Writing for Kids (While Raising Them)

Storystorm 2025 Day 17: Namita Moolani Mehra Tests Titles, Taglines and Golden Nuggets

January 17, 2025 in STORYSTORM 2025 | Tags: Namita Moolani Mehra, THE GREATEST RIVER, THE LIGHT WITHIN YOU | 412 comments

by Namita Moolani Mehra

The ad agency girl in me tends to come up with titles before developed story ideas. My Storystorm output for the last five years are essentially long lists of potential picture book titles. I’ve gone ahead and developed about 10% of these title ideas into full manuscripts, and about four of those manuscripts have gone out on sub with my lovely agent. Two subs turned into contracts, and I’m happy to report that one of those contracts, a humble Storystorm title idea, is now a published, award-winning picture book—THE LIGHT WITHIN YOU, illustrated by Kamala Nair and published by Two Lions.

Over a decade of working in advertising and another decade building my own brand has made me a lifelong student of branding and creative strategy.

If I say Nike, you will immediately think, “Just Do It”.

If I say McDonalds, your brain will go, “da, da, da, da, da, I’m lovin’ it!”

If I say Dove, you might even recall women of all shapes and sizes posing in nothing but their underwear in the “Campaign for Real Beauty”.

These iconic advertising campaigns have built memorable brands with high recall taglines.

I was fortunate to work on Dove and saw first-hand, the power of an idea to inspire a global movement (even Oprah got on board!)

To see a soap brand boldly engage in a conversation around the definitions of beauty and self-confidence was incredible. Dove’s “Campaign for Real Beauty” was the outcome of a global study that revealed a prevalence of low self-esteem in young women and girls around the world. I like to call this key insight, this data-point or truth . . . a ‘golden nugget.’

It was literally my job to find golden nuggets for brands through research, consumer and competitive analysis. Golden nuggets are often creative currency.

THE LIGHT WITHIN YOU is a story about the Indian Festival of Lights, but more importantly, it’s a story about believing in your ability to shine bright even through the darkest times. Holidays and festivals are usually portrayed full of joy, but they can often be a hard time for people living abroad, part of a diaspora, or immigrant families. For children celebrating cultural holidays that are lesser known for example, in their classroom, it can be an emotional roller-coaster not feeling seen.

As an Indian living outside of India most of my life, I often found myself in situations where other children didn’t understand my traditions or culture and it would dim my light. I would fade to fit in, instead of shining bright to stand out. Struggling with a sense of belonging and overcoming self-doubt was my golden nugget for The Light Within You. The title popped into my head even before I had written the manuscript. The heart of the story lies in the many moment the grandma (Nani) and her grandchild Diya shares. Nani tells us that “Diwali is more than a festival, it’s the light within you.”

As a published author, I think of book titles as taglines and the story premise, promise or heart, as a golden nugget.

Interestingly, book titles are also like an ad for your story!

Like taglines, titles present us with an opportunity to grab the reader or buyer’s attention in a few words. Iconic advertising campaigns tend to have powerful taglines driving them and I would encourage you to try starting with a strong title too!

Don’t forget—the primary purpose of advertising is to sell. Taglines sell and I bet good titles do too! Write down a few of your favorite picture book titles and analyze why you love them.

Is the title easy to remember and memorable?
Is it short and sweet?
Is it kid-friendly?
Does it have universal appeal?
Is it punny or funny?
Does it reveal the story’s heart?
Is it believable?
Does it spark curiosity?

Sales and marketing teams at publishing houses have a lot of experience with titles and may challenge your proposed title. My upcoming book, THE GREATEST RIVER, illustrated by Khoa Le and published by Harper Collins was originally titled ‘The Greatest Mother”. I loved my title because the story is about the Holy River of India that millions refer to as ‘Ma’ Ganga—Ma meaning mother. I was attached to the original title because of the spiritual significance, so when the sales team suggested a change, I was resistant. As I sat with their feedback, I realized that readers might not understand the mother reference and could be confused or misled. The publisher suggested we change the title to The Greatest RIVER and it occurred to me that this new title has more universal appeal. It creates a sense of curiosity while still fulfilling on the wider promise of the story—the power of nature to heal AKA my golden nugget.

