Many children have written books that have been published. One of the first we know about is Francis Hawkins. In 1641, when he was 8 years old, he wrote a book of manners for children called Youth Behavior. Listed below are other children who have had their writing published. You may be able to find their books in a library or bookstore.

Katherine Hull, 14, and Pamela Whitlock,15, went to school together in England. One day, while taking shelter from a rainstorm, they decided to collaborate on a book by children, about children, and for children. Their novel, The Far Distance Oxus, was published one year later, in 1937, and was said to be a classic in both Europe and the U.S.

Anne Frank’s diary was published in England in 1952 as The Diary of a Young Girl. Written when Anne was a teenager, it describes her Jewish family’s life in hiding during WWII. After two years of confinement in the attic of a warehouse in Amsterdam, Holland, the family was discovered by the Nazis and taken to a concentration camp. Only her father survived. When the diary was found, he saw that it was published in 1947. It had been translated into more than 50 language.

Dorothy Straight of Washington D.C., was only 4 years old when she wrote How the World Began. Her book was published in 1964, two years later.

Susan Eloise Hinton started her writing career in high school, beginning the first draft of The Outsiders at the age of 15; it took her a year and a half to finish it. A book about youth gangs and their confrontations, it was published in 1967, when she was 17. It has sold more than a million copies.

Alexandra (Ally) Elizabeth Sheedy published She Was Nice to Mice in 1975, when she was twelve years old. It is the story of Esther Esther, an extraordinary mouse who is taken back in time through her family history to the days of Queen Elizabeth.

A group of young Native American children told their stories to their teacher, Byrd Baylor, who had them published in 1976 as And It Is Still That Way.

When Jason Gaes was stricken with Burkitt’s lymphoma, a rare form of cancer at age 7, he decided to write My Book For Kids With Cansur. His twin brother Tim, and 10-year old brother Adam, illustrated the book, which was published in 1987.

When he was 9, David Klein wrote Irwin the Sock for a school assignment. The story was submitted to the Raintree Publish-a–Book contest and won. It was published in 1988.

Gordon Korman wrote his first book, This Can’t Be Happening at MacDonald Hall , as a 7th grade English project. By the time he had graduated from high school, he had written and published five more books.

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The Young Writers Club

If you want to be a member of the Young Writers club get your paper and pencils (keyboards and fingers) and get ready.
http://www.cs.bilkent.edu.tr/~david/derya/ywc.html

Young Writers' Clubhouse

Great site to learn what real writing is all about.
http://www.realkids.com/home4.htm

Young Writer On-line

Young Writer is an international magazine featuring the best in creative writing from children aged 5 to 18.
http://www.mystworld.com/youngwriter/

The Young Writers' Collection

This is a collection of work by young writers.
http://www.angelfire.com/in/youngwriters/

National Young Writers Festival

A terrific site for young authors age 5-18. Lots of stories and contests.
http://www.renewal.org.au/writersfestival/

The Young Illustrators Gallery

See examples of some talented young illustrators.
http://www.alicemclerran.com/young_illustrators.html

Kids Illustrate Fairytales

Kids from all over the world submitted artwork to illustrate Whootie’s fairytales and folk tales.
http://www.storiestogrowby.com/contest.html

Dawn of Day

Dawn of Day is a company devoted to publishing books written and illustrated by young people. They encourage original works and guide people through the writing process.
http://www.dawnofday.com/

Kids Earth & Sky Young Artists Gallery

Art from kids all over the world. Contests and art posted on the web.
http://www.earthsky.com/Kids/Gallery/

• paper
• pens or pencils
• glue
• stapler
• tagboard/cardboard
• computer/printer (optional)
• crayons/paint (optional)
• magazines (optional)

This project can be as simple or elaborate as you would like. The idea is to create your own book using a variety of different techniques.

First, you want to write your story. You can handwrite it on paper or type it on the computer and print it off. Separate your story into pages, putting as many or few lines per page as you want.

To illustrate your book you may:

1. Draw your own pictures using pens, pencils, markers, paint or crayons.
2. Cut pictures out of magazines and glue them to your page.
3. Use clip-art on your computer to illustrate your book. (of course, remember, these pictures are protected by copyright law)

To cover your book, decorate the tag board cover any way you like. You may use decorative or textured paper, cloth paint, magazine pictures etc. Arrange pages in order, place decorated front cover on top, back cover on the bottom, and staple or tie together. Printable pdf file.