From Picture Books to Chapter Books: Bridging the Gap

When I was a child, reading wasn’t something that came very easily to me. But reading pictures was. I loved art, and I discovered my love of stories through the art in picture books. I would frequent the public library with my family, check out piles of picture books, and spend hours in my room reading the pictures… and eventually the words. The first book I can remember reading on my own was Imogene’s Antlers by author and artist David Small. I will never forget how proud I felt to read that wonderfully hilarious book all by myself. It was a special milestone moment.

However, I can also remember the shame I felt in school shortly thereafter. It was the third grade. While many of my classmates were moving on to chapter books that year, I didn’t feel ready. Those books had way fewer pictures, and WAY more words. The transition from picture books to chapter books felt too big. This caused me a lot of anxiety, and for a while, I even lost that love of books I had in my early elementary years when reading picture books was something that was praised. In the late 80’s, there were little to no graphic novels or early chapter books with illustrations to help an apprehensive new reader move from the picture book format to longer-form stories with confidence (I know my fellow visual learners understand!). Pictureless books don’t offer that space in the story to pause, to study a drawing, and reflect on the meaning of what you’ve just read. When reading a book with pictures, you can place yourself in those images, connecting more deeply with the characters and their world. And although I eventually grew comfortable reading longer, less illustrative books, I’ve always remembered that challenging time in my reading life.

When I placed my foot in the publishing door in 2005, I was mainly focused on writing and illustrating picture books. But I was very aware of the need for early chapter books in the industry. Books for kids like Little Lauren. Books that gave new readers the confidence to pick up a 100+ page book and read it all by themself. I hoped I would one day have an idea that could lend itself to that longer format, a way to help fill the gap I saw on bookshelves.

Fast forward to early 2014. I had just moved out of New York City— the place I called home for over a decade, leaving most of my close friends behind. Shortly after the move, a hedgehog drawing appeared in my sketchbook. She was the hedgehog who would eventually star in my 2020 chapter book, Our Friend Hedgehog. I didn’t know her story for quite a while, but she felt special, and I didn’t want to force one on her. For about two years, as I traveled from place to place in search of somewhere to put down roots, Hedgehog continued to appear in the margins of all my papers and in various sketchbooks. She was symbolic of where I was in my life: starting over, feeling lost, and looking for a place to belong.

In 2016, when I was settling into life in a new city and forming new relationships, it became clear that I wanted Hedgehog’s story to be one of finding herself through fresh friendships and experiences. I began with a small storyboard, but it quickly passed the typical page count of a picture book, so I pitched the idea to my editor as a long-form picture book. She encouraged me not to hold back on my words, and the text eventually became much longer than I had anticipated. Without planning on it, I had written my first early chapter book!

Every book I have published has come from a childhood memory or a personal experience. The Our Friend Hedgehog series hits closest to home. Each book was created around a big theme in my life: Loss and new friendships (The Story of Us), found family (A Place to Call Home), and confidence and believing in oneself (School for Woodland Creatures, coming out 7/14/26!). They are books with over 100 pages and with art on every spread. These are the types of books I wish I had had in the third grade. These are the books I hope young readers will remember as their own bridge to longer chapter books and novels. I feel incredibly lucky for the opportunity to make them.

Lauren studied illustration at the Maryland Institute College of Art and received her MFA from the School of Visual Arts in New York City. She is the author and illustrator of the 2015 Caldecott Honor winning book, Nana in the City, and the chapter book series, Our Friend Hedgehog. Lauren has also illustrated several critically acclaimed picture books, including Kirkus Prize finalist Imagine by Juan Felipe Herrera, Twenty Yawns by Jane Smiley, and Yard Sale by Eve Bunting. She currently draws and dreams in Harrisburg, PA. You can find Lauren online on Facebook, Instagram, and on her website.

GIVEAWAY INFORMATION: You can win one of three copies of School for Woodland Creatures by Lauren Castillo donated by Knopf/RH. To enter the giveaway, leave a comment about this post by Wednesday, May 13, at 6:00 p.m. EDT. The winner will be randomly selected by Stacey Shubitz and announced at the bottom of the preview post by Monday, May 18. You must have a U.S. mailing address and provide a valid e-mail address when you post your comment. If you win, Stacey will email you for your mailing address. She will choose a new winner if you do not respond with your mailing address within five days.