Can AI Write a Good Picture Book? Lynne Garner

In my role as a teacher, I’m being encouraged to embrace AI. As my boss say’s “it’s not going away.” So, I recently decided to explore AI and use it as a research tool for a small collection of how-to books I’m working on. The main issue I’ve had with the research the AI has produced is it makes up random URLs to support the information it’s found. This has meant I’ve had to find supporting information to ensure what it has created is correct. So, it’s not saved me any time. But I wondered how good or bad it would be at writing a picture book. So, I opened my usual AI platform and as July is ‘the’ month for being Wild About Wildlife (and I am wild about wildlife) I asked it to:

 

“Write a 1,000-word picture book story over 12 double page spreads based on the national celebration of wild about wildlife month.”

The results were not quite what I’d expected. This is what it generated.

 

Spread 1-2: Introduction

"Every July, a special celebration begins—Wild About Wildlife Month! All around the world, people come together to learn about, protect, and celebrate the amazing creatures that share our planet."

Illustration: A lush forest filled with animals, birds flying, deer grazing, and a river flowing through. 

 

Spread 3-4: The Forest

"In the forest, creatures big and small play important roles. Foxes dash through the trees, rabbits nibble on fresh green leaves, and birds sing beautiful songs from their treetop homes."

Illustration: A close-up of the forest, highlighting different animals like foxes, rabbits, and birds in their natural habitats.

 

Spread 5-6: The Ocean 

"Beneath the waves, the ocean teems with life. Fish of every colour swim gracefully, dolphins leap and play, and sea turtles glide through the deep blue sea. Each one is a treasure of the ocean."

Illustration: A vibrant underwater scene with colourful fish, a playful dolphin, and a majestic sea turtle. 

 

Spread 7-8: The Savanna 

"On the open savanna, mighty elephants roam, lions rest under the shade, zebras gallop across the plains, and giraffes stretch their necks to munch on tall trees. This is their wild kingdom."

Illustration: A vast savanna with elephants, lions, zebras, and giraffes under the bright sun.

 

Spread 9-10: The Mountains 

"High in the mountains, bears forage for berries, eagles soar high in the sky, and mountain goats leap from rock to rock. Life here is rugged and beautiful."

Illustration: Snow-capped mountains with a family of bears, a soaring eagle, and a shy mountain goat. 

 

Spread 11-12: The Desert

"In the desert, where the sun blazes hot, camels trek across sandy dunes, a fennec fox peeks out from its burrow, and cacti bloom with brilliant flowers, showing life thrives even in the driest places."

Illustration: A desert scene with camels, a fennec fox, and blooming cacti under a starry night sky.

 

Spread 13-14: The Rainforest 

"Deep in the rainforest, vibrant parrots chatter, monkeys swing from tree to tree, and sloths move slowly along the branches. This green world is full of wonder."

Illustration: A dense rainforest with colourful parrots, curious monkeys, and a slow-moving sloth. 

 

Spread 15-16: Protecting Wildlife 

"Wild About Wildlife Month reminds us that we can all help protect our wild friends. Planting trees, keeping rivers clean, and respecting animal homes make a big difference."

Illustration: Children planting trees, picking up trash, and observing animals respectfully. 

 

Spread 17-18: Learning and Exploring 

"Learning about wildlife is fun! Reading books, watching videos, and exploring nature helps us understand how important these creatures are to our world."

Illustration: A classroom with children looking at books, a computer showing wildlife videos, and a teacher holding a globe. 

 

Spread 19-20: Families Celebrating 

"Families celebrate together by having picnics in the park, watching birds through binoculars, and even joining wildlife parades. It's a month full of joy and discovery."

Illustration: Families having a picnic in a park, watching birds, and participating in a wildlife-themed parade. 

 

Spread 21-22: Our Wild Planet 

"Our planet is home to so many amazing animals. From the tiniest insects to the largest whales, every creature plays a part in the web of life. Let's celebrate and protect them all!"

