So what is so challenging about writing a children’s picture story book? I could write under 600 words in about 30 minutes and get it done. Not the illustrations, of course; I found a wonderful illustrator to do that. Hey, I am already a published author of adult nonfiction stories and poems.

“Piece of cake,” I said, when I was given an opportunity to write a children’s book based on a true story of Dima, a wildlife guide I met in Botswana. But what was I thinking, being a childless woman who never had one children’s book as a child.

Targeting 8-11 year-old children, my first naively written draft was almost 1800 words about Dima guiding an American family in the Okavango Delta of Botswana. However, the Children’s Book class I attended discouraged my word count, and I needed to limit the book to 32 illustrated pages that included the text under 600 words. I narrowed it down to 1500 words. I had so much to tell.

Then my writing critique group also thought the word count was too high and suggested writing the book from a different perspective, from Dima’s childhood. Back to the drawing board. This entailed calling and interviewing him on WhatsApp. I wrote the new draft in 700 words. Wow, so much better. Quite engaging for a young reader.

Finding a perfect test audience, I read both drafts to 11-year-old twin boys. From the mouth of babes came the truth. One boy chose the first draft because he learned about the wildlife dangers little Dima met while living in his village. The other twin liked the second draft because Dima taught the tourists and the readers about the wild animals. They suggested I publish both books, the first when Dima was a child, and the second as a sequel.

Writing a Children’s Book is much harder than it appears. This challenge has been fun and enlightening, and with much more to learn, I’m determined. I hope to publish my book in 2026-27 to educate readers about not only protecting wildlife, but also how it provides jobs in Dima’s area via tourism.

Have you written a children’s book? Tell us about it. I’d love to hear your comments.

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