Writing a Children’s Book

8-week Course for Young Writers

AVAILABLE IN-PERSON & VIRTUALLY

An 8-week course made specifically for young writers (8-12 years old) to teach them how to write and illustrate a book from start to finish.

In-person classes are taught in Needham, Newton, and Natick, MA. Zoom classes are offered based on availability; inquire here.

FOCUS AREAS

BRAINSTORMING

CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT

DRAFTING

PEER EDITING

ILLUSTRATING

PUBLISHING

“The confidence and pride has been palpable. I wish I could bottle the joy my son felt when his book arrived today. It was a top 10 moment for our family.”
— Parent of Published Author, Needham, MA
 
“My daughter gained more confidence, improved her thought process and storytelling, and is able to articulate better. We’ve seen exceptional improvement in school writing assignments & projects.”
— Parent of Published Author, Newton, MA

THIS IS FOR ANY CHILD WHO DESIRES...

Full Creative Freedom

Increased Confidence

To Be a Published Author

 

All writers are welcome here.

If you want your child to have an enriching activity outside of school — whether they genuinely enjoy writing or not — they’re guaranteed to be inspired!

 

Let’s hear from some of our authors!

“Have fun, use your imagination and never ever give up on your book.”
— LHP Author
“Focus, write about something you love, and have fun!”
— LHP Author
 
 

The Curriculum

Week 1 - Introduction & Brainstorm
Listen to Jacky’s book Addy Wants to Fit In, learn about the process of writing, and brainstorm story ideas and characters. Learn our children’s book pattern and tips for character development.

Week 2 & 3 - Brainstorm & Rough Draft Writing
It’s important to have our ideas fully thought out before we begin writing. Then, it’s go-time! We like to call this “putting the clay on the wheel.” Rough drafts aren’t supposed to be perfect. This is your child’s chance to write their story for the first time.

Week 4 & 5 - Peer Editing & Draft Revisions
Each author will read their story aloud to the class (as well as their families at home) and get a compliment, a question, and a suggestion from their peers. Then, they will apply the feedback and revise.

Week 6 & 7 - Illustration Guidance & Tips
Learn from illustrator Eddie Martinez to get illustration tips, and begin illustrating.

Week 8 - Final Pieces & Celebrating!
Write the dedication, author bio, and book blurb, choose a title font, and celebrate!

Toward the end of the program, we will ask the students/parents to submit their illustrations by scanning and sending them our way. We will format the books and send a PDF proof to you for approval. Each student gets one round of revisions and once approved, it will be published on Amazon and we will send the parent a direct link for purchasing for $12/book. Profits go to Storytime Crafts. If your child does not finish illustrations during the program time, they can submit the final illustrations to us when they are complete, up to 6 weeks after course completion.

If your child completes all the work throughout the class and submits illustrations to us, we guarantee their book will be published by Lemon House Publishing!

“I wanted to say a sincere THANK YOU for an absolutely wonderful class! My daughter has enjoyed every minute of it, and it will mean so much to her to see the final product. She really loves writing and drawing, so this class combined a lot of things she’s doing anyway, but gave it more structure and process.”
— Parent of Published Author, Needham, MA
“LHP is AMAZING! Jacky is currently teaching my two daughters and their friends! The kids are so engaged in the process and love the class. Jacky is a supportive, fun, and creative teacher and she really encourages the kids to come up with new ideas and feel confident in their writing. I would highly recommend her and her writing class. I feel incredibly lucky to have found her!!”
— Parent of Two Published Authors, Needham, MA
“We loved this program. Appreciated your style, engagement, and flexibility. Can’t wait to do it again when our little ones are a bit older. ”
— Parent of Published Author, Newton, MA

FAQs

  • The live course runs for 8 weeks and each in-person session is 60 minutes, 50 minutes on Zoom. If you opt for the self-paced course, you can go at your own speed.

    Books will be finalized approximately 4 weeks after we receive the final illustrations.

  • Classes are grouped by grade, so please find the correct class for your child. We currently work live with 8-12-year-olds, but please inquire if your child is older.

    The self-paced course is suggested for ages 8+ but will need some guidance. It’s a great option for those who are older than our live class can accommodate (adults can take it, too)!

  • In our live course, there are usually between 3-6 children per class (Zoom or in-person) to keep things intimate and to make sure each child gets the attention they need to be successful.

  • There might be some work in between classes, like finishing writing a rough draft, asking a family member for feedback or working on illustrations, but we keep things as fun and light as possible. 

    This isn’t like school. This is a class that will truly unleash your child’s creative freedom, make them feel significant, and help them tap into their potential.

  • We will publish whatever they create - because the book is not the point. Our main goal isn’t to create best-selling books, it’s to create EMPOWERED authors.

  • If it makes you feel better, we’ve never had that happen. What we will say is we’ve had the occasional student come to class and say their mom or dad signed them up with a sigh -- and then they ended up becoming a proudly published author bragging to their friends about their Amazon book. Please let us know if there are any issues and will work it out with you.

  • Student books will be published on Amazon by Lemon House Publishing. Profits after formatting, printing and shipping go directly to Storytime Crafts.

    The profits have also allowed an installation of a Little Free Library in Roslindale, MA.

  • Your child’s book will be published under Lemon House Publishing -- Copyright is by the author and we will never say we created the story.

    We offer single sessions to teach folks self-publishing if they’re curious or concerned about this question. Inquire here.

  • Amazon gives an ISBN ($125 value) which means it can only be published on Amazon and printed on demand -- if you want to buy your own ISBN from Bowker and give it to us, you can. (We are not book legal experts, so please talk to book lawyers about this.)

  • Yes, absolutely! We’ve had many authors come back to write sequels and even a series!

  • YES! It’s simplified for kids, but it’s the exact same content we would teach an adult.