{"id":12783,"date":"2026-05-08T10:13:00","date_gmt":"2026-05-08T16:13:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.printingcenterusa.com\/blog\/?p=12783"},"modified":"2026-05-08T13:29:19","modified_gmt":"2026-05-08T19:29:19","slug":"the-complete-guide-to-childrens-book-printing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.printingcenterusa.com\/blog\/the-complete-guide-to-childrens-book-printing\/","title":{"rendered":"The Complete Guide to Children’s Book Printing"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The children\u2019s book market is growing at a rapid rate. According to the Association of American Publishers<\/a>, children\u2019s and YA fiction sales reached $5.33 billion in 2024 and grew 20% between 2020 and 2024. If you\u2019re a self-publisher thinking about hopping onto this new world, now is the time. But with that comes a lot of decisions to make beyond the content and illustrations: Size. Binding. Paper.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It can seem like a whole new world, if you’re doing this for the first time. Every choice seems like a lot when put all on the table at once. This guide breaks it all down so the children’s book printing process feels a lot less overwhelming, and you can walk into your order with confidence!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

Starting Point <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Unless you have kids or read along with kids, you probably can\u2019t think of the last children\u2019s book you read. It\u2019s a good idea to go to a library or a bookstore and spend a few minutes looking at the books on the market. This will let you take it all in and give you an idea of what you want for your book. Was it lightweight? Easy to carry? Did it lay-flat? Is it big enough for kids to see the images if you\u2019re reading to them? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are lots of elements to consider. Once you have a feel for what is out there, here is what you need to know to make the right printing choices for your book. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Book Sizes For Children’s Books <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Book size is the most important decision you make for the book. It determines how quickly kids notice it, if it can be read easily, how your illustrations will look on the page and how much it costs to produce.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In printing, the size is also called trim size. The trim size is just the final dimensions of your book after it has been trimmed and printed. This is important to know and give to your illustrator. If your illustrator creates artwork at the wrong size, you can resize it later, but it can create stretched images, cropped edges or white spaces that were never part of the original design.  To make the process as easy as possible: choose your size before starting any artwork and build everything else around it<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Portrait, Landscape, or Square: Choosing Your Orientation<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

First, determine what orientation you think will work best visually with your story. Your illustrations aren\u2019t done yet, but you know the content and the overall vibe of the book.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Portrait is the vertical view and is taller than it is wide.<\/strong> It is the most common orientation for picture books. It works well for stories with scenes that have vertical elements like trees, buildings, or anything where the height adds to the story.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

This example is from \u201cJordan Can\u2019t Sleep\u201d By Nancy Bogart. She uses the portrait size to make the illustrations bigger and have more breathing room to add to the characters shown.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

What are the best portrait children\u2019s book sizes?<\/h4>\n\n\n\n