Have you found your golden nugget? Once you do, it might lead you right to an amazing title!

As a POC author writing culturally specific stories, titles play an important role for me to reach and connect with wider audiences.

Don’ t be afraid to have multiple title options to run by your critique partners or editor. People are passionate about titles and love weighing in on them!

Namita Moolani Mehra is an award-winning, agented children’s book author and the founder of social-impact business, Indian Spicebox, a company that has helped fund almost one million hot meals for underprivileged children in India. Namita’s published books include Veena And The Red Roti, The Light Within You, and Anni Dreams of Biryani. She has also authored children’s cookbooks, including The Magic Spicebox and Superfoods for Superheroes. Namita crafts delightful culinary experiences like cooking classes and street food pop-ups. She currently lives in Singapore with her husband, two children, and a dramatic doodle. Visit her online at NamitaMehra.com. Namita is active on Instagram @indianspicebox.

Namita Moolani Mehra is giving away a copy of her new book THE GREATEST RIVER.

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.

Storystorm 2025 Day 16: Mary Boone Cuts, Hammers, Sands and Polishes Until Ideas Shine

January 16, 2025 in STORYSTORM 2025 | Tags: Mary Boone, Pedal Pusher | 423 comments

by Mary Boone

Story ideas are exciting packages of potential, and by the end of this month-long brainstorming exercise, you’ll have a pile of them. That’s worth celebrating. In fact, when January comes to a close, I challenge you to write each idea on a small strip of paper and toss them into the air so you can have your own little Storystorm confetti party. Yay you!

But don’t stop there—those flashes of inspiration are worth little unless you act on them.

Think of a story idea like a fallen tree in your yard. It’s rough and unrefined. To make that wood into something remarkable, you’d have to invest a lot of time and effort into measuring, planning, milling, planning, sawing, hammering, and more. Every piece of wood is unique, full of hidden patterns and possibilities. Some pieces might become furniture, others sculptures, and some may simply get tossed into the firepit. Raw story ideas are much the same.

You may have landed on a compelling character or an intriguing “what if.” But at this stage, it’s impossible to know what your idea can truly become. Its beauty, depth, and power only reveal themselves as you work on it.

The first step in woodworking—and writing—is cutting your raw material into workable pieces. Starting a draft is like shaping your story’s foundation—defining your protagonist’s goal, outlining the plot, or deciding on tone and style. It’s messy, but that’s normal.

Once the pieces are cut, it’s time to assemble them into something solid. For writers, this is the first draft. Hammering a story into shape is hard work. Your sentences feel clunky, your dialogue is awkward, and your pacing uneven. But just like nailing those first boards together, the goal isn’t perfection—it’s creating a framework you can later refine.

Sanding is where the real magic happens. Nail holes are filled, rough edges are smoothed, and, over time, the beauty of the woodgrain is revealed. For us, as writers, this happens during revision. During this stage, you focus on refining your story. You write and work with critique partners to deepen your characters, smooth out plot holes, ascertain whether language could be more lyrical, or jokes could be funnier. What once seemed rough and unfinished begins to shine.

During my very first writing job, I had an editor whose frequent advice was to “polish the wood.” As a 22-year-old, especially one working on a daily newspaper’s tight deadlines, I’m not sure I fully grasped what she was saying. But now it’s clear to me there are many parallels between crafting a story and a piece of furniture. And as you write, I hope you’ll remember:

Get your hands dirty. Embrace the mess of a first draft—it’s part of the process.
Not every project is a success. The table with the wonky leg. The cabinet with the doors that don’t close. The picture book with an overly complicated plot. Rebuilding/rewriting may help. Or it may be time to move on to another promising idea.
Over time, you’ll refine your ability to discern which ideas have the most potential. Just like a veteran carpenter knows to avoid warped or knotty lumber, you’ll learn to identify ideas that may not yield the best stories. Does every idea hit for an experienced writer? Absolutely not. But your success ratio will undoubtedly improve.

