Mini Lesson in Writing a Picture Book

Recently someone with a few characters in mind asked me, "How do I write a picture book?"

This was a phone conversation, so I didn't have much time. I didn't point out that I'd studied English in college and grad school and kept reading lots of books, wrote a zillion pages that never worked out, regularly bang my head on my desk, and keep myself still until some delight comes back onto the page.

What I said was, "Watch the balance of what's a lesson and what's fun. Most books have something to...