Why Family Memories Make the Best Children’s Books

One of the best things about families are their stories, especially ones that are told again and again. Those hilarious situations, adventures that came out of nowhere, the special times that made you closer.

Don’t you think other people would like to hear them, too? Your dinner table is a great place to keep them alive, but those incredible family memories can be turned into a children’s book and people everywhere could enjoy it. Doesn’t that sound special? 

In this article, you’ll see how to turn that funny camping trip or a heartwarming bedtime routine into a story kids all over the world will just love. Plus, doesn’t a book sound like the perfect way to save all your family memories? 

How to Turn Family Memories into Stories

You have a million ideas, but how do you work with them and turn them into something kids will want to read?

1. Find a Meaningful Memory

First up, you need to find a memory that’s significant to your family. This means, moments that have happened in the past that are still important and you still talk about them. 

It could be something funny, heartwarming, even a situation that started out in a difficult way, but you managed to find your way out of it. These memories could come from some big event, like your kids’ first day of school, a family vacation, or something seemingly ordinary, like a Sunday pancake breakfast. 

Whichever memory you choose, it needs to resonate with you on an emotional level. If you need inspiration, go through photo albums or watch home videos. 

1. Story Arc

Once you know what memory you want to use, you need to turn it into a structured story, so you’ll have to come up with the beginning, the middle, and the end. 

First off, introduce the characters and the setting, so that the scene is set for the main event. Then you go into the middle of the story, where you should have some type of conflict or a problem. This’ll give depth to your story and keep the reader wanting to know more. In the end, resolve the conflict, but do it in a way that the story provides a meaningful lesson or emotional closure. 

For instance, you could be working on a story about a child being anxious because they’re moving to a new house and they have to leave all their friends behind. But in the end, they’re happy about making new friends. 

1. Add Fictional Elements

Your story could have come from a real-life experience, but that doesn’t mean it needs to lack imagination. 

This is a children’s book, after all. If you’re writing about a family camping trip, for example, you can include talking animals or magical forest in your story. This will add some adventure to it, but the key is to not go too far; make the story fun, but keep its emotional core intact so that it stays relatable and meaningful. 

How to Publish Your Children’s Book

Writing a book like this is a huge deal, but once you’re done, you need to know how to get a children’s book published.

1. Draft and Edit the Story

Write a draft of your story and don’t waste time on getting it completely perfect. The goal here is to put your ideas on paper and capture that memory that inspired you. 

You can also involve your kids in this part of the process; ask them their opinions and see if there’s something they’d like to add. Once the draft is done, you need to edit it. The story has to flow and the language has to be simple enough so that children can understand it. 

1. Illustrations and Visual Appeal

Illustrations are what will bring your book to life and what will engage your young readers. You can’t have a children’s book without them.  

You can draw the pictures yourself or you can hire an illustrator from platforms like Fiverr or Upwork. 

1. Choose a Publishing Route

Now think about how you want to publish your book, the traditional way, or perhaps you want to self-publish. Traditional publishing takes more time and you’ll need to send your book to agents or publishers. If they accept it, the publisher will help you edit, print, and market it. 

The self-publishing route gives you more control and it’s faster. You can publish your book through platforms like Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing and you’re the one making all decisions. However, you’re also the one responsible for marketing and distribution. 

Conclusion

You don’t need to be an aspiring writer to write a good book because, if you’re working with a memory that evokes emotions, you just can’t fail. 

Well, you can if you rush it, but if you take your time and do it right, your illustrations will be perfect, the story will capture young minds all over the world, and you and your family will have a unique way to save your memories.