It’s easy to fall in love with a story idea and imagine its brilliance. But until you put in the effort to craft it—writing, revising, and polishing—it’s just raw material.

So, keep dreaming, imagining, and capturing those raw ideas. Because, when February rolls around, it’s going to be time to start building. Your masterpiece is waiting.

Mary Boone has done just enough woodworking—and writing—to know that “polishing the wood” really does work. Her books include SCHOOL OF FISH (Albert Whitman & Co.), BUGS FOR BREAKFAST (Chicago Review Press) and PEDAL PUSHER (Henry Holt & Co.). FLYING FEMINIST (Andersen Press) and UNFATHOMABLE (Bright Matter) are set to release in 2026. An Iowa native, Mary now lives in Washington state’s Puget Sound region. To learn more about Mary and her books, you can subscribe to her newsletter, follow her on Instagram @boonewrites, Blue Sky, or visit her website BooneWrites.com.

Mary Boone is giving away three signed copies of her new picture book, PEDAL PUSHER, illustrated by Lisa Anchin, to three separate winners.

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.

Storystorm 2025 Day 15: Jennifer Swanson Sets the Scene with STEM

January 15, 2025 in STORYSTORM 2020 | Tags: Astronaut Aquanaut, Inc., Jennifer Swanson, Kid Literacy, Solve It for Kids Podcast | 400 comments

by Jennifer Swanson

One of the many things that makes a great story is the scene. Setting the scene for your book is so important because your reader needs to know where they are. After all, a book is two-dimensional. It’s not a video which has the ability provide multiple images in a flash of a minute and interact with you. Books need the author to provide rich, descriptive details that makes the reader feel the sensations and emotions of being in a particular place.

It might be the cool, dark forest, surrounded by high, full trees swaying in the wind. It might be the warm pebbles of sand slipping through your toes while gentle waves lap against your feet.

OR it might be the inside of a tiny shoot of a flower as it emerges from the earth and stretches its new bud towards the sky. Wait. Did you just put your reader inside the stem of a flower? Yep. That’s the lovely thing about STEM writing. It can take you ANYWHERE.

When you are writing science books, just like a fiction book, you can immerse your reader in your scene. That scene might be in the ISS (International Space Station) high up in the sky where you have your reader marvel as the view of the tiny Earth fills up your observation window and feel the weightlessness of microgravity. Or maybe your reader is taken on journey across the limbs and tree branches over a stream, into freezing cold mounds of snow, and through a short, quick thunderstorm to show you how the water cycle works.

What I’m trying to say is that just because you are writing about science/STEM/STEAM you don’t have to be boring. Be Creative! When you are getting ready to write your topic, many people think that because this is a book about science, it has to be done “head-on”.

In other words, if you are writing a book about seeds, you need to talk about how a seed, grows roots, its shoot grows, and it undergoes photosynthesis…. (are you bored yet). What you can do, is to set that same scene in an exciting way. Melissa Stewart does a great job of that with her book A Seed Is the Start by NGKids.

Melissa does tell the story of how a seed grows, but she uses images of an actual seed in the soil. She explains what is happening in short, active words so that the young reader can really see what is happening as well as read it. Pretty cool idea. She is showing science in action in a BOOK!

In my book, Astronaut-Aquanaut: How Space Science and Sea Science Interact, I take my reader on a journey to space and under the ocean. It is not so obvious a progression as Melissa’s, but it accomplishes a similar idea. Readers will see the inside of the ISS and real astronauts answer questions about what it’s like to be in space. They will understand and hopefully even imagine the floating around the ISS and doing their job. To make this more real, I spoke with NASA engineers who helped to build the rockets and space suits that the astronauts wear, asking them what it felt like and how they created this amazing technology.

