Why I Write Picture Books
Someone at an event recently asked me why I write picture books. After thinking about it, I realized the answer comes down to two things. The first touches on why I’m drawn to storytelling in general, and the second addresses why I love the picture book genre.
1). The human connection facilitated through storytelling
My dad never officially published anything, but he loved words. He’d buy motivational quote books and leave sticky notes with quotes around our bedrooms. He’d write riddles for Easter egg hunts and poems on birthdays. He’d make up stories for evening tuck-ins. Although he was never on the radio, he had a voice that sounded like it belonged on air. This also meant he was pretty great at doing different character voices. His stories were my favorite.
My dad’s been gone for nearly six years. Some of my clearest memories are not the stories he told, but the feelings around these storytelling events. The contentment of sitting next to my dad and my siblings and the excitement as my siblings and I waited to hear the next sentence. And the curiosity and conversation that would continue long after the story was over.
Everything going on in the room when a story is being shared—the voice of a loved one, the comfort of being together, the laughter, the questions, the chance to learn something new or see yourself in a different way—works together to plant the seed of a future memory.
The story itself becomes intertwined with a moment of connection and, over time, those moments take on a meaning that no single part of the experience could create by itself. Long after someone is gone, the memory and the feelings that come rushing back when it enters our minds are what stay with us. It’s what I keep of my dad.
People can gather anytime. A story gives us something to experience together. So while I don’t remember the details of the stories my dad told, it is the act of storytelling that I credit for many positive childhood memories.
Creating stories that spark moments of connection is something I hope to do for other families.
2) The creative puzzle of storytelling through both words and pictures
The second reason I love writing picture books, specifically, is slightly more technical but no less magical. While I was not blessed with my dad’s off the cuff storytelling abilities, I do love words. I also love art. Picture books are one of the few creative forms where those two things depend on each other.
The words tell part of the story. The illustrations tell another part. And together they make something neither could create alone. This dance is unique to the picture book genre. There is magic in discovering what should be said through words, what should be shown through illustrations, and making room for both on the pages of a book. Illustrators can add hidden plots and ways to engage readers completely beyond what is written.
There are many other reasons picture books are so lovable. They are short at only about 600 words. Creating a story with enough tension, structure, and momentum to hold the attention of a young child is a challenge. In many ways, it reminds me of my previous career in healthcare marketing, where I had to distill complex ideas into a single compelling headline. But those are smaller details.
Mostly, I hope one day an adult searches for one of our books because they remember having it read to them by a loved one and they want to share that feeling with their own child. It might seem aspirational, but I find myself doing this with my children all the time. If I had to summarize my "why" in a single sentence, that's nearly it.
My childhood memories, and now the experience of reading to my kids, have taught me that a story's greatest impact often happens long after the book is read.
Sometimes it's several years later. Sometimes it's in the memories that stay long after the storyteller is gone.
