Picture Book Prompt 56

“Wishes on their way to coming true will not be rushed.”—Arnold Lobel


Children are full of wishes. Make a list of the things a 4-/5-/6-year-old might wish for. Choose one and explore how it might become a picture book told from the point of view of the wish itself.

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Picture Book Prompt 55

“In fact, the nagging (well-meant correction) of a tense parent may often increase rather than decrease the child’s thumb-sucking or nail-biting or whatever it is that you object to.”
—Frances L. Ilg, Louise Bates Ames, Sidney M. Baker


A classic conflict. Write a story or explore the subject of nail-biting, thumb-sucking, nose picking, eye blinking—or another behavior that occurs to you—from the point of the parent who is trying to stop it and/or the point of view of a child for whom the behavior is a way of managing their stress and tension.

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Picture Book Prompt 54

“There are two kinds of people in the world … and who is not both of them?”
—James Richardson


We, as humans, are nothing if not contradictory. How might those contradictions look in the life of a child? How might they play out?

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Picture Book Prompt 53

“A little nonsense now and then is relished by the wisest men.”—Roald Dahl


What does ‘a little nonsense’ look like to you? What might it look like to a 6-year-old?
Write about it!

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