Then the reader is introduced to aquanauts that dive deep in the ocean and live in Aquarius, the only underwater lab in the world. They will feel the pull of pressure on their bodies, and “hear” their voices reach different pitches as they live in the specialized air combination sixty feet below the ocean. Comparing and contrasting these two extreme environments is a great way to help the reader to understand the e forces that push in on them or lift them up as they also learn about what it would take to become either of these two explorers.

Now I could have just given the information “head-on” but setting the scene of what is happening makes your reader feel like a part of the book. Other books that do this well are:

Sarah Albee’s Poison: Deadly Deeds, Perilous Professions, and Murderous Medicines:

How They Croaked: The Awful Ends of the Awfully Famous by Georgia Bragg:

Water is Water by Miranda Paul:

So, the next time you get ready to write about a science topic, think about ways you can use setting to help your reader feel like they are going on an adventure in your book–when actually, they are learning about science. (Shhh…don’t tell them.)

After all, SCIENCE ROCKS!

Jennifer Swanson is the award-winning author of over 50 books for kids, mostly about science and technology. She is the creator and co-host of the Solve It! for Kids Science Podcast, the creator of STEAMTeamBooks, and STEM Tuesday, and a curious kid at heart.

Visit her online at JenniferSwansonBooks.com. She is also the President and Founder of Kid Literacy, Inc.

Jennifer Swanson is giving away a 20-minute Zoom Ask me Anything session 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.

Storystorm 2025 Day 14: Audrey Perrott Knows Being Funny is Serious Business

January 14, 2025 in STORYSTORM 2025 | Tags: A HAT FOR HOUSE, Audrey Perrott, BAA HAA, MOO HOO, Ross Burach | 512 comments

by Audrey Perrott

If you’ve ever been on my Instagram feed, you already know I cry easily, just like Milton in my debut picture book MOO HOO. But I also love to laugh, just like Babette in the upcoming companion book BAA HAA. And House, well, his snarky anxious self in A HAT FOR HOUSE is me in all the ways.

What I’m trying to say is…

I’m an author shamelessly plugging my books.

I kid, I kid. (Not really, not really.)

Actually, what I’m trying to say is my anxiety makes me a deeply feeling person, which is mostly great when it comes to writing books for kids.

My husband uses the word “intense.” I prefer the word “passionate.”

Tomato, tomato sauce.

This passion usually translates to books with humor and heart, but I’m not always feeling particularly jovial especially when the world feels dark. That’s when I need a little help finding the light—inspiration that brings me joy, makes me laugh, and validates all of my feelings. So where do I turn?

Stand-up comedy.

Seriously.

Hear me out: While the content of most stand-up comedians is NSFPBs (Not Safe For Picture Books), there is a huge bucket of inspiration and knowledge you can gleam.

Stand-up comedy is so much more than jokes. It’s carefully crafted storytelling with perfected word choice, pacing, tone, voice, themes, and a pay-off in punchlines. Sound familiar?

Comedians tell a story that connects with their audience that makes them laugh, hopefully over and over and over again. That’s what we want for the readers of our funny picture books. We are writing to surprise our readers with joy, preferably in the form of a belly-aching snort-laugh so they read our books over and over and over again.

Study the way comedians weave together everyday situations in unique ways. Watch how they lean into the awkward, the embarrassing, the obvious, and the preposterous. Take notes on their timing. Think of their dramatic pauses as page turns. Pay attention to the running gags and where they’re placed in the set.

Laugh—and then analyze why you’re laughing.

I’m not joking.

Humor is a serious business. So is writing funny picture books.

This is why a few years ago, I made a writing challenge I called Eat Your Words to brainstorm silly picture book ideas. You can find all of the posts on my blog, starting here. I printed out lots and lots—and LOTS—of teeny tiny bits of paper with words. Every week I challenged myself to pick three and use them to come up with story ideas. I encouraged people to join me!

