Hey picture book authors, give your book the best shot at getting into a library

 Before I dive in I want to make it clear that there are many factors that go into purchasing materials for a library collection:  budgets, author popularity, publishing house, topics, community needs, reviews, quality, etc.  I have been reading, reviewing, purchasing and weeding children's books for over 20 years.  Doing any combination of the suggestions stated here may or may not help to get your book into a library, but they can't hurt!

My suggestions do not include what I see as "givens", such as a good binding. Libraries do buy 8X8 and beginning reader paperbacks, but do the best you can to make sure your binding is secure.  Also we want our collections to reflect diversity and inclusion.  Book covers need to be eye catching and the illustrations engaging.  The story should fit the age and the topic should fill a need.   With all of that said, here are my other suggestions:

1.  Donate a copy of your book to your local library.  Yes, DONATE. Many libraries do keep a "local author" collection of some sort. Each library is different and they may not actually add your title, but it will give you a chance to chat with your local librarian.  Maybe they can have you there for a reading or work you in to upcoming programming events.  Also, if they state that they cannot add donations, see if they can include it in their giveaway books (books taken to outreach events to give to children).  Then you can be relatively sure it will be reaching the hands of a child eventually.

2.  Check with kids to see what they would like reading about!  Several times  I have been asked for stories about rocks.  Do you know how many good stories there are about rocks?  Not many.  We have books about farm animals coming out of our ears but what about the adorable moose?  or Raccoon?  Think outside the box.  Last week I was asked for a book about being happy!  Now that was a tough request to fill!

3.  If you want your book shared in a library storytime, KISS!  Keep it short and simple.  Longer stories are definitely great for one on one sharing, but when you are doing a storytime with a group of children, you are dealing with a variety of ages and you need to keep them engaged.  We risk losing the younger tots with longer stories, so I know when planning my storytime themes, I pick a variety of books on a theme including some longer stories but nothing that takes longer than 5 to 7 mins to read aloud (including asking comprehension questions, etc)

4.  Speaking of which - if you want to get ideas for a book topic, Google "storytime themes"  for popular topics and to get an idea about the type of books chosen.

5.  Consider a book with a call and response format or something that keeps the kids actively engaged (they need to pat the book, look for something or do an action on each page)  Herve Tullet's Press Here is a fantastic example of an action book for the under 5s.

6.  Get your book reviewed.   Even if you cannot get a professional review house such as Library Journal or Publisher's Weekly to review your book, there are many other options available.  Consider encouraging readers to post a review in Amazon, Goodreads or online stores.  Check out the review sites here Book Review Magazines or here Newpages Book Review Sources for ideas.