Best-selling New Zealand author Joy Cowley, author of hundreds of books, including the classic Mrs. Wishy-Washy, offers an indispensable manual for those who are called to write for children. Brimming with down-to-earth advice and keen insight, the book draws on Cowley's lifetime of writing and teaching writers. From plot to dialogue, and on through discipline and humor, editing and presentation, Cowley reveals the whys and hows of telling stories that will captivate young readers. Above all, Cowley reminds writers to "keep your serious adult voice under control, and let the child within you grow wings to fly with the child out there."