They did not.

It’s okay. It was fun! It also helped me get out of my rut and led to some funny story ideas.

You could easily use an online random word generator, such as, Random Word Generator, or you can download the ones I made.

One last idea for ideas: I’ve been a huge Tara Lazar and Storystorm fan for years, even fangirling big time at the SCBWI Florida Regional Conference in 2020 before the world (almost) ended.

But this is my first time as a guest blogger! It’s a very surreal and exciting checkmark on my proverbial author BINGO card. So, I thought it would be fun to make a real 2025 Book-Maker BINGO card for you to download as a way to keep your sights on your dreams beyond January.

After all, one of my main mantras is to dream big, work hard, and be grateful.

On that note, I hope you dream up dozens of big story ideas this January.

I hope you work hard to turn some of the into full drafts.

And I am oh so grateful to Tara and all of you for inviting me into your inbox today.

Now go forth, be the light and find the funny!

Audrey’s sense of humor has helped her get through some really icky seasons in life. It’s also helped her write and publish a few books, including her debut picture book MOO HOO, illustrated by Ross Burach, A HAT FOR HOUSE, illustrated by Druscilla Santiago, and the upcoming companion to MOO HOO titled BAA HAA, launching on March 4, 2025. Audrey believes funny books are just as important as serious books and writes both in her North Carolina home. You can find more about her at AudreyPerrott.com, on Instagram at @audreysbooksandbakes or BlueSky at audreysbooks.bsky.social.

Audrey Perrott is offering a picture book critique [non-rhyming, up to 600 words] OR one copy of one of her books [MOO HOO, A HAT FOR HOUSE, or BAA HAA (March 2025)], to one lucky winner, their pick.

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.

Storystorm 2025 Day 13: Alan Silberberg Hosts “The Idea Game”

January 13, 2025 in STORYSTORM 2025 | Tags: Alan Silberberg, MEET THE LATKES, MEET THE MATZAH, MEMEET THE HAMANTASHEN, MILO; STICKY NOTES & BRAIN FREEZE, P is for PASTRAMI, THE BAGEL WHO WANTED EVERYTHING, THE FALAFEL WHO FELT AWFUL | 469 comments

by Alan Silberberg

Alan is a cartoonist and writer who loves making funny food books for kids. P is for PASTRAMI – The ABCs of JEWISH FOOD keeps company with MEET THE LATKES, MEET THE MATZAH and MEET THE HAMANTASHEN (Viking/ Penguin Random House). His new book, THE BAGEL WHO WANTED EVERYTHING will be published Summer 2025 followed by THE FALAFEL WHO FELT AWFUL in 2026.

His illustrated middle-grade novel, MILO; STICKY NOTES & BRAIN FREEZE won the SCBWI Sid Fleischman Humor Award.

Alan is from Boston but happily lives in Montreal.

He likes chocolate chip cookies.

Learn more at SilberBooks.com and follow him on Instagram @alan_silberberg.

Alan Silberberg is giving away a signed copy of one of his books, one lucky winner’s choice.

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.

Storystorm 2025 Day 12: Joann Howeth Chooses Parallel Story-Telling

January 12, 2025 in STORYSTORM 2025 | Tags: Joann Howeth, THE MOLLYS B | 484 comments

by Joann Howeth

People ask what inspired the writing of my picture book biography THE MOLLYS B. and why I chose the parallel story-telling format. It started with an incident in which a heifer executed (forgive the pun—perverse, for sure, but for some reason makes me chuckle) her grand escape from a slaughterhouse in Great Falls, Montana in 2006. That was a busy year for me; I was taking care of my elderly parents, working full-time, and just getting through each day. I remember reading the article about her in the local newspaper. Mostly, I was amused, but I was also inspired by this bovine’s determination and pleased that she had been granted clemency. I cut it out of the newspaper, added it to a folder about animals I’d been keeping for years, and then forgot about it.

