Cath Jones writes picture books and early readers. I interviewed her for the January 2020 issue #219 of Writers’ Forum about the importance of early readers and how they differ from picture books.

She explained how early readers usually form part of an educational reading scheme. They are aimed at readers of any age who are learning to read. Each publisher produces their own set of early reader guidelines or instructions for authors to use. These are usually based very closely on the Department of Education publication: Letters and Sounds (anyone can download this free of charge). This sets out very clearly, level by level which letters can be used, the type of vocabulary, complexity of sentences etc.

Cath told me:

“I try really hard to make my early readers stories funny and unexpected. One publisher told me that my stories are too quirky and another that they are too crazy. But children love that and so do I. I’ve had about twenty accepted for publication so far, with three different publishers.” Cath Jones

Cath explained it is important to keep the story interesting enough to engage an early and reluctant readers. Using appropriate words for the different ability levels can be quite a challenge. She told me she always tries to come up with a surprising twist at the end.

“When I write stories I have two aims in mind. I want to keep the reader interested enough to keep them reading on and more often than not, I want to make them laugh. The majority of stories I write are humorous and maybe a little quirky: a zebra who grows beetroot, chickens that knit, owls acting as hats.” Cath Jones

How I set about writing an early reader, depends on whether it is a higher or lower level book. For the lower levels, I have lists of all the words that are appropriate to that level. I study the lists and try to create a story (very often humorous). The story might have as few as 70 words and none of them more than three letters long. It’s like doing a puzzle. It’s a challenge but very rewarding. For the higher levels there are fewer restrictions so I just try to write the best possible story to engage a reader. One reviewer recently described Chicken Knitters as being as good as any early chapter book.

She revealed that when she first started writing stories for children, she had no idea that there were rules. She joined a local writing group and was amazed to discover that there were hundreds of books on the theory of writing.

“Getting rejections is never easy but other writers encouraged me not to give up. I remember author Jane Clarke telling me that it was those who persist who get published. She was right! In the end, all that effort paid off. In the space of a few months I had eight early readers accepted and my first picture book, Bonkers About Beetroot.” Cath Jones

Her inspiration for writing Bonkers About Beetroot was her own allotment. She also used to run school gardening clubs and for a number of years she managed a community allotment. So it’s really not surprising that gardening is a frequent theme in her stories. At the community allotment, she ran some really fun projects, including story sack making for families. She made a purple stripy zebra out of Fimo with the kids and close by was a bed of beetroot. Instantly she knew Zebra had eaten too much beetroot. The idea of a beetroot eating zebra just wouldn’t go away. It stayed in her head for years, quietly composting while she got on with life, growing vegetables and writing many, many stories.

Her writing tips for readers who may be interested in writing for the younger age range is it’s really important to know who you are writing for. Think about the age group that might read your story and ask yourself what they are interested in. If they are beginner readers, make sure your story gets going fast and keep up a good pace. If they get bored they won’t read on.

To find out more about Cath Jones and her books check out her website: @cathjoneswriter

You can read the complete feature in #219 Jan 2020 of Writers’ Forum magazine.