I’m a self-published author of 28 books at the time of writing this article. I started out writing self-help, but have since branched into other genres, including children’s books, which are now a favourite genre of mine. I believe every author should consider writing a children’s book, even if they've never thought of doing so before.

Reason 1

The biggest reason is that it requires imagination. As adults, we sometimes find ourselves with much less imagination than we did as children. Writing a children’s book is a way to practice that dormant “muscle,” because it can be as whimsical as you want. I encourage you to let your creative side run wild with whatever ideas you have. When I wrote my second children’s chapter book, I had a title first and then started writing. I had no idea how the book would turn out, but it was very imaginative and fun to write. A bonus is that the themes had more depth than I expected. The finished product was a pleasant surprise.

Reason 2

Another benefit of writing children’s books is that it’s a great way to expand your audience. You’ll reach two groups of readers, both kids and their parents or grandparents. For instance, a grandparent bought my first children’s book. She liked it, but her granddaughter loved it even more. The granddaughter mentioned how excited she was about this book and even answered all the reflection questions I included. As an author, testimonials like this are so encouraging.

Reason 3

A third reason is that you can weave lessons learned in a kid-appropriate way. Have you learned how to set boundaries or about the value of self-respect? Those themes can be written into a children’s book memorably. How great to give children a heads up on lessons you’ve learned the hard way, possibly even saving them potential heartache down the road. This also cements those lessons in your mind. My first children’s picture book included themes I’ve learned, like the value of self-acceptance despite perceived limitations. Incorporating that lesson into a children’s book only increased my confidence in my self-acceptance journey, and I know that at least one child appreciated learning it, too.

If you like the idea of writing a children’s book, but don’t think you can publish it because you can’t draw or have funds for an expensive illustrator, you have a unique option if you decide to self-publish. I wrote and illustrated two children’s picture books. I have some drawing skills, but they’re not advanced. So for these books, I took a risk and drew simple stick-figure drawings. If you don’t think that’s acceptable, it might surprise you to learn these books have five-star reviews on Amazon and were highly rated by a children's book blogger. No one had anything negative to say about the drawings. The only suggestion via an editorial review was that my drawings could have been more expressive.

You never know where your imagination will take you in writing your first children’s book. You never know who will be touched by your story or what lessons learned may materialize. You might even surprise yourself with untapped creativity that has remained dormant until now. All this makes writing a children’s book worth considering, even if you haven’t thought so before now.