MENTOR TEXT MONDAY: Criminals in Picture Books

by Lynne Marie

I am not sure whether you will find this at all surprising, but at www.RateYourStory.org, we do get some submissions where the main character is, yes -- you guessed it -- a criminal! GASP!

Now criminals aren't the usual picture book fare and there are good reasons why. Generally, here are some things one expects from a picture book:

1. A main character that's likable and kids can connect with, and who usually exhibits good behavior, or at least, good intentions.

2. A problem that kids can identify with.

3. Language that is accessible within the child's worldview, or has context a child will understand.

4. Take away value for the child.

5. A satisfying ending that the child can understand and navigate.

In my mentoring and critiquing service - The Picture Book Mechanic.com, I often caution mentees that writing a picture book about criminals is a challenging choice and that effectively doing this is a difficult task, as well as a rare feat. But I do believe in giving a manuscript it's best shot, so here are some Mentor Texts where the author tackled this topic.

Let's look at our first example:

WANTED! CRIMINALS OF THE ANIMAL KINGDOM by Heather Tekavec, Art by Susan Batori (Kids Can Press, 2020).

Jacket Copy: A crime wave has hit the animal kingdom and Detective X is on the case! Meet some of the animal kingdom's most wanted offenders. Their rap sheets are filled with beastly infractions such as theft, deception and spitting! Yes, spitting!

Join Detective X as he investigates thirteen rascally critters and their distinguishing features, including their diet, life span, habitat and more. Will the animal kingdom ever be safe again?

Why this book works -- This informational fiction book introduces intriguing characters, rather than presents as a story. It's cute, clever, informative, and intriguing and includes Rules of the Animal Kingdom , which actually has important takeaway value for the reader. This book can be read from cover to cover, or, in bite-sized pieces, er, I mean spreads! This book has so many hooks and the art and presentation by Susan Batori is just AMAZING. Get YOUR copy HERE.

COPS AND ROBBERS by Allan Ahlberg and Janet Ahlberg (Puffin, 2010)

Summary: The robbers of London town plan a desperate crime one Christmas Eve - to steal all the toys they can lay their hands on! Fortunately, the robbers meet their match in brave office Pugh who leaps into action and arrests the villains - all except Grandma Swagg who manages to get away.

Why this works: First, and foremost, this works because it starts with featuring cops and their good intentions. The robbers are obstacles in the cop's story goal to keep the world safe. So right away, the reader aligns with the cops and roots for them to catch the criminals. It also utilizes several fun story conventions (elements): Rollicking rhyme, fun language, silliness, humor, refrain that kids can shout out, a satisfying ending (except for Grandma Swagg) with a funny twist, and more! It would be a good book to introduce cops as community helpers, which is a unit in elementary school, except of the mention of drinking beer after a job well done (LOL)! Get your copy HERE.

While the publication date of this book is quite some time ago, there really are only a couple of handfuls of picture books that outright feature criminals. I'm sharing some here, and will be sharing a follow-up post, but please leave your suggestions for crime Mentor Texts in the comment section of this post OR comment that you shared on Social Media (and tell me where). One of you will win a 1/2 hour Ask Me Anything from me! Winner to be chosen June 30, 2026.

THE THREE ROBBERS by Tomi Ungerer (Hans Christian Anderson Prize Winner) Phaidon Press, 2009.

Summary: In this timeless tale, three robbers wearing tall black hats walk the roads at night, terrifying everyone they meet. But one day, they encounter an orphan girl named Tiffany, who isn't scared of them at all ...

This story features main characters who are hard-core criminals that wield weapons -- a blunderbuss, a pepper thrower and a huge red axe! And they use them on victims, although not in the worst sense. Still, they terrify people, blow pepper into the eyes of horses, and smash carriage wheels, as well as threaten passengers and plunder! If that's not bad enough, they kidnap a child.

I think we can safely say that this book (likely acquired 3 or 2 years before 2009, at the very least), would not likely be published today.

Why am I including it? Because after all that nastiness, when questioned about their wealth and treasures by the little girl, there is a huge and rewarding pivot that I don't want to give away. It's super sweet and nice, HOWEVER, it is not what kidnappers do with children, so it's not believable in any way shape or form. SIGH. It would have been nice for us to be able to see their shift a bit more before that pivot in the interest of making the ending more believable. I do think it's worth reading, however, for the redeeming ending, and also for the interesting and effective art style. Grab your copy of this book if you want it, HERE.

If you are going to write a picture book for children about a criminal or criminals, I encourage you to read any comp book you can get your hands on and evaluate WHY it works or WHY it doesn't work. You are inviting the readers to swim upstream (against the traditional picture book current), so it's best to make informed story decisions and make it worth the reader's while.

I really hope these books shed some light (not a jailbreak searchlight LOL) on the topic. Please feel free to share your thoughts and comments in the comment section. And as always, I invite you to attend my FREE Thursday night Mentor Text Talks -- e-mail RYS.CyberOffice@gmail.com for further information.

PS Keep your eyes open for Part Two of this post, scheduled for next Monday.