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Write a story
Assistant Professor Marie Radbo
Vice Dean of Science, University of Gothenburg, Sweden
If you can put your facts into a storyline, you're heading the right way. Give some interesting clues from the start … don't write it like a scientific article where all the interesting facts come right at the end. Think carefully about who you are hoping will read this and ask yourself what they would like to know. Do not try to tell them everything you know! I always read my own stories over and over. If I get bored, I can be sure the reader will also be bored.
I have written 15 children's books, but my best-seller is still my very first book about the starry night sky. I added the human element by putting a child in the centre of the story. At first my editor insisted that the book was too complicated for young children, but I did not agree and I did not give in. Never underestimate what children can grasp! They are able to understand complex ideas, as long as you write well and use words they know!
I have listened to the questions of thousands of children. This is how I know what they are interested in and what helped me to write books for them.
Illustrations are very important in children's books. They must not only illustrate the story, but should have a life of their own.
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