Picture book signatures are printed in multiples of 8, thus picture books typically having 24, 32, 40, or 48 pages. The most common page count is 32.
The first 3 pages, however, are for front matter (your copyright and title pages).
Why does this matter?
While when writing a novel we should consider standard word counts, picture book writers will ~also~ want to consider how they imagine the words on the page and where the ideal breaks (page turns) will be for their young readers.
Even if you choose to submit a manuscript without recommended page turns, picture books are a visual story flow—it’s helpful to be able to imagine what your reader will see versus what they will read, and how it will come together.
I’ve workshopped a few recently that fell somewhere in the middle of page counts, or hit them exactly without space for the front three pages.
Picture book writers who are NOT illustrators, what do you find helpful in visualizing how the final print may come together?
