Four Trends in Children's Books I'd Like to See in Latter-day Saint Picture Books

This month in IG Stories, I shared about how I read picture books from a publisher's perspective (it's different from reading them as a mom!).

Here are four popular picture book styles I'd like to see more of in the Latter-day Saint sphere. 

 

Picture Book Biographies

Picture book biographies have become increasingly common over the last 5-10 years. As the name suggests, they describe the life and work of an individual whose contributions have helped society somehow. The target audience for these types of books is wide: there are some written for kids as young as 4 and others that 10-12 year olds can enjoy. 

There are so many lesser-known individuals living now and from Church history that would make excellent subjects for a picture book biography (and if you happen to know Tom Holdman, who creates stained glass for many of the temples, let me know! I'd love to write a picture book about him!). 

 

Interactive Picture Books

If you've ever read Press Here, the Hands on Science series, or Ploof, you know how much fun kids have with this type of books. 

Interactive picture books make intangible or less accessible subjects more concrete for kids. I actually can't think of any religious picture books that are interactive! I wish they existed, since so much of the gospel is intangible.

We have one interactive picture book in the works and ideas for several more!

 

Wordless Picture Books

This type of books tend to be polarizing; some people love them for their simplicity and the opportunity for open interpretation, and others hate them because there's less structure and predictability. 

Either way, I think wordless picture books are great for "teaching" lessons or principles in a way that is not moralizing or preachy. And since there are no words to tell the story, the illustrations are usually stunning. 

My kids and I love the Friend magazine, but most of its stories are fairly heavy-handed in trying to convey a lesson. I would love to see wordless picture books in the Latter-day Saint sphere as an exciting way to teach gospel principles and morals in a way that's more enjoyable and natural than hitting kids over the head with a lesson.

 

Narrative Nonfiction Picture Books 

I love that these books introduce kids (and adults-- I've learned so much from reading nonfiction picture books!) to real topics and concepts in a story-based way. The best narrative nonfiction picture books take a unique angle or approach to the story or tell about a little-known but interesting topic. 

There are so many Church history events that I think could work well with this type of picture book!

 

 

As a whole, many Latter-day Saint-specific picture books haven't made much progress past what was popular in the early 2000s, making them feel dated. We're trying to change that!

Our mission is to create high-quality gospel picture books that you and your kids love to read all the time-- and that take a fresh perspective on these timeless topics. One of the ways we do that is by analyzing what makes current picture books great and applying those principles to the books we make.