What makes a story BE a children's story

[Wichita]

What makes a story BE a children's story.

I mean, if I write a simple story and it doesn't have any cuss words, does that make it a children's story?

OR

Is there an ingedient that you must add to a story so that it can be called a children's story?

None of my stories have any dirty words and the plots are "nice."
Am I writing children stories?

[Christine N.]

I would say that a) the main character is a child, or a little older than the age range you are shooting for, b) the subject matter is relevant to what the age range you are trying to writer for - you wouldn't call a story where the main character is a middle aged investment banker a children's story. Well, maybe you would, if you did it from the POV of another character, say his child.

A lot of literary fiction has nice plots and no curse words (think - Mr. Norrell ) but I wouldn't call it a children's story.

It also has to do with length and reading level. How difficult is the language, what reading level would comprehend it - 6th grade or 12th grade?

[Jamesaritchie]

What makes a story BE a children's story.

I mean, if I write a simple story and it doesn't have any cuss words, does that make it a children's story?

OR

Is there an ingedient that you must add to a story so that it can be called a children's story?

None of my stories have any dirty words and the plots are "nice."
Am I writing children stories?

Children's storys are nearly always about children. A child is the POV character, and the story itself is one a child will be interesed in and can relate to.

[pam]

Reading children's literature is the single best way to distinguish the difference. Find a genre you like and read a TON of it. Then start writing your own stories. You won't really understand the difference until you study it. (I know, I tried and it didn't work.)

http://www.pamcalvert.com

[Dewayne]

In my opinion, in order for a story to be classified as a children's story, it must be something in which a child can identify. For example, a story about the life of a NASCAR Driver would probably not be a children's story, but a story about a twelve-year old girl who won a weekend with the Pit Crew of a NASCAR Driver after she raised the most money for a project at school probably would be a children's story. That being said, the target audience would probably be teenagers as opposed to younger children.