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With some sketches for picture book NAKED! (Simon & Schuster Books For Young Readers, author Michael Ian Black)

When I was first asked to illustrate my first picture book (I'm Bored) and I started researching picture book formats, I was confused. I knew a standard picture book had 32 pages, for example, but I discovered that these 32 pages might also include the title page and other non-story pages. Plus some books had the story beginning on the right-hand page while others started on the left.

WHERE SHOULD I BEGIN? My editor and art director helped guide me and even though I still get confused about terms like "self-ended" and "paste-down," I'm gradually learning. For expert explanations, see the resources I've listed at the end of this post.

How Many Pages? Here's What I've Learned So Far...

The number of pages varies in a picture book; it depends on the publisher as well as the project. If you're submitting a picture book dummy or paged out picture book mss, however, I'd suggest starting with the standard 32 pages. If you really need the extra room, go for 40...but keep in mind that the more pages a book has, the more expensive it will be to print. The reason that the number of pages in picture books tend to be in increments of 8 is because of the way they're printed; see resources at the end of this post for more info.

See below for the informal templates I've created for myself; I'm providing them here in case some of you find them useful in your own brainstorming process. The first two are templates I've used to brainstorm story layout for picture books. The squares are tiny on purpose, so I can squeeze the entire layout onto one page to make it easier for me to see overall visual flow. These early sketches are usually stick figures and only the essence of emotions and gestures; I don't bother with details.

Feel free to download/print any of the following for personal use:

32-Page Template	40-Page Template I used for illustrating NAKED!

I created the two bottom brainstorming templates for when I was coming up ideas on how to illustrate a particular spread. For example, suppose the first page text was "The squirrel was surprised." and the second page had "He ran away." My sketch ideas could be something like this:

For illustrations that are a full spread, I just ignore the gutter line.

For the final choice, I'll sometimes mix and match -- I may like the first sketch I did in Option #3 but prefer the second sketch from Option #4, so I'll combine them. 

Anyway, this template helps encourage me to explore different ways of illustrating a spread and NOT to just go for the first thing that comes to my mind. When I've made my choice, I'll turn the thumbnail sketch idea and work it into a bigger sketch. 

For more free print-ready material, see Debbie's Print-Ready Archives.

Other places where you can find more picture book layout templates and useful info:

If you know of other useful resources, please post them in the comments below, thanks!

An Illustrator's Guide To Creating A Picture Book - by Meghan McCarthy. No templates, but a good overview for those who are just starting out.

Picture Book Dummy, Picture Book Construction: Know Your Layout by Tara Lazar. Explanation of self-ended and colored ends picture book layouts.

Basic Book Construction by Editorial Anonymous. Includes info about why most picture books have 32 pages.

Picture book layout templates by Scott Franson. 32 page + endpaper in portrait, landscape and square formats.

Picture Book Standards: 32 Pages - by Darcy Pattison

Vicki Vinton's recent post about the overuse of graphic organizers was thought-provoking. Is even the thoughtful use of an occasional teacher-made or teacher-provided organizer in order to acquaint children with the kinds of tasks they will be asked to do on a high-stakes (we're talking fail-the-grade high stakes) test overuse? We think not. There needs to be a balance. But by balance, we're not suggesting one-for-one. Balance to us goes back to "sparingly" and "thoughtful."

I was thinking of Vicki's post yesterday at Environmental Club. I provided students with teasel seed heads (harvested from the weedy area along the train tracks in my neighborhood),

Flickr Creative Commons Photo by Hornet Photography

I am plotting Act 2, and the terror of the empty page is hitting, take two.
So, I’m going back to some previous posts about plotting to see what they will tell me about plot, especially the middle of this novel.

In 9 Ways of Looking at Plot, I looked at various ways to plot; in 29 Plot Templates, we looked at specific types of plots. How do these plot paradigms handle act 2? I won’t reprise all of them, just those that have a lot to offer for Act 2.

1. Hero’s Journey: One of my favorite plot paradigm’s is the Hero’s Journey, a set of archetypical steps that a hero takes on a quest. Act 1 sets up the quest, while Act 3 shows the hero’s victory. What happens in the middle. Here are the stages:
   • Crossing the First Threshold – committing to change
   • Tests, Allies, Enemies – experimenting with 1st change
   • Approach to the Inmost Cave- preparing for big change
   • Supreme Ordeal – attempting big change
   • Reward – consequences of the attempt
   • The Road Back – rededication to change (Start of Act 3)

   Basically, it’s a study of character. What are the challenges faced by the hero, especially inner challenges; who helps him and who tried to defeat him; how does the hero make it through the worst possible challenge? It asks you to step back and find out what is the character’s biggest inner challenge; then deliver that with emotional impact.

2. Snowflake or Branching Structure: The Randy Ingermanson’s Snowflake Method, and How to Write a Damn Good Novel by James N. Frey advice writers to start with a single conflict resolution and subdivide that endlessly until you get to the level of plot you want. This type of plotting moves from general to specific, without stopping to look back at the general.


The spines of palm leaves were used to support this arch of sand--almost a perfect sandcastle. But without the right supporting structure, it sags badly and is in danger of falling apart. Likewise, your plot needs a solid structure.

3. Snowflake + Important Points Paradigm. Syd Field (writing mostly about screen plays but with huge application for novels) basically advises a Snowflake approach to writing plot, but overlays a paradigm that points to important events and connections among those events. For Field, if you know the beginning and the end, the big scenes at the end of Act 1 and Act 2, and the midpoint–well, the rest is just connecting the dots.
4. Quest. In this character oriented story, the protagonist searches for something and winds up changing him/herself. As in the Hero’s Journey, the middle must force the protagonist to face up to his/her greatest fear.
5. Adventure. Plot oriented, this features a goal-oriented series of events. Act
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