Illustration: A globe showing different habitats with animals from each habitat around it. 

 

Spread 23-24: Conclusion 

"As Wild About Wildlife Month comes to an end, remember to carry its spirit in your heart all year long. Let's be kind to animals and the earth, and always stay wild about wildlife!"

Illustration: A beautiful sunset over a landscape filled with diverse wildlife, a rainbow in the sky. 

 

Back Cover:

"Join the adventure! Celebrate the beauty and importance of wildlife with this colourful journey through different habitats. Let's protect and cherish our wild friends every day!"

Illustration: A montage of various animals from the book with the words "Wild About Wildlife" prominently displayed. 

 

As you can see it’s not a story. There’s no character having to resolve a problem. No story arc. No use of the magic number three. No nice surprise plot twist or resolution and some of the text feels a bit preachy.

 

But what it has produced is the possibility of a non-fiction picture book. Perhaps the text from the first page could become part of my book blub:

 

Every July, a special celebration begins—Wild About Wildlife Month!

All around the world, people come together to learn about, protect,

and celebrate the amazing creatures that share our planet."

 

Perhaps I’d use this or something based on this from pages 21/22 as my opening double page spread:

 

Illustration: A globe showing different habitats with animals from each habitat around it.

 

“Our planet is home to so many amazing animals. From the tiniest insects to the largest whales, every creature plays a part in the web of life.”

 

I’d then explore some of the habitats already highlighted. But I’d expand it and explore all of the habitat’s found on this wondrous planet. Perhaps I’d work on the idea of the web of life for each of the habitats, which is mentioned in spread 21/22.

 

Or…

 

Perhaps I could create a character who is wild about wildlife and travels the world and explores each habitat in a stand-alone book. Oh, I’ve just created a series. Perhaps they solve a wildlife issue. Maybe like this wonderful man who provides new homes for hermit crabs who have been forced to make homes from our rubbish. Check him out below: 

So although what was generated wasn’t what I wanted or expected it has generated something I could work with.

 

My conclusion from this experiment is I’m not too worried about AI at the moment. But as it progresses, I may change my mind and worry writers will become the endangered species.

 

However, I wonder if will it ever be able to make the leaps I’ve made whilst writing this post? I wanted a stand-alone picture book story but I've ended up with an entire non-fiction series. 

 

If there’s an editor out there looking for a new non-fiction series, please feel free to contact me. 😁

Last but not least how do you feel about AI and picture books?

The Highlight of Our Writing Career - The Picture Book Den

It's that time of year when the Picture Book Den team get together and create a group post. 

This year we wanted to share with you a highlight of our writing career. We hope you enjoy and wish you all the best for this festive season and a fabulous 2024!

Moira Butterfield 

There have been highs and lows in my writing career and there still are. It's part of the gig. Sometimes it feels as though, with every book, I must restart from scratch. I forget that I have any kind of track record and  it feels like I am at the bottom of the mountain again. It's then that I need to bring out my precious gems to look at - those surprising and unasked-for nuggets of good feedback from everyday folk that I store in my memory. These may seem trivial but are, in fact, priceless to a writer - like magic fuel that can keep us going when our tanks seem empty. Here's a very precious one - When I moved to a new house I met my new neighbour. She asked what I did for a living, looked amazed and said 'You're the writer of my boy's favourite book. It's up in the attic now. We read it to him so many times!". Yes - I did feel old because the  boy in question was at 'big school' by then, but I also filled up with pride that I had done this. So make sure you pass on good feedback to your favourite authors. You'll be giving them a shiny career highlight! 

Pippa Goodhart

    Ah, so many highlights after all these years! Most of them courtesy of my You Choose picture books illustrated by Nick Sharratt. Nick and I collect images of the tattiest copies of those books, ones loved to literal bits! But there was also the young man who is now a professional ballet dancer because, his mother tells, aged seven he saw the image of the ballet dancers in You Choose and said, 'I want to do that'. And the Ukrainian refugee child totally absorbed in choosing his own life in a copy of You Choose. And more. But I'm going to choose a topical and current You Choose highlight.

