Lauren Child is a well known picture book author and illustrator. If you don't recognize her by name, you're probably familiar with her distinct characters that grace picture book covers on display at your bookstore. I recently picked-up two of her books, Snow is my Favorite and my Best, and The Pesky Rat. Something that stood out for me in Snow, was the voice of her characters, Charlie and Lola. Oftentimes, picture books are written in 3rd person with an adult voice that appeals to children. But in Lauren's book, Lola's older sister Charlie tells the story. Both characters have true, genuine voices. I've read more than one picture book manuscript where the author uses baby talk to capture a child's voice. This usually doesn't work. If you're trying to tell a story with a young voice, check out Lauren Child's Snow is my Favorite and my Best to see how it can be done successfully. The Pesky Rat is basically a "new pet" story. But Lauren adds a twist on every page. These twists add humor and bring something original to the Picture Book shelves. Reading, A Pesky Rat confirms my belief that you can take a common idea children are familiar with, twist the character, the setting, the action your MC takes and especially the ending to create a creative, unique story kids and parents will love to share. And that's what I learned while reading—Lauren Child.
Thanks for the recommendations. I know exactly what you mean about the "baby talk" voice NOT working. Often writers don't realize that when they're trying to sound like children, they're actually talking down to them. I'm not very familiar with Lauren Child's work, but I'll have to check it out.