Your Children's Book Story Worksheet

• Question 1 helps you find the emotion underneath your story, not the plot, not the lesson, the feeling your reader walks away with

• Question 3 forces you to build a character that's visually specific and emotionally clear, not "a girl" but a girl someone remembers

• Question 4 walks you through the emotional arc that every timeless picture book follows, even if the problem never gets "solved"

• Question 8 is the bookstore test, could you find 5 books like yours on a shelf right now? If yes, what makes yours different?

• Question 9 is the one most authors skip, and it's the reason most characters feel interchangeable
   

Your 32-Page Thumbnail Blueprint

• A color-coded page map showing exactly where your story beats should land — setup, rising tension, emotional peak, resolution

• The front matter breakdown so you know which pages are title, copyright, and dedication before your story even starts

• A printable sketching grid where you can thumbnail all 32 pages in one sitting

• 4 quick tips on pacing, page turns, and layout variety that most first-time authors learn too late