"Give me a really good first line, 

something I can sink my teeth into, that just pulls me in and makes me want to read more. For me, a really great first line raises a question in my mind, or, better yet, two or three, where I just have to read the book to find out. 

A good first line gives me context about the story and lays a roadmap for where we're going."

Jennifer March Soloway
Senior Agent at the Andrea Brown Literary Agency
During an interview on the Writers with Wrinkles podcast

October 2024

Welcome! I'm so glad you stopped by.
I hope you find this collection of picture book first lines inspiring and motivational.

If you'd like your book included in a future collection, click here.

Elements of a great first line

A Credit Card
Takes Charge

words by Kimberly Wilson, art by Mark Hoffman
Published by Page Street Kids
First line: Manufactured, mailed, and activated—Goldie charged into the wallet HOT.
Elements used: introduces the main character, employs poetic devices, engages multiple senses, starts in the middle of the action, uses a play on words, introduces a concept, establishes the setting of the story, and sets the tone for the story

Read Kimberly's first line revision journey here.

An Etrog From Across the Sea

Words by Kerry Olitzky and Deborah Bodin Cohen, art by Stacey Dressen McQueen

Published by Kar-Ben publishing

First line: July 1729 To my beloved wife and my dear children, Leah and Aaron, We have been blessed with calm seas across the Atlantic.

Elements used: Establishes the setting of the story and makes the reader wonder something and feel something

Mouse on the River: A Journey Thru Nature

By Alice Melvin

Published by Thomas & Hudson Ltd

First line: I set out from the woods in the first light of the day.

Elements used: makes the reader feel something

We Don't Eat Our Neighbors

By Daniel J. Mahoney

Published by Farrar Straus Giroux

First line: Libby and Herbert lived with their parents in a sloppy swamp.

Elements used: introduces the main characters, establishes the setting of the story and engages multiple senses

Maria Mariposa

Words by Karla Arenas Valenti, art by Ana Ramirez Gonzalez

Published by chronicle books

First line: One brand-new morning, in a brand-new city, on the very first day of a brand-new school, a gift arrived from Mexico.

Elements used: makes the reader feel something and wonder something

Out of the Blue

by Rebecca Bach-Lauritsen and Anna Margrethe Kjaergaard

(translated from Danish by Michael Favala Goldman)

Published by Enchanted Lion Books

First line: Suddenly there it was.

Elements used: makes the reader wonder something

The Goblin Twins

Words by Frances Cha, art by Jaime Kim

Published by Crown Books for Young Readers

First line: Doki and Kebi were only 601 years old.

Elements used: makes the reader feel something and surprises the reader

Harper Becomes a Big Sister

Words by Seamus Kirst, art by Karen Bunting

Published by Magination Press

First line: One, two, three. Dad, Daddy, and me.

Elements used: uses unique formatting, makes the reader feel something, and hints at a universal theme

Waiting to Welcome

Words by Samantha Cleaver and REuben Nantogmah, art by Bri Marie McNish

Published Feiwel and friends

First line: “The stranger is here!” Andani announces.

Elements used: makes the reader wonder something

Meowl-O-Ween

Words by Diane Muldrow, art by Tiffany Chen

Published by Astra Young Readers

First line: When the moon’s a golden ball of yarn shining bright against the barn, and the crisp air makes us hurry-scurry, chasing after leaves a-flurry…Meowy Zowie!

Elements used: establishes a rhythm that pulls the reader in, uses poetic devices, engages multiple senses, and makes the reader wonder something