Eight years later this heifer made the news again. The article provided a recap of her escapade (hilarious again in its retelling) and proceeded to tell readers about what she’d been doing in the intervening years. Having evaded slaughter and now named Molly, she had been a resident of two large animal sanctuaries. When both of those operations had to close, a third home was found for her at a farm animal sanctuary located in my hometown. The story once again tickled my funny bone, so for my own amusement, I cut the article out of the newspaper, filed it away, and proceeded to forget about it.

By this time, my parents had both died, I was no longer working full-time, and I was engaged in learning the craft of writing children’s books. Always on the lookout for story ideas, I visited my folder about animals where I stumbled across the newspaper articles about Molly. I remember thinking what fun it would be to write her story, but how? A cow escaping from a slaughterhouse? For children?

Fast forward another eight years: it was November. My husband and I were flying home from New York City, and I was as sick as sick could be—the kind of embarrassing sick that had me using the motion sickness bag. And in that weird, brain-fogged, “please let me die” place, I was touched by magic, and THE MOLLYS B. landed in my lap.

In 2006 when Molly the heifer was recaptured and returned to the meat packing plant, the manager didn’t have the heart to send her back to the slaughter pens. Her gumption to overcome her fate spoke to him. He secured her freedom and humorously named her “Molly” after the original unsinkable “Molly”—Margaret Tobin Brown— famous for having survived the sinking of the RMS Titanic in 1912. He saw that the two females shared a natural buoyancy: not only had Molly the heifer survived encounters with moving objects (cars, trucks, and a train), like Margaret she had also survived an ordeal with water—a fast-moving ride down the Missouri River.

In my flulike stupor, I envisioned these two, indomitable gals side-by-side. The text started unfurling and with racing thoughts, I dictated it to my husband, who patiently let me interrupt his reading each time I leaned over with a fresh line. I wrote the first draft of THE MOLLYS B. in four brain-addled hours, but it’s evident that the desire to tell this story had been germinating a long time—sixteen years! Success? Yes, sort of. I had found my way into the story. I had words down on paper, but I still had a sticky problem.

Photo credit: Blue Balloon Books

How does one explain a slaughterhouse to little children? What was my responsibility here? I really wanted to tell Molly’s story—her gumption inspired me. I wanted to celebrate that. But how? Finally, I decided I could tell the story by focusing on one single, shared experience, and how both females, from places of determination and inner strength, fought to save their lives.

Fast forward another two years: after a year of conducting interviews, obtaining testimonials from experts, purchasing licenses for photographs, rewriting, and revising, and then another year of working with a publisher and illustrator, the dual story of the Mollys is at last ready for its audience. It has been a long journey, demanding an amount of patience for which no synonym exists, but I’ll tell you what—it has been FUN! With capital letters. Immensely rewarding and gratifying, I wouldn’t change any part of it.

So don’t ignore those niggling ideas that keep you awake at night, no matter how outlandish they may at first seem. One of those ideas may be a story longing to be told and you may be the only one who can tell it. Find your way into it and start writing!

*Footnote: for the parents of the astute child who questions Molly’s presence in a slaughterhouse in the first place, my book provides resources that will hopefully guide them in finding answers for the toughest of questions they may find lobbed at them.

Photo credit: Adler Boncher Creative

Expecting to become a high school English teacher, Joann was secretly relieved when a scarcity of jobs following graduation nudged her into a complete change of directions. Finding employment in the jewelry industry, she spent many happy creative years as a designer and goldsmith. Comparably satisfying, Joann now writes children’s books. She is a member of the SCBWI and the winner of a handful of awards. THE MOLLYS B. is her second book. Joann makes Montana her home. Visit her at JoannHoweth.com and follow her on Instagram @joannhoweth.author.

Joann Howeth is giving away a signed copy of THE MOLLYS B. 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.

