Books for young children are usually short. Young children aged 0-7 are themselves short. This leads to an assumption that children have small brains and writing for them is easy. The reverse it true. Young children have active, lively brains, and writing for them is difficult.

1. DO read recent picture books over and over again.

2. DO make friends with a bookseller or librarian or storyteller: their advice and guidance can be enormously helpful.

3. DO be original: try not to copy the ideas or structures of recent well-known books.

4. DO become familiar with the nature of rhythm. Understanding brevity, rhythm, and cadence in prose will keep rejections at bay.