[hue Posts: 128 Status: Offline I love kids' books!]

Hi, I'm working on a PB, it is not quiet, but I want to see if there is any chance to make it really loud.
Does anyone have any tips on how to make a PB loud? I tried to google it, but so far only found articles about how to make a PB funny.
Thank you!

[olmue Posts: 3,560 Status: Offline]

That's an interesting question. Usually you see more discussion about quiet books. Sometimes you may get the feedback that a book is "too quiet" for someone's list. This generally means that the plot that happens is sort of slice of life versus something with a lot of great change and a big buildup going on. It's easier to see this in a novel--a slice of life book versus a sweeping fantasy where the hero has to use magic and wits to vanquish the dragon/death lord/big bad evil force. But I think the same general principles would apply to a picture book--not the magic parts, but the idea that there is something at stake and the character has to take some risks to accomplish their goals, and they meet challenges and eventually are able to overcome them through trying hard. Maybe in a quiet book, there is not a lot of change from beginning to end. But in a loud book, there would be a lot more dramatic change for the character? I mean, yes, it could be loud in a humorous way, but I think it doesn't have to include humor, it could have that punch in other ways as well.

[HaroldU Posts: 859 Status: Offline Exec. Editor, Kane Press]

hue, do you see a call for "loud" picture books? As an editor, it's not a term I'd use to describe what I was looking for...

[David Wright Posts: 1,028 Status: Offline Tell me that again.]

Are are thinking loud like Mortimer (Munsch)?  Or Rhinos for Lunch and Elephants for Supper (Mollel)?

Or something else?

[Debbie Vilardi Posts: 7,068 Status: Offline Language is so cool!]

If you mean this as the opposite of a quiet book, than Olmue has hit it. Make sure the consequences of failure matter.

But I've also never heard the term "loud" books used.  Though quiet books are a thing., so who knows?

[T.B. Charles Posts: 7 Status: Offline I love kids' books!]

Hi hue,
The first thing that came to my mind was the book "No, David!" by David Shannon. What could be louder than a rambunctious child?  Now, loud can be achieved through actions, as in "Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel," or a character who has an outsized personality.  Loudness can also be a cloak for insecurity and that could be a good theme to explore in a PB.

[JodyJS Posts: 1,319 Status: Offline Available for preorder! Out 12/12/23]

Hi Hue,

Not sure if I know what "loud" means in this context, but here are a few thoughts:

1. Use action verbs, rather than non-action verbs ("to be" verbs).
2. Use onomatopoeia.
3. Make the action escalate. Have your character do ridiculous, outrageous things (maybe to try to solve her problem). Or put her in outrageous, ridiculous settings.
4. Use more dialogue than narration.
5. Intersperse short sentences with long ones. Sentence fragments are okay, too.
6. If your book is a "quiet" book by nature--say about the death of a loved one or some other heavy topic--make it stand out in some other way by use of another hook, an interesting character, a new way to look at the subject, a different setting, etc, to make it more "loud."

Jody