N° 06 — Board books
A studio service
Board books for toddlers.
Bold-shape, high-contrast illustration designed for children aged zero to three. Small trim, thick pages, almost no text — but every millimeter carefully considered.
Built to be chewed on.
N° 01Why board books are different
A different craft from picture books.
A board book is not a picture book printed on thicker paper. It's a fundamentally different format — smaller trim, fewer pages, dramatically simpler illustration, and text that sometimes disappears entirely.
Two-year-olds can't follow visual complexity. They need one clear character per page, one clear action, one clear color story. Everything else is noise. The craft is in knowing what to remove.
N° 02What we design
Every part of a board book.
01
Cover illustration
Bold, single-subject cover that reads at toddler-grip distance. High contrast, big shapes, saturated color.
02
Interior spreads
Typically 12–16 spreads. One scene per spread, one clear subject, minimal or no background clutter.
03
Text placement
Often 0–5 words per spread. Designed for a parent to read aloud while the toddler holds the book.
04
Tactile elements
Optional: lift-the-flap, touch-and-feel, peek-through holes. We can design for any interactive format your printer supports.
N° 03Production
Printing and production notes.
Board books are not a standard KDP format. KDP currently supports paperback and hardcover only — true board book printing requires specialty manufacturers like Thomson-Shore (US), Friesens (Canada), or QP Printing (international).
We prepare files to whatever manufacturer you choose, including the specific color profiles, trim sizes, and corner-radius specs each one requires. We've worked with three specialty printers and can recommend based on your print run size and budget.
Minimum print runs are usually 500–1,000 copies for true board-book production. If you want smaller runs, a hardcover picture book with thicker paper is a good compromise — still durable, printable on KDP, no minimums.
N° 04Investment
Three ways to work together.
First title
From $2,400
A single 12-spread board book with cover.
- Cover illustration
- 12–14 interior spreads
- Text placement and typography
- Print-ready files for specialty POD
- 2 rounds of revisions per spread
Signature
From $3,800
A 16-spread board book plus character sheet for future titles.
- Cover illustration
- 16 interior spreads
- Full character design sheet
- Endpapers
- Print-ready files for any manufacturer
- 2 rounds of revisions per spread
- Marketing pack
Series
From $9,000
Three or more linked board books sharing a character.
- 3+ titles
- Shared character + style system
- 16 spreads per book
- Full print files per title
- Marketing pack per title
- Series style guide
N° 05Questions
The answers we give most often.
- Can I sell a board book on Amazon KDP?
- Not as a true board book — KDP doesn't print that format. You can sell a hardcover version on KDP and a board book version through your own specialty print run. Many indie authors do both.
- How many pages should a board book have?
- Usually 12 or 16 pages total (including cover). Anything longer starts feeling like a picture book that's the wrong format. Shorter works for under-18-month board books.
- Do board books need a storyline?
- Not really — many successful board books are concept books (colors, numbers, animals, feelings) rather than narratives. For under-2 audiences the concept book outperforms the narrative. For 2–3 year-olds, simple narratives start working.
- Can you design lift-the-flap or touch-and-feel?
- Yes. These require coordination with a specialty printer who can produce the physical format, but we handle the design and spec work. Lift-the-flap adds roughly 20–30% to the design time.
Start your book
Let's make a board book.
Tell us the age (0–3), theme, and whether you're planning interactive elements. We'll reply within two working days with a proposal.