Storystorm 2025 Day 11: Michelle Schaub Adds Yummy Layers to Her Book Cake

January 11, 2025 in STORYSTORM 2025 | Tags: LEAFY LANDMARKS, Michelle Schaub | 480 comments

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.

Storystorm 2025 Day 10: Tara Lazar Talks to Friends

January 10, 2025 in STORYSTORM 2025 | 531 comments

You know that writing friend you have? The one you haven’t spoken to in you-can’t-remember-how-long, but you’re pretty sure it was pre-pandemic?

Yeah, her.

Call her.

Can you believe she hasn’t put out a new book in ages? Or that she hasn’t written anything new lately?

Well, I can’t believe it, either!

Tell her to stop being so selfish!

She’s keeping all her talent and creativity to herself and not sharing it with the world! She is selfishly depriving us of her genius! Her unique perspective! Her inspirational voice!

Once you tell her, she will thank you.

And then she’ll tell you to DO ALL THE THINGS.

It doesn’t matter if THE THINGS get published or not and make money or not. DO ALL THE THINGS just to do them. Because doing the things you do makes you happy. They don’t have to yield anything BUT JOY IN THE DOING.

There.

Now, wasn’t that call good?

Don’t you feel motivated?

She does, too.

Yay.

Pass it on.

More than you want to know about Tara is here.

Tara Lazar is giving away a fiction picture book critique to one lucky Storystorm 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.

Storystorm 2025 Day 9: Lisa Gerin Recommends Refrains

January 9, 2025 in STORYSTORM 2025 | Tags: Lisa Gerin, PETE THE CAT, ROSALIND LOOKED CLOSER | 530 comments

by Lisa Gerin

As a former elementary school teacher-librarian, I must have done 1000s of story times. And kids always loved the books that had repetition, rhymed phrases or refrains we would repeat together. So why did it take me almost ten years to use this technique in my own writing?

Now I’m primarily a writer of nonfiction picture books. I first go down the research rabbit hole looking for facts and quotes to use as inspiration for the rest of my text. Then after jotting down my first drafts, I go back and try to insert more lyrical language. It wasn’t until I sold my first biography in 2020, that I realized that a repeated refrain was going to be my book’s hook and subsequently its title. I had written two prior picture book bios and a slew of fiction before I honed my craft and sold my first title, a biography about British scientist Rosalind Franklin for kids.

ROSALIND LOOKED CLOSER: AN UNSUNG HERO OF MOLECULAR SCIENCE (Beaming Books 2022) was not the original title of my manuscript. It was originally entitled THE GIRL WHO LOVED SCIENCE. After my editor thought the book needed something to spice up the writing, I came up with the refrain “Rosalind always took a closer look.” With the rule of the power of three for picture book writing, I put the refrain in the text 3 times. It also ended up becoming the last line in the story and inspired the new title.

Here’s a look at two of the pages in the story with the refrain:

In looking at your own writing and when revising, think about using a refrain. It’s like the chorus in a song that children always remember. Refrains work in fiction and nonfiction picture books. Try a refrain in your next writing project; it may just change your direction and give you a new hook you didn’t know you needed!

Here’s one of my favorite fiction books that uses refrain, PETE THE CAT AND HIS FOUR GROOVY BUTTONS, from the Pete the Cat series by Eric Litwin and James Dean. Happy writing!

Lisa Gerin is a former school librarian and high school teacher with a master’s degree in education. She writes creative nonfiction and biography for children. She lives in Tucson, Arizona, but was raised in New York City.

She is the author of the Junior Library Guild Gold Standard selection: ROSALIND LOOKED CLOSER: AN UNSUNG HERO OF MOLECULAR SCIENCE (Beaming Books) 2022. In September 2022, she spoke to NPR radio, ARIZONA SPOTLIGHT, about her book. In 2023, she appeared on a children’s panel at the Tucson Festival of Books, talking about research methods in writing nonfiction for children. She loves doing school visits. Her newest picture book biography publishes in 2026 with Beaming Books. Find out more about her at LisaGerin.com and follow her on Instagram @_.lisagerinwriter.

