Children’s literature, also called Kid-Lit, is an important domain in the overall realm of literature. It is a crucial aspect that breeds innovation and creativity in the minds of growing-up children. It opens them up for a whole new universe where the young readers can immerse themselves. There are various genres within the Kid-Lit and each one has its own appeal and essence. So, if you are thinking of writing a children’s book; you should get the sense of various genres, that will definitely help you cultivate some amazing children story ideas.
Children Story Ideas can be weaved into separate bundles of genres as has been shown below:
1. Fiction:
- Fiction always has elements that are made up and are far from real.
- It may be based on actual events or people.
- In Fiction, you can totally make it up or you may keep it fictional.
Following are the popular sub-genres within the Fictional realm, that can help find children story ideas:
a. Historical Fiction
- Historical fiction takes place during a certain time in the past.
- In Historical fiction, the setting is often real, and the characters may be made-up or fictional.
- Here, sometimes the setting is fictional and the characters are real and vice-versa.
b. Mystery Fiction
- Mystery fiction is usually realistic
- It is mostly about a crime or an unsolved event
- Mystery fiction takes it to the very end and usually doesn’t get resolved before the climax.
- It may be suspenseful or can be scary depending upon what the author chooses it to be.
c. Horror Fiction
- Horror fiction is usually a story with elements that may be scary. It is meant to scare, startle, shock, and even repulse the readers. The key focus of Horror Fiction is to bring a sense of dread in the mind of the reader through frightening images, themes, and situations.
2. Humor
Humor writing is a piece of fiction or nonfiction written with the sole aim of being funny. It brings people closer and has the power to transform the way we think about the world. Not everyone is adept at being funny in writing. Making people laugh takes some skill and so much of it relies on instinct.
3. Fantasy
Fantasy is completely a made-up genre. It can include talking animals and magical powers as the author whims it to be. It contains no realistic elements. Mostly, the plot involves magic or witchcraft and takes place on another planet or in another dimension of this world.
4. Science Fiction
Science fiction or Sci-Fi is a form of fiction that deals primarily with the impact of actual or imagined science upon a community or individuals. It is comparatively a modern genre. It usually includes futuristic technology, scientific facts, and fictional elements.
5. Folk Tales
Folk Tales generally have no known creator. It is passed down verbally. It may be based on real people sometimes but the story is fictional. Folktales are stories passed on in the oral tradition. These are tales that people tell each other out loud instead of stories in written form. Every human society has its own set of folktales. These are well-known stories, passed over between generations. They are of paramount importance in the way of passing along knowledge, information, and history. Folk tales include Fairy Tales, Tall Tales & Fables.
Suggested read: How to be a novel writer
Fairy Tales are tales that talk about heroic deeds. They teach children how to behave in a way they find amusing. They typically include magic and happy endings.
Tall Tales are Folk Tales about a character that is bigger than life.
Fables usually have animal characters that act human. They often try to teach the reader some lessons.
6. Myths
Myths are traditional stories that concern the early history of a people. They explain a natural or social phenomenon that typically involves supernatural beings or events. Myths usually explain how the world started.
7. Non-fiction
Non-fiction is all about proven facts. There is nothing that is made up here. It can be about any subject. It spans across categories including business, biography, health and fitness, cooking, pets, crafts, home decorating, languages, travel, home improvement, religion, art and music, history, self-help, true crime, science, and humor.
8. Biography
A biography is a story about a real person written by someone else. It is generally about the person’s life or something the person has done.
9. Autobiography
An autobiography is a story someone writes about themselves.
Summing up, the stories about children, or the kid-lit as it is called, has a huge canvas. An author of a children’s book has a range of choices to pick up a relevant genre. An author who is writing a children’s book needs to keep in mind the target group. He doesn’t need to spoon-feed and trust the imagination of his target group.