    Nick and my new You Choose Christmas book has the two of us, large and gloriously attired, on its final spread -

 

We didn't manage the Elvis jumpsuit and Flamenco dress, but we did try to match the headwear when we did signing session for the book last weekend! 

Chitra Soundar

I'm a picture book writer at heart. My first picture book came out in India in 2010 and it was a masterclass in editing. With the editor's advice, I edited a 1000 word manuscript into a 100 word manuscript over a weekend and to my delight that picture book had an amazing run. Since then I've written over 20 picture books. The highlights are so many... My series of Farmer Falgu books (illustrated by Kanika Nair) brought me Indian and international recognition. Pattan's Pumpkin (illustrated by Frané Lessac) is such a hit with children, parents and teachers. Mummy-baby books I wrote for Lantana Publishing, illustrated by Poonam Mistry - You're Safe with Me (the first book in the series) was shortlisted for the Kate Greenaway Medal and You're Snug with Me got shortlisted too, which is a huge honour. 

 

But the most recent highlight I feel is my proudest moment, because even though I've been publishing with Walker Books, my first picture book with Walker Books (the giant of picture book publishing) will be out February 2024 titled It's Time to Hush and say Good Night, and has been the Editor's Pick at The Booksellers and already making waves. It is inspired by  traditional Indian lullabies and beautifully illustrated by Sandhya Prabhat which is fantastic as both of us are from Chennai, India. 

Lynne Garner

My writing career highlight is a rejection letter. I know that may sound odd but it's the only rejection I've received which was handwritten on a complement slip. In essence this rejection said, "The story isn't quite right for us, but I like your style so do you have anything else you are working on? If so, please send to me." 

 

I’d an idea I'd been mulling over but hadn't written. So, I got tapping and the very first draft of 'Bramble's Diary' was completed. I placed it to one side and allowed it to 'rest.' I then edited, 'rested' it and edited again. Finally, I felt happy enough to sent it off. The editor who had sent me the rejection came back with a very positive reply. And after six rewrites and a change of title 'A Book For Bramble' was published. 

 

Hence why this rejection is my chosen highlight. 

Natascha Biebow

 

The most surprising and heartwarming highlight of my career has been connecting with children and wonderful teachers and librarians all around the world doing virtual and in-person school visits. Surprising because I am essentially quite a shy person and even though I do a lot of public speaking in my role as Co-Regional Advisor of the SCBWI British Isles, when my book THE CRAYON MAN was published, I was daunted by the prospect of 'getting out there' to promote it. I applied for an SCBWI Marketing Grant, and put down an action plan on paper (and on this blog), which meant I would be accountable and have to come out from under my rock:

I was surprised when I was awarded the SCBWI grant, which enabled me to do a week of author visits in Pennsylvania and DC, including a farmers' market in Easton, PA, home of Crayola. 

Nothing better than seeing children engrossed in your book!

That same year, I visited my school as an author!

 

 

Recently, I was invited to the International School in Panama, which was extra special because I attended an international school, so have a real connection with third culture kids.

 

Through my school visits, I have loved meeting children and hearing their curious questions about working as an author, the invention of the Caryola crayons and living in England. And sometimes, the opportunity to do messy art and mix cool colours together:

 

 

A couple of months ago, an unexpected gift arrived in my postbox:

 

These children are very lucky to have such caring teachers and librarians, seeking out opportunities to connect with authors and enrich their students' learning by making connections around the world. I love seeing their creative drawings and curious minds at work!

Mini Grey

My career highlight is finally being able to make the book it had taken me ten years to work out – The Greatest Show on Earth. I’m so grateful to Joe Marriott, my editor, for saying “Yes, let’s make this book!” 

