Happy New year!
—Illustrator Yoko here, wishing you the best this year. I hope you’ve had a good rest and/or vacation. If you happen to be sitting down right about now to pen your new book for the year or are creating a marketing strategy for a book you’ve completed, this may be just what you need!
Inspiration from some best sellers of 2024 -see what’s caught the interest of children and parents.
-Penguin and Random House Best List
-Bookroo’s Best List
https://bookroo.com/explore/books/bestsellers
In researching the above lists and many others, I’ve compiled some popular and evergreen themes by age bracket you may find interesting.
ages 3-5
Popular Themes:
Animals, The parent child bond, Feeling safe, Experiencing something new
Styles- Large, impactful shapes, simple backgrounds, Lots of textures and a color scheme that is simple and continuous across the book.
EVERGREEN THEMES
Animals, Counting, ABC, Colors, Objects/shapes
ages 6-9
Themes: adventure, mystery, siblings, school, magic, specific animals, humor
Styles-Important details in the background, multiple recurring characters, a varied color palette that is ‘realistic’ for the story.
EVERGREEN THEMES
Making friends, animals, first day of school, independence
ages10-12
Themes: Fantasy, friendship, culturally specific experiences, school, social media, the environment
Styles- Chapter books, eye-catching highly detailed covers, manga, anime, comic book styles, naturalistic styles, fewer illustrated pages inside, but each one depicts action and detail heavy scenes.
EVERGREEN THEMES: Puberty, family relationships, individuality/belonging
Simple ways to promote and make your book even more attractive.
-Add a companion coloring book. This is a very popular option as it gives the child something to do along with reading the book itself. Downloadable pdfs can be very convenient as they can be printed multiple times for kids to use.
-Create stickers to give out at in-person book readings and school fairs. Use your unique book-characters or your publishing mascot and create memorable stickers that kids will love.
-Make web banners of your book for your website and social media. Let people know where to find your book at a glance.
I found these links very helpful with further tips and inspiration on book marketing for self published authors.
MARKETING TIPS FOR NEW AUTHORS | what to do first, and what’s best.
Three Keys to Marketing Children’s Books
https://www.ingramspark.com/blog/three-keys-to-marketing-childrens-books
11 Powerful Ways to Market Children’s Books
https://www.bookbildr.com/11-powerful-ways-to-market-childrens-books/
If you’d like my help to make your new book, companion coloring book, or to fine-tune your book banner for social media, or to make the most irresistible stickers or book related merchandise, contact me via email. I always reply within 24 hours.