Everything else is past and no longer of deep interest to me. Being truthful at the deepest level, touching the mind and heart. There is no one single trend. And any trends we identify right now will be gone by the time anyone manages to write a book for that trend. So I'd rather not think in those terms.
Any art is difficult.
And while there are many different publishers and other avenues for publishing a children's story, the competition is fierce. Every day I manage a new sentence, phrase, paragraph, chapter, story. I am always working on books. Right now I am revising a major YA historical novel, writing a middle grade fantasy novel, writing a YA Arthurian novel, putting together four books of themed poetry collections and one themed poetry anthology, working on an adult folklore book, a picture book about a ballet, a music book, and a retold Russian fold tale. And those are just the books that are in the forebrain.