you can begin to further plan what your book will be about. When working out a plot, make sure to keep it family-friendly, but get as creative as you can. Exposing children to unique ideas and stories helps develop their imagination and sense of wonder as they go about their lives. Sharing this material with children also allows them to confront their own feelings about what love means to them.
Even though it is a holiday about love, Valentine’s Day can be about many different types of love, so do not feel constrained to writing about romantic love or school crushes for these young audiences. Other types of love that can be explored in children’s books include love amongst one’s family, between friends, of pets, or that of a religious nature. The history of Valentine’s Day, including the religious background, can also be written about for children.
Characters and Dialogue
The characters in a children’s book should always be relatable for the target audience. Young children will enjoy seeing a main character that they can relate to or is similar to someone they know. For slightly older independent readers, more layers can be added, so long as they do not get too mature or adult-like. Just like adults, children want to read about characters with rich backstories, distinct mannerisms, and relatable lives, especially when exploring the concept of love.
If you are writing a book with dialogue, it is crucial that this dialogue is appropriate for the age. Obviously, this means omitting vulgar language and unsavory behavior, but always keep it engaging. Tailor the dialogue to the intended audience. If a line of dialogue is not something you would say to a child, maybe reconsider including it. Actually speaking the dialogue helps you hear how it sounds when read aloud.
Since there are so many types of love that children’s books can be about, Valentine’s Day books can go in any direction. While these books can be on the shorter end, you can still infuse plot and conflict in your story to make it engaging for children to read or have read to them.
Illustrating a Book for Valentine’s Day
If it is a picture book you are writing, the illustrations are just as important as the text. Even in short chapter books, there can be some illustrations to enrich the reader’s imagination. For Valentine’s Day books, you can work with your illustrator to highlight the love you are writing about. Expect lots of pinks, reds, and hearts, but do not feel limited to that color palette. Feel free to let your imagination go wild and illustrate your book as you see fit.
