Features Of Children’s Books

By Author: Ackley Cooper Shaw
Total Articles: 211

Parents often complain that they find it difficult to make their kids sit and study for extended periods, since they tend to lose interest quickly. Informative children’s books can help you make your child study as they boast of several features which can capture the attention of kids, making it easier for them to focus while studying. Children’s books should be simple and straightforward. A child has a limited vocabulary thus (s) he will enjoy reading books that are easily comprehensible.
Children’s books can be broadly divided into 2 types- 1) fiction books and 2) non-fiction books. Let us look into the typical features of fiction and non-fiction books -

1. Children’s fiction should focus on one central plot. The story should have a particular storyline and avoid any digression to complex sub-plots.
2. A work of fiction for kids should appeal to a child’s sensibilities, even if it appears absurd to adults. Stories of children are often based on animals, since children are greatly enamored by such plots.
3. A kid’s story should always have a positive, optimistic perspective. In the stories of children, the good should always triumph over the evil. This is to teach them that honesty always wins, and this can propel them on the path of goodness. This helps a child develop a positive attitude in his/her life.
4. A kid’s fiction should come with a moral that teaches values like courage, truthfulness, honesty, punctuality, etc.
5. Children’s stories should ideally have an element of fantasy. They can include speaking animals, fairies and many-headed monsters. These appeal to the innocent minds of children.
6. Stories for kids generally have a close relation to natural settings. There are lots of trees, rivers animals and simple human characters. You will hardly find a complex corporate environment in a children’s story.
7. Repetition is often a common theme in kid’s literature. This helps to establish the moral of the story in the child’s mind.
8. Sidebars are a common feature in children’s non-fiction books. They contain information related to the actual text and act as guides to the child.
9. Pictures are an important part of children’s text books. They make the text interesting and easier to understand. The photos should also have a caption. A caption is a one or two sentence description of the photo. For example a photo of a camel can have a caption saying, ‘the camel is a desert animal. The camel carries its own water.’
10. Many children’s books have pronunciation guides, where the author spells complicated words phonetically for children.
11. Childrens books generally have a glossary at the end. The glossary is a list of complicated words used in the book, with an easy definition of each. These are generally arranged chapter wise and sometimes even page wise.
12. Index is another important feature in children’s books. It is also found at the end of a book. It is a list of important words with the page number on which they feature.
13. Children are increasingly growing web-savvy. So there are often resources, like URLs, in books which a child can use for reference.