Lisa Gerin will give 2 winners a choice of either a critique of their picture book (fiction or non-fiction) or a copy of ROSALIND LOOKED CLOSER.

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.

Storystorm 2025 Day 8: Nancy Stewart Explores Voice

January 8, 2025 in STORYSTORM 2025 | Tags: Me and the Missouri Moon, Nancy Stewart | 438 comments

by Nancy Stewart

“What in the world is voice?”

When I was a fledgling author, this would not have been an unusual question for me. In fact, as I look back at those years now, I realize how much I did not know about many aspects of writing. I have also learned that it usually takes a lot of writing to become proficient. After much practice and (I’ll admit it) several books for children, I began to realize how crucial voice is for an author to have any hope of connecting with a reader.

Here are some things I have learned about voice, how one can “capture” it and then use it to your and your reader’s advantage. After all, voice says so much. However, sometimes it doesn’t have to say much at all. The expression can be transferred through gazes, sighs, etc. as long as voice is evident to support expression.

To begin finding and using one’s voice, is to write at least your initial attempt in first person. This is the closest an author can get to the inner thoughts, feelings, hopes and dreams, especially to the all-important protagonist.

Stay close to the emotions of your cast of characters. I find if I can almost be “at one” with them, voice comes more easily. If there is anything similar about them to you (and let’s face it; there always is a chard of memory from our own past), mine it. Go deep into your past. Find the feelings—comfortable or not. It is amazing how much better and authentic your book will be!

If these tips seem heavy on knowing your protagonist/s emotions, then you would be right. One can never know too much about their characters. Knowing their hearts, desires, fears, goals and needs will help the author know what to say or do or act in an accurate manner. AND it will help your reader understand why the characters act the way they do.

When I began writing my Middle Grade novel, Me and the Missouri Moon, two years ago, I knew that I was a different author. That knowledge took me nearly eight years to attain. I knew from the outset that the protagonist, Scarlet, was going to triumph through the troubles that beset her, and how her best friend, Cricket, her mama, and several others, would help her save the day. Voice helped save the day. And the practice of listening to one’s characters and speaking for them in their voices is what makes reality happen in a book of fiction.

An example of voice used in Me and the Missouri Moon:

I propped my elbows on the chilly windowsill and rested my head on my hands. Tears plopped down on it, and I wiped them off the wood with my PJ top. Between Cricket, and Malcom, and Daddy, these past three months had been the best and the worst of my life.

The moon was all fuzzy when I looked back up at it through teary eyes. “Remember when I asked you to guide me like the North Star? Well, I needed your help then, but tonight I need it super bad. Problem is, I wasn’t constant and true to my best friend. Now, she won’t be my friend anymore, ‘cause I was mean to her without any real reason. But I believe in your magic, like Grandma says. So, if you could help me, I’d surely appreciate it. That’s all. Good Night.”

I climbed into bed, wiped the last tears away, and snuggled into my comforter. But as much as I loved that old moon, I knew in my heart it couldn’t help me. I was the only one who could.

This book is a starred Kirkus Star winner, 2024.

A graduate of Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri, Nancy Stewart taught grade school and was a university professor, specializing in Children’s and Young Adult Literature. She was fortunate to have lived in London with her family for a number of years and, while there, traveled the world, particularly Africa. Nancy’s debut Young Adult novel, Beulah Land, was a finalist in the Forward Indies Book of the Year Awards. It was also one of the most anticipated books at Barnes & Nobel in 2017. Her new Middle Grade novel, Me and the Missouri Moon, won a Starred Kirkus Award in October 2024, a star from The Children’s Book Review, and a gold medal from Literary Titan. Visit her at NancyStewartWrites.com and follow her on Instagram @rosenthalstewart.