Less is More
By Ann Cooper

In spite of reading many picture books to learn how I could make mine work better, I never quite got the most important message: Less is more! Then I began to freelance for a company that creates interpretive signs for parks, zoos, trails, and the like. The work has taught me much about the craft of writing—and not just about writing for children.

Our interpretive messages must cut to the chase. People will not hang around to read a longwinded explanation (any more than readers will last out a tedious first paragraph, let alone a boring first page). With our signs we must grab the audience fast: We must be entertainers first and subtle teachers second.

It’s the same tactic that makes for a successful picture book. When it comes to language, we make it direct and active. Word choice is wide open. Unusual, even invented words pull in a reader faster than the trite and tried.

We choose each word with exquisite care. The reader will never know which other words were considered and rejected. They will take an image home with them, and we’d better be darned sure it’s an accurate one—the one we intend.

Think of verbs you might choose in describing how a lion hunts (and think of the possible synonyms for each of the choices): stalk (follow, pursue, trail, shadow, haunt, tail), pounce (swoop, jump, leap, ambush), chase (run after, hound, track), grab (snatch, grasp, capture, clutch, take hold of, seize, grip), tear (rip, slash, scratch, slit, shred, destroy), drag (heave, yank, haul, pull). The choice matters!

I’ve started to analyze and rank interpretive signs I come across. Analyzing them helps me see what works, what doesn’t. Besides being entertained and, sometimes, enlightened, I’m honing my skills as I walk the trails.

Ann Cooper, an ex-Brit and now passionate Coloradoan, has written 10 books for children. She is a volunteer teacher on the trail for Boulder County Parks and Open Space and her writing about local natural history has appeared in several publications including Colorado Gardener, Boulder Magazine, and Aurora Magazine.