How to write a a children's book?

Steps

Get a list of things together. It could be about a bee or a butterfly, or a lonely bumble bee.
Think of a simple event or conflict, such as a storm, or getting all muddy, or getting lost, or feeling left out and trying to find a new home.
Be sure to put a child or children at the center of the story. It should be about the child, or from the child's perspective. The child should be instrumental in working out the solution or solving the conflict.
A children's picture book is typically 32 pages. Allow 4 pages for front and back matters (copyright, etc.) and you have 28 pages to work with. Write tightly and with concrete words that evoke concrete images. Remember that "concrete" = closest to sense experience - taste, touch, etc.
Always end happily (no tears).
Work with an artist to put pictures in every (or almost every) page. Fill it up with more pictures than words. You need not provide illustrations, however. An editor may acquire a compelling story and assign an illustrator.
Go back and make sure a kid can understand it. If the kid has to stop and ask "what's that word mean?" every sentence, then you need to simplify (to some degree building vocabulary is good) and that's it.

Tips

Try to work with kids a little bit. Volunteer at a daycare or similar place if you can. Understand them and the way they relate to the world around them.
Children aren't afraid to express their creativity, and humor. Using funny words and phrases will help keep them interested in the story.
Avoid overly-used story lines. Cinderella, The Ugly Duckling, (You are beautiful if others think you are./Don’t judge others by appearances.) Pinocchio (Be true to yourself.) The Wizard of Oz (Home is best. Be careful what you wish for.) and other classics all have story lines that are too familiar to editors. Unless you can put some colossally huge, unique spin on them, avoid them.
Verse: (Especially rhyming verse) in the right hands can be great. Usually it isn’t. Some editors specify “no verse.” If you can’t tell the story any other way, then verse is appropriate. If you want to versify use free verse. If you want to versify in rhyme, use a rhyming dictionary (See The Complete Rhyming Dictionary ed by Clement Wood, Laurel, 1991 Includes “Poet’s Craft Book.”) Make sure the meter and rhymes are dead-on and the lines sound natural.
Anthropomorphism: Editors are sent so many bad stories that feature talking turnips, trout and mineral collections, that stories using these can be a hard sell, although brave little toasters have sometimes prevailed.
Overt moralizing or didacticism is an authorial intrusion, and even worse, the author is an adult! Don’t try to teach or wag your finger. Simply write about a character doing things that are interesting from a child’s perspective or sensibility. Consequences of actions will happen. Resist tagging a moral on the story.
Try to use little or small words per sentence!

Warnings

Make sure if you include a more morbid topic, that it is simplified as much as you can. If your book seems too mature to a parent, they won't buy your book.

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