A square book for toddlers (8.5″ × 8.5″)
Extra-thick lines, giant shapes, square pages: build a “My First Coloring Book” for ages 3–5 like our Sweet Treats Party.
Books for three-year-olds fail for boring, physical reasons: lines too thin to stay inside, scenes too busy to read, pages too tall to sit flat on a small table. This tutorial builds the opposite — the settings behind “Sweet Treats Party”, our square toddler book.
1. Write a toddler-shaped idea
Ask for one subject per page, drawn huge, with almost no background. Something like:
Adorable kawaii desserts with happy faces — cupcakes, donuts, ice cream cones and cookies. One big smiling character per page, extra-thick bold outlines, no background clutter, my first coloring book for ages 3–5.
The phrases doing the work here are “one big … per page”, “extra-thick bold outlines”, and “no background clutter”.
2. Choose the square format
In Settings, pick 8.5″ × 8.5″. Square pages suit a single centered character far better than a tall page, they sit flat on a toddler table, and they stand out on a shelf full of letter-sized books. The AI generates square illustrations to match, so nothing gets cropped awkwardly — more on this in Book formats and trim sizes.
3. Set the age range to 3–5
This is the single most important switch. It thickens outlines, enlarges shapes, and strips detail down to what a small hand can actually color. Don't compensate by also asking for “simple” fifteen times in the prompt — the setting already handles it.
4. Keep the book short
Ten to twenty illustrations is plenty for this age. Toddlers rarely finish long books, and a short book prints cheaper, which matters if you're selling it.
5. Review with a specific eye
When the images land, check each page for three things: are the outlines genuinely thick? Is there one obvious subject? Are there any tiny enclosed areas a crayon can't reach? Regenerate anything that fails — it's free.
6. Cover and export
Generate a bright, high-contrast cover — toddler books sell on color and one clear character. Then export both PDFs as usual. Because the trim is square, the wraparound cover spread is built square too, with the spine computed from your page count.
A note on series
Age-specific editions outsell “all ages” books. If your theme works, build the same subject again at ages 6–8 in 8.5″ × 11″ — it's a genuinely different product for a different buyer, and the second one takes half the time now that you know the flow.