It is indeed a magical journey to design a children’s book that can take you back to your childhood imagination of the fascinating stories and help you create a thoughtful yet magical layout. A layout should be well planned with everything, including illustrations, text, and a smooth pace that guides young readers through the narrative and creates engagement. In this blog, you will learn all the essential elements of designing the perfect children’s book layout as a publishing team or even a self-published author.
Understand the Audience First Before You Plan Your Book’s Layout For Children
Whether it is toddlers, preschoolers, early readers, or middle-grade kids, each age group is catered to by different children’s books, as each age group has reading levels and understanding.
- Ages 0-3: less text and more visuals, colorful and bold to attract children.
- Ages 4-6: visuals with sentences that are engaging.
- Ages 7-9: complex stories with the perfect blend of illustrations and texts.
Understanding the targeted age group helps determine the font size, word count, illustration style, and layout pacing.
Choose The Right Trim Size And Format
The dimensions of the children’s book layout you are designing play an important role in storytelling, functionality, and feasibility for kids. The dimension also affects the way illustrations will be placed and how the book will be perceived from the point of view of buyers.
While you have to add the illustration, know that wide scenes look better in landscape format, while single images can work for square or portrait books.
While choosing the trim size, you should consider the age group you’re designing a book layout for. It is necessary to think that the book can be easily handled and flipped by the children.
Here are some common trim sizes for children’s books.
| Format | Popular Sizes | Best For |
| Square | 8.5″ x 8.5″, 10″ x 10″ | Picture books, board books |
| Portrait | 8″ x 10″, 7″ x 10″ | Storybooks, early readers |
| Landscape | 10″ x 8″, 11″ x 8.5″ | Books with wide scenic illustrations |
Dimensions of 6” x 6” work best for toddlers, and a size that is slightly larger is suitable for preschoolers and early readers.
Square and landscape formats are best for books that have more illustrations than text.
Balance Text and Illustrations
While designing a layout for children’s book illustrations, know that these designs are essential to attract readers towards the book. Illustrations are the best storytellers for kids, as they are attracted to the vibrant colors and images, and they often read them before the actual text.
These books should be designed to be visually appealing so that the illustrations can speak. Use the pictures to show actions that can help children understand better.
Avoiding long paragraphs and keeping sentences short can make your narrative easy to read and understand.
Use rhythm and rhymes to make the text more engaging and memorizable.
Maintain a Consistent Layout Structure
A consistent layout of the book can make it easier for children to read and also provide a rhythm in the book. A magical tale or an educational adventure, all types of stories require structure in order to make them comforting for a child.
When children know where they will find the text and the image when they flip the page, it will build their reading confidence and intrigue them to keep reading.
Consistent layout prevents confusion and distraction for children that can occur due to unpredictable designs and placements.
Here are some key elements that you can add to create a rhythm.
| Element | Tips for Consistency |
| Margins & Spacing | Use uniform margins on every page to avoid clutter. |
| Typography | Stick to 1–2 typefaces throughout the book. |
| Text Placement | Place text blocks in the same general area (top, bottom, or beside the illustration). |
| Illustration Style | Keep the color palette, brush style, and character design uniform from cover to back. |
| Narrative Pattern | Follow a reliable pattern (e.g., problem → action → resolution) to aid comprehension. |
Use Typography Creatively and Functionally
Just like the illustrations work wonders in a children’s book, typography has a role similar to it. It helps in storytelling, setting the mood, and character development as well. When typography is appropriately used, it sets the tone and mood for young readers, motivating them to read.
- Clarity is the key to attracting and helping young readers.
- Large font sizes like 16pt or larger can be ideal for young readers.
- Sticking to clean fonts like Century Gothic, Futura, or Helvetica is always a good idea.
- Use bold colors for text that is meant to show actions or emotions like excitement, fear, or shouting.
Design Page Spreads with Flow in Mind
Children’s books usually have two page spreads, each open spread has an illustrative part of the storytelling that makes the reader move their eyes from left to right, following the image. While designing the illustrations or setting up the photos, plan the spread flows that are intentional, ensuring a smooth transition.
You can also consider taking assistance from a professional book illustration company to ensure that you get the designs that suit your book the best, placed in an accurate direction, and are engaging enough to keep the kids hooked.
Use Color Strategically
Colors are the most essential part of a children’s book that holds the power of creating mood, signals emotions, and draws the attention of kids while motivating them to read. Colors can transform a mood from ordinary to exciting while also enhancing the reading experience.
Just like any picture or words, colors also help narrate stories.
- Warm colors (reds, oranges, yellows) evoke energy, excitement, or tension.
- Cool colors (blues, greens, purples) create calm, peaceful, or dreamy moods.
- Muted tones can signal sadness, reflection, or nighttime scenes.
- Bright, bold colors are perfect for fun, active scenes or silly characters.
If you want to enhance the layout of your book with the correct color usage and illustration placements, you can hire a professional Book Illustrator CA.
Leave Room for the Imagination