Thinking like a kid

I've been writing children's books for a long time now.

I've gotten pretty good at remembering to think like a kid.

But sometimes I forget.

Because I'm not a kid.

Recently, I was putting away my WIP for the day when I happened to scan a page.

I had written:

Stella watched as Levi and C.J. and Jiggs headed in one direction and Mutt in the other. She definitely smelled a rat. But she was tired and hungry and wanted to go home.

And it hit me....

A kid gets tired when she's in the department store with her mother.....

A kid doesn't get tired riding her bike.

So I changed it.

But she was hot and hungry and wanted to go home.