Kayleigh Keam is a Writer and Director at BBC Children’s. She writes and produces television and audio content for pre-schoolers. Kayleigh works on CBeebies Bedtime Stories where she helps celebrity readers bring the very best books on the market to the youngest viewers. When not devouring children’s books or leaping like a salmon on a netball court, Kayleigh can be found entertaining her naughty sausage dog, Mr Tube.
What I’m looking for in a short story. . .
Picture books are arguably the trickiest to write and certainly have the toughest little critics (there’s no sugar-coating a pre-schooler’s book review!) But get it right and your story can spread beyond the pages of a book, it can travel to a playground and form the basis of imaginative play or spark important questions and discussions at home.
With writing for children comes great responsibility. Picture books have the power to shape how children view the world and everyone within it. Their creators are boundary breakers and imagination makers. I’m looking for a picture book that seizes this privileged position and makes an impression on a child’s life, however that might be.