The process of making it was a highlight because I had to get to grips for the first time with proper non-fiction science content, and try and process millions of years of evolution into a story that’s digestible by any one, any age. 

I loved doing the research – and the gift was that I found out how much I didn’t know, and how much there is still to find out – there are more and more stories to tell about animal evolution and our own human evolution: all the animal ancestors we carry inside our vertebrate bodies -  our inner fish, tetrapods, synapsids, mammals, primates… 

Once the book was published, working out exactly how to perform the 4.6 million year story of Life on Earth –  which bits of the story to focus on, and how to make all that time visible and immersive – that was a whole lot of new stuff to find out. And collaborating with audiences - especially the brilliant enthusiastic mix of adults and children you find at festivals -  to build a picture of the story of life on Earth with puppets and timelines has been a fantastic experience. 

And here are a couple of bonus picture highlights:

In other highlights: here I'm opening John Hampden School library in June 2022 with help from the Queen who was still alive then (but this Queen is a cut-out one...)

In other highlights: here in July 2023 AF Harrold and me are at Booktastic Bedford. Our book - The Book of Not Entirely Useful Advice had come out in 2020 lockdown, so it was great to finally get to be on stage together.

Juliet Clare Bell

I feel incredibly lucky to be a children's author and there have been lots of wonderful moments. Here are a few highlights...

When Don't Panic, Annika! (illustrated by Jennifer E Morris) was read on CBeebies as my children loved CBeebies -and the presenter who read it

When The Kite Princess (illustrated by Laura Kate Chapman) started being sold by Amnesty International UK. It came completely out of the blue and it was an organisation I'd done loads of campaigning with as a child, as a teenager in college, at university and beyond. And then I was invited to a local International Women's Day event with vulnerable women and asylum seekers. They called it Subversive Sewing and we used The Kite Princess story and drew and decorated our own kites and put words of freedom on the kites and displayed them. It was incredibly moving

When people told me how Benny's Hat (illustrated by Dave Gray) had helped them when a family member had died

When I read reviews of Luka and the Food Cloud (illustrated by Dave Gray) from parents saying that their children felt seen and understood for the first time ever after reading the book

But working with young children is probably the highest of the highlights. Facilitating creative work with young people with life-limiting conditions at a children's hospice, and with bereaved and pre-bereaved siblings, when we were doing research for Benny's Hat, was an absolute privilege, as was interviewing people with ARFID and parents of children with ARFID for Luka and the Food Cloud

Bumping into children that I've done author visits with at a later date, outside of school, is so lovely and often very funny. I absolutely loved meeting a whole class-load of children I'd done an author visit with a few months before -at a bus stop in central Birmingham! They all called out to me as I approached the bus stop and it was a party atmosphere -which carried on when we got on the same bus and I sat and chatted with them on the top deck until they got off at their school stop about twenty minutes later.

And finally, one of my absolute highlights was when a girl put her hand up in an assembly I was doing and asked, completely seriously, in hushed tones, in front of hundreds of other school children...

Is your hair magic?

Clare Helen Welsh

This year, I was invited to speak at the SCBWI Conference in Manchester. I ran a session called Playing with Ideas, helping picture book authors and illustrators embrace the unexpected and find confidence as creatives.

I always enjoy the SCBWI-BI conferences. I've been every year  since 2013! It's fantastic to meet with new and old friends and to soak up the creative energy from the faculty . It's my professional development to myself - a highlight of my writing year.

But this year was extra special. 

I vividly remember my first conference. I remember the sessions I went to, I remember getting books signed by Catherine Rayner and watching Dave Cousins win the Crystal Kite Award. I remember looking around and thinking what a super tribe of people I'd found and wouldn't it be amazing to be published one day.

Fast forward almost ten years to the day since I first started writing, I am reflecting on just how much I have achieved. The 2023 SCBWI conference was a marker in my writing career, as well as a highlight. An opportunity to look back and reflect on everything I am proud of, how much I have learned and the people I've met on the way.