[Nanci Posts: 31 Status: Offline I love kids' books!]

Hi,
Is there a word count that one really shouldn't exceed when
writing a bedtime book? I know that for babies and toddlers,
short short seems preferable to most people, but what about
ages 4-7?

And books about bedtime aren't limited to just bedtime reading,
as a lot are read at other times of the day, so they don't
necessarily need to be short for the reason of time constraints
or if parents are tired by then?

Hope this made sense, lol. It's past my own bedtime, and I'm
super sleepy as I write this...

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

Hi Nanci,

Because most (all?) bedtime books are picture books, around 500 words (or fewer) is about right.

Jody

[Kurtis Posts: 350 Status: Offline]

Good Night Construction Site feels a wee bit longer than others, but I can't confirm because it's not in the AR database (and I'm not going to count by hand). It could very well be under 500 words, and I think that's a good length for a bedtime book.

[Lwrites Posts: 159 Status: Offline]

Good Night Construction Site feels a wee bit longer than others, but I can't confirm because it's not in the AR database (and I'm not going to count by hand). It could very well be under 500 words, and I think that's a good length for a bedtime book.

I was curious, so I looked. It's 526 words.
The Renaissance Learning database is a wonderful thing. Search any kidlit book, get word count:
http://www.renlearn.com/store/quiz_home.asp

[Kurtis Posts: 350 Status: Offline]

Hm, that's exactly what I was using and didn't find it. :scratches head:

ETA: Still couldn't, then finally found it by the author's name... and the reason I had so much trouble is, I didn't realize "goodnight" was one word.

[Kurtis Posts: 350 Status: Offline]

Just for the heck of it, here's a photo of the author (Sherri Rinker) reading to my son and another kid I don't know.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/15126960@N04/8676839934

[Nanci Posts: 31 Status: Offline I love kids' books!]

Thanks, you guys.
And awww, that is a sweet pic, Kurtis.

I used that RL database last month to search
wd.counts for several bedtime books, and so far the
highest I have found is about 500 wds, as you all
are saying, too, for a max count. I wondered if 645
is too much, which is where mine sits now.

I've tried to cut, but I really need to try harder it seems.
Eeek, this is difficult!

[Kurtis Posts: 350 Status: Offline]

I would try really hard to get it under 600, Nanci.

[poet Posts: 120 Status: Offline]

Just chiming in to say I agree about the 500 word target length.  And for really little ones, I'd shoot for even shorter.  Have fun revising!

[Nanci Posts: 31 Status: Offline I love kids' books!]

Gosh, I've cut 8 words already.
Not a lot, lol, but a start.

 

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

Nanci,

A good critiquer could probably find some words for you to part with.

Jody

[Hélène Boudreau Posts: 699 Status: Offline *yawn*]

One thing to look for while cutting is 'stage direction'. These are phrases that get your character or objects from one place to another or descriptions of things or people, which are probably not necessary since illustrations will make them redundant.

I'm a big-time abuser of stage direction so I need to be careful of it while writing novels and even MORE so when writing picture books because of illustrations.

Here's a blog post that touches on what I mean: http://michellezink.com/editing-corner-stage-direction

[Hélène Boudreau Posts: 699 Status: Offline *yawn*]

And PS my bedtime book is apparently 338 words.

http://goo.gl/V1Zgo5

[Nanci Posts: 31 Status: Offline I love kids' books!]

Hi Jody,
It's been critiqued once so far, and the critiquer did
suggest certain cuts. But when I did that, and it
improved the word count, I somehow added a few
more lines to a different area of the book that I
thought made it more cohesive. So I ended up
sort of at square one. Silly. But now I've begun
to cut again, so maybe I can get there, lol.

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

You can do it! 

[Nanci Posts: 31 Status: Offline I love kids' books!]

Helene,
That was a big issue of mine, too.
Too many stage directions!
I took them out, the excessive, not needed ones.
And now I think there are about 35 other words
that could/should be replaced with illustrations,
so that sort of counts as cutting, right? lol, prob
not, as it should be submitted already shorter
I would think.

Your book is so adorable. And short. That really
is the combo to strive for. Short is just so hard
for me!

Can't wait to jump to that blog post - thank you!

[Robertvs Posts: 54 Status: Offline 1 <3 PB]

Old but relevant... I?d probably do 100 words/year?

Baby and board books (0-2) would rarely go over 200; Picture books (3-5) would stay at most 500.

Also considering it?s for bedtime, at the end of day, when both child and parent are tired, you?d probably want to aim for less as well. (maybe even 50 words/year)

And especially for the 0-2 range, rhythm and rhyme would be very important.