Every book has one page shape, which we call the Form. You choose it when you start the book, and it fixes the shape of every page inside. This article explains the choices and why the shape stays put.
The five shapes
- Square (8.5 by 8.5 inches). The classic picture-book shape. Friendly, balanced, and lovely for read-alouds.
- Portrait (8 by 10 inches). Taller than it is wide. A common, comfortable storybook shape.
- US Letter (8.5 by 11 inches). A tall page with plenty of room, and easy to print at home.
- A4 Portrait. The tall page size used across much of the world, also easy to print at home.
- Landscape (11 by 8.5 inches). Wider than it is tall. Wonderful for sweeping scenes and two-page spreads.
Why the shape is fixed for the whole book
A book should feel like one object. If page two were square and page three were landscape, it would not sit right in a reader's hands, and it could not be printed as a single book. Fixing the shape keeps every page consistent and keeps your book ready to print and publish cleanly.
Shape versus layout
Choosing a shape is not the same as choosing where the picture and words sit. Inside a fixed shape, you can still rearrange art and text: art filling the whole page, art on top with text below, and so on. That inside-the-page arrangement is called art placement, and it never changes the page's shape, only how art and words share the space. You will meet it in designing a page.
How to choose
Picture the finished book. Square and portrait are the safe, familiar storybook shapes. Landscape shines when your art wants to stretch wide across the page, or across a spread. If you plan to print at home, US Letter and A4 are the friendliest. When in doubt, square is a lovely default.
A gentle heads-up
Because the shape carries through the whole book (and into printing), it is best chosen thoughtfully at the start. If you truly need a different shape later, the cleanest path is a new book. So take a moment now, and pick the shape that fits the story you see in your mind.