In my How To Self-Publish a Children’s Book, I shared a link to a side with a wonderful list of Children’s Book Story Openers & Story Starters. But with the ever-changing web and its links, it is no longer available, so I wanted to make sure to also share my own favorite opening lines right here. Hopefully, they will get your own creative juices going.
And if you are looking to learn how to write the BEST ending for your children’s book, be sure to watch my video on the perfect children’s book ending right here. And for a LIST of fun and creative Story Book Endings & Closings, be sure to check out my favorite ones right here.
Children’s Book Story Openers & Story Starters
- Once upon a time…
- A long, long time ago…
- Long, long ago…
- There is a magical kingdom called…
- This couldn’t be happening!
- I knew that something very special was about to happen…
- In a faraway land…
- Peter was not very happy…
- Everybody knows…
- In a distant land…
- Many years ago in a small village…
- She decided to visit the old woman who lived in the forest . . .
- He was sad today because…
- There was once a…
- Early one sunny morning…
- At the time when men and animals were all the same and spoke the same language…
- Once there was a little boy who…
- On a fine and sunny day…
- Once there was, and twice there wasn’t…
- Before the beginning of time, before the beginning of everything, before there was a beginning…
- Did you ever hear the story of…
- Conner hadn’t meant for this to happen…
- Long ago, so long ago, I wasn’t there or I wouldn’t be here now to tell you the tale…
- “Surprise!” they all shouted, leaping out from behind the door…
- This was the happiest day of his life…
- Back in the days when…
- This happened or maybe it did not.
- In a land that never was in a time that could never be…
- Sammy could feel his heart racing…
- Twas not in my time, ’twas not in your time, but it was in somebody’s time…
- Not again, Chloe thought…
- Marla couldn’t believe she was finally here…
- Oscar dreaded this time of year…
- It was a sunny July afternoon, when…
- Here’s a story I learnt from an owl…
- I have always loved chocolate, so I was…
- Have you ever had a feeling that something wasn’t right? …
- People say that dragons aren’t real, but I know better…
- Before the disaster, Carol had been…
- Here is a story!
- Not so long ago, …
- In a land of myth and a time of magic…
- As the bus pulled away, Lauren realized that…
- With tears in his eyes, he turned around and began to walk away…
- It was the first day of school…
- In ancient times, when…
- Deep in the ocean, where no light reaches…
- Today was the day – …
- And that’s when they decided to…
- There was no way that this was…
- The plan was decided. We were going to…
Ways to come up with your own Children’s Book Story Openers
And here are a some ways to come up with your own unique and colorful children’s book story openers:
- Introduce the tale as having happened long ago.
- Create excitement or curiosity around your story by hinting at an uncertain or unbelievable origin.
- If your story has a takeaway, you could have your opening reveal the importance of your story. Or it could allude to the act of passing tales down through generations.
- Your opening could reveal the delight in both the telling of and the listening to this story.
- And my personal favorite: Look in your own favorite children’s books and let yourself be inspired by their colorful and unique opening lines.
Here is to your very own beautiful children’s book story openers! I can’t wait to read the first line of your book!
xo
~ Eevi
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