What Makes a Good Children’s Story? Here’s How We Built One From Scratch
Inside the creation of “The World of Emotions,” Bobbibook’s most thoughtfully crafted story yet.
What makes a children's book good? Not just fun to read — but meaningful, lasting, and genuinely helpful for little hearts and minds.
At Bobbibook, this question keeps us up at night (in the best way). When we started creating our second storybook, The World of Emotions, we knew we wanted to dig deeper:
“What would it look like to build a story that truly helps kids understand their feelings?”
The answer took us on quite a journey — months of drafting, countless revisions, a few emotional moments of our own, and guidance from some wonderful experts.
🎓 Building Stories That Matter
To make sure our story would truly connect with young readers, we worked with a professor of children's literature at Srinakharinwirot Prasarnmit University. She helped us craft a narrative that would touch hearts, not just deliver lessons.
What emerged? A day at the amusement park... that doesn't go quite as planned.
In this personalized adventure, your child experiences three big feelings: frustration, sadness, and anger. But instead of rushing past these emotions, the story gently guides your child to recognize, name, and navigate them with care.
🎨 Art That Speaks Without Words
The beautiful illustrations came to life through Thai artist Sukol Sitthijaroentham, who brings her own perspective as a mother to a 3-year-old daughter. Her approach felt deeply personal from the start.
Her favorite scene shows another child feeling remorse after accidentally hurting our main character's feelings.
She spent extra time on that boy's posture and expression, using soft lighting to capture the emotional shift — a gentle way of teaching empathy through imagery alone.
Every illustration in this book carries purpose. The art doesn't just decorate the story — it deepens it.
![An illustrated scene shows a boy looking down with a guilty expression after being confronted for cutting in line. A group of people, including adults and children, watch the scene. A bubble contains the words, “Excuse me,” [Your Kid’s Name] said to the boy. “We were here first. It’s not nice to cut in line.” The boy turns around, surprised, and then looks down at his feet in remorse.](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!N2Sy!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ff7e465e4-444c-4651-90dd-c612797310fc_2552x1689.png "An illustrated scene shows a boy looking down with a guilty expression after being confronted for cutting in line. A group of people, including adults and children, watch the scene. A bubble contains the words, “Excuse me,” [Your Kid’s Name] said to the boy. “We were here first. It’s not nice to cut in line.” The boy turns around, surprised, and then looks down at his feet in remorse.")
🧠 What We've Learned About Meaningful Stories
Creating The World of Emotions taught us that truly good children's books share a few special qualities:
They welcome all feelings. Big emotions aren't problems to solve — they're natural parts of being human. The story creates space for them without judgment.
They offer gentle tools, not magic solutions. Instead of making sadness disappear, we show simple practices like taking deep breaths, pausing to think, and reaching out for connection.
They plant seeds that grow. Long after the book is closed, children carry something with them — a phrase, a feeling, a new way to understand what's happening inside.
We didn't set out to write just another book about emotions. We wanted to create something that would sit with children in their big moments and whisper, "What you're feeling is okay. Let's figure this out together."
📚 Stories That Grow With Your Child
This isn't simply a personalized book with your child's name sprinkled throughout. It's a thoughtfully crafted story designed to evolve alongside your little one.
At Bobbibook, we believe the best stories don't just help children escape into imagination — they help them return to the real world feeling a little braver, a little more understood, and a little more capable of handling whatever comes their way.
Discover The World of Emotions here: 👇🏻
https://bobbibook.com/products/02_emotion
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