Writing a Picture Book

How do you write a picture book? The first thing you do is to sit down at your computer or find a pen and paper and write, write and write. Get your idea down for the story. Make an outline or scribble what is going to happen in your story. What is it about? What happens? How does it end?
Take another piece of paper or word processor and begin your story in an exciting way. Make certain that first line will grab the reader's attention. Draw the reader in...no pun intended. For example, beginning a story like "The Cat walked across the street." is a bit boring. "Jody was a cat who liked to dance across the street" makes a first line more intriguing. It makes the child or parent reading the story think, "why does this cat dance?" or "where is Jody going" or "what is the cat about to do next?"
The reader wants excitement in the story. If the reader, usually a parent or a teacher is reading the book to children and finds the book exciting then that excitement will be reflected in the adult's reading of the story and in turn excite the children. All will be happy including the publisher!
In Arctic Waters by Laura Crawford published Sylvan Dell Publishing, the story begins "This is the ice that floats in the Arctic waters." This beginning is exciting. The reader is wondering what is going to happen next. The rhythm of the story helps carry the reader through and want to read more as well.