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The First Page of Your NF Picture Book

10/24/2018

11 Comments

 
by Nancy I. Sanders
Picture
Whether you’re writing about bears or Booker T. Washington, the first page of your nonfiction picture book plays an important role. Note that this is not the first page of your manuscript. This is the text that will become the first page of the published book.
      
The best way I know to learn how to write a winning first page is to study the first page of current nonfiction picture books. Listen to the voice and see how it establishes the pattern for the rest of the book. Evaluate how the art works together with the text to establish a sense of time and place.
 
Three Key Categories
I’ve noticed the first page of most nonfiction picture books can be divided up into three categories:
 
Category 1: The first page introduces the MC or topic.
Category 2: The first page introduces the MC’s or topic’s problem.
Category 3: The first page introduces something significant that helps set up the problem.
 
The Cover
Have you ever stopped to notice how the cover of a picture book works closely with the first page? The cover of many nonfiction picture books can also be divided into the same three categories. Take for example, the following titles.
 
This nonfiction picture book falls into the first category and introduces the MC on the cover:
Dave the Potter: Artist, Poet, Slave by Laban Carrick Hill
 
This following nonfiction picture book falls into the second category where the MC’s problem is introduced on the cover:
Dirty Rats? by Darrin Lunde
 
The following falls into the third category where something significant that helps to set up the problem is introduced on the cover:
The Camping Trip That Changed America by Barb Rosenstock
 
One of our goals when we work on our own nonfiction picture book is to create a winning first page. And since a picture book’s cover works so closely with the first page, we also want to create a winning title. By studying the first page of current picture books and incorporating their winning strategies into our own, we’ll be well on our way to success.

11 Comments
Stephanie link
10/30/2018 03:14:43 pm

Thanks for the helpful advice. I'm going to use this!

Reply
Nancy I. Sanders link
10/30/2018 11:44:55 pm

Yay! So glad you found this helpful!

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Margaret Albertson link
10/30/2018 08:36:26 pm

I'm off to check my MSs to see in which categories they fit! Thanks for the article Nancy!

Reply
Nancy I. Sanders link
10/30/2018 11:46:12 pm

Have fun on your adventure, Margaret!

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Sheila link
11/3/2018 05:27:09 am

I always learn something new that I can use in my writing? Thank you, Nancy.

Reply
Nancy I. Sanders link
11/3/2018 07:30:06 am

Yay! So glad to hear.

Reply
Nancy I. Sanders link
11/3/2018 08:17:43 am

I’m so glad you learned something new!!!

Reply
Charlotte Dixon
11/3/2018 12:09:33 pm

Thank you for these tips and examples, Nancy.

Reply
kathy link
11/5/2018 02:08:50 pm

Your information is always so clear and well organized to be helpful!
Thank you!

Reply
Lu Ross
11/6/2018 02:20:14 pm

Thank you!

Reply
Trine Grillo
11/10/2018 10:53:01 am

I am so glad to learn of this new site. Thank you!

Reply



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