Is there a single main character?
There should be only one main character. The reader needs to identify with this person and be eager for him to get what he wants and worry with him when things go wrong. More than one character dilutes that relationship, spreading the reader's concern too thin, so that he doesn't get to know either character as well as he might a single, solid, character.

Is the main character's age appropriate?
Your main character should be close to the age of the reader or slightly older. Adults do not make good main characters in picture books because children do not identify with them. If you want a child character who has the power to do adult things, you might want to use an animal to represent the hero. Children identify with animals more readily than with adult humans.

Is the story about events that are close to a child's experience?
A story about an adult situation, like finding a job, is not going to move a young reader. Picture books are about the lives of children. Their actions and scenes take place in a child's home, with his family, his school, his neighborhood. Look for what is familiar and show it in a fresh, new way.

Is the character believable?
Give your character realistically natural dialogue and behavior, coming up with realistic solutions to problems. If you make him too smart or adult, the reader will not be able to identify with him.

Is the story from inside the child's head, and not about childhood?
Write your story from the child's point of view, and not looking back as an adult. Remember children are small, in a big world. They may not be able to reach things. They may be as tall as their dad's belt buckle. Think about how other people look to your hero. Apart from size, what would a child notice?

Is the main character active, rather than passive?
Your character has to take a major role in his own story. He has to solve the story problem through his own actions. He can find help with an adult.

Do his actions move the story along?
The story should move forward because of the actions of the main character. Other characters can come into the story, but the major movement of the plot should occur because of what the hero does.

Do you know the character well?
For your character to live and breathe in your story, with so few words to help you show it, you have to know him very well. You don't have to use all you know; but you have to know enough about him so that you can anticipate his actions and reactions. This knowledge can also help you decide how to solve the story problem.

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