by Michelle Schaub

Just as the variety of scrumptious flavors in a layer cake tantalize taste buds, layers in a children’s book deepen its richness. What do I mean by layers? In my mind, a layer is any distinct element that connects with readers. This might be a specific topic, like polar bears or pies, a theme, like friendship or forgiveness, or a curricular subject, like geography or government. The more layers a picture book contains, the wider its reader appeal.

I discovered the importance of layers during my eighteen-year publication journey with LEAFY LANDMARKS: Travels with Trees, illustrated by Anne Lambelet and published by Sleeping Bear Press (March 2024). It’s a family road trip through poems to visit 14 famous and historic trees around the United States.

I wrote the first version of this book in 2007, after discovering that a burr oak my children and I liked to picnic under at our local arboretum had once been a gathering place for the Potawatomi people. This sparked the question, “What other important historical moments have trees witnessed?” Through research, I discovered hundreds of famous and historic trees around the country. I gathered the ones I found the most in-TREE-guing (sorry, couldn’t help myself), wrote a narrative vignette about each, and organized them chronologically according to historical moments. From the start, I had two layers: history and trees. Pretty tasty, I thought.

After several years of submission and rejection, I realized that my vignette approach (too many words!) was falling flat. At this point, I had been honing my poetic voice and successfully publishing poems in children’s magazines and anthologies. I decided to trust my palette for poetry and add this layer. I trimmed the vignettes into sidebars and wrote a poem for each tree. As an educator, I know that teachers seek out poetry collections that model different poetic forms, so I used a variety of unique forms, from etheree to zeno. With three layers, my flavor profile was expanding.

I got some nibbles of interest, but no bites. I had an inkling that my chronological structure wasn’t appealing to kids’ (or editors’) appetites. I thought back to what made my own kids excited to join me on tree research trips. The thrill of the expedition! So, I reframed the collect as a family road trip. Until this point, most of the trees I featured were from the eastern US. I extended the road trip to include trees from western states, including the Grove of Titans in California, home to the tallest trees in the world, and the Pando Aspen Grove in Utah, which is one giant organism with over 40,000 cloned trunks. I also added an introductory poem, “Hit the Road” and a map to indicate the locations of the trees along the road trip route. With geography added to the book’s layers, I finally struck the right flavor balance to tantalize Barb McNally at Sleeping Bear, who purchased the manuscript!

Yes, layers add appeal to children’s books. In my years of reading manuscripts with the Rhyme Doctors (the critique business I run with fellow “docs” Eileen Meyer and Patricia Toht), I’ve learned that layers are often what’s missing in novice manuscripts. I encourage clients to seek out fun and unique flavor notes to add to their stories. But this doesn’t mean opening that writing spice cabinet and randomly sprinkling in additional topics, themes, or formats. Cayenne pepper might add zing to a chocolate cake, but mixing in sardines? I don’t suggest it. Likewise, you want to layer topics and themes into your story that, while surprising, meld in a cohesive, balanced way.

I love giving my Rhyme Doctors’ clients mentor texts to help them during revision. So here are a couple recent picture books that showcase a creative but cohesive use of layers:

The Reindeer Remainders: A Lesson in Working Together and Including Others by Katey Howes, illustrated by Marie Hermansson (Sourcebooks, 2024)
This book expertly layers math with social emotional learning topics such as friendship and inclusion, all in a pleasing rhyming narrative. Sadly, Katey passed away unexpectedly in 2024, but her spirit lives on in her heartfelt picture books.

Nancy Bess Had a Dress, by Claire Annette Noland, illustrated by Angela C. Hawkins (Gnome Road, 2024)
The scrumptious layers in this book include historical fiction, crafting, recycling, and through the art (yes, art can add layers too,) a growing family.

From Park to Playa: The Trails that Connect Us, by Nell Cross Beckerman, illustrated by Sophie Diao (Cameron Kids, 2024)
This book creatively layers urban communities, diverse cultures, nature, and lyrical language.

Looking for layer inspiration? Try browsing following curricular “cookbooks.” (Note: Curriculum standards can differ state by state, but these sites provide an idea of topics covered at various grade levels.)

Happy baking—I mean writing—everyone!

Michelle Schaub is an award-winning children’s author, poet, and teacher. Her most recent books are A Place for Rain (an Indiana Library Federation 2025 Best Read Aloud selection) and Leafy Landmarks: Travels with Trees (a California Reading Association 2025 Eureka Gold and NCTE 2025 Poetry Notable.) Michelle mentors aspiring children’s book writers through the Rhyme Doctors. She lives in Colorado, where she enjoys biking, hiking, and eating layer cake with her lazy golden retriever named Bear. Learn more about Michelle at MichelleSchaub.com and follow her on Instagram @schaubwrites.

Michelle Schaub is giving away a signed copy of LEAFY LANDMARKS to one lucky winner. 

You’re eligible to win if you’re a registered Storystorm 2025 participant and you have commented only once below.

Prizes will be distributed at the conclusion of Storystorm.