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MO Day #13: SK Wenger Deciphers Magic

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Comic-Style Picture Books – Deciphering the Magic Behind the Boxes and Bubbles

by S. K. Wenger

I didn’t intend to write a comic-style picture book. In fact, after more than 18 months of writing, resting, and revision, Chicken Frank, Dinosaur! was firmly trenched in traditional narrative prose. It wasn’t until I submitted the manuscript to Christina Pulles, a former editor at Albert Whitman, that she and her team came back with a request for a revision that leaned toward re-creating it in a comic-style format.


At first, I was hesitant. A story told entirely in dialogue and displayed in word bubbles seemed intimidating. I wasn’t sure where to begin. But I did, and after many drafts, a rejection, and another set of revisions, I figured it out.

Since then, I’ve come to love comic-style books. In all of them, dialogue moves the plot forward. Often it is set in word bubbles. Panels may or may not be used. However, aside from the physical format, the storytelling aspect involves a dual component, both in the story line and in the characters, whom either interact with each other, the narrator, or with the reader. Read on for a breakdown.


1. A strong character with distinct voice, belief or opinion, who deals with opposition from at least one other character


In Be Quiet! (Ryan T. Higgins 2017) a mouse wants to make a wordless book but his companions start their incessant chatter in the end pages before the story even gets started. The overall theme centers on QUIET vs NOISY.



In The Very Impatient Caterpillar (Ross Burach 2019) a clueless caterpillar wants the metamorphosis stage to hurry up already so he can be a butterfly, much to the annoyance of his friend. The overall theme centers on TIME (WAITING) vs IMPATIENCE.


In Pluto Gets the Call (Adam Rex & Laurie Keller 2019) Pluto leads the reader through an exploration of the solar system after learning that his planetary status has been revoked. Of course, Pluto is not pleased. The large cast of characters that Pluto visits is kept straight through the identifying colors of their word bubbles. Comic-style format keeps the word count down and the humorous, information-packed narrative on track. The overall theme centers on PLANET vs NOT A PLANET, which overlays an informational text about other objects in the solar system who help Pluto see the bright side of his new classification.


In my own Chicken Frank, Dinosaur! (S. K. Wenger & Jojo Ensslin 2021) a chicken wants to convince his friends that he is a T-Rex and goes to great lengths to find an animal that is as excited about the evidence as he is. The overall theme centers on BELIEF vs DISBELIEF.


2. A strong main character shares the stage with a narrator or reader


In Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus (Mo Willems 2003) a pigeon that wants to do something he’s been told he can’t do. His antics are unrelenting as he tries to convince the reader to let him drive the bus. The overall theme is ACHIEVING A DREAM vs NOT.



In Wordy Birdy (Tammi Sauer & Dave Mottram 2018) an overly talkative bird goes about her day with nonstop chatter, oblivious to imminent danger and warnings, while a narrator moves the story forward. The overall theme is NOT LISTENING vs LISTENING.


In Blob (Anne Appert 2021) a disembodied narrator talks directly to an ambiguously-formed main character named Blob, who is repeated misaddressed as Bob. As Blob tries to assert who he truly is or could be after self-doubt sets in, the overall theme is SELF-DISCOVERY vs DOUBT.


3. Dialogue, word play, or text that is strongly connected to the illustrative components..


In This is a Sea Cow (Cassandra Federman 2019) a child’s school project describes manatees and gets the facts wrong, much to the dismay of the sea cow in the story. The overall theme centers on FACT vs INACCURACIES.



In Unstoppable (Adam Rex & Laura Park 2020) an increasing number of animals and (no spoiler) work together to defeat their adversaries while coming up with a growing variety of silly names for themselves, as the story moves toward discovery and defeat of a shopping mall being built near their home. The overall theme centers on teamwork and SELF-BELIEF vs ADVERSITY from small to big.


As you continue to study picture books, you’ll discover that comic-style conventions are not new or exclusive. Panel illustrations were used in Where the Wild Things Are (Maurice Sendak 1963) and Owen (Kevin Henkes 1993). Distinct background color-blocks differentiate between two characters in Goodnight Already! (Jory John & Benji Davies 2014). With the earliest comic-style books dating back to 1837 (The Adventures of Obadiah Oldbuck) and 1935 (DC Comics), story creators have had a long time to borrow from the format.


If you have a character with a strong voice, explore the possibilities in how his/her story can be told. Don’t be surprised in your publisher explores this style for showcasing it.

Prize: A Zoom Critique with S.K. Wenger.

S. K. Wenger bio: Shaunda Wenger, writing as S.K. Wenger, is an author and awarded science teacher who grew up among the mountains and lakes of New Hampshire and then found another beautiful backdrop in Utah to raise three children with her husband. With both a bachelor’s and master’s degree in science and many adventures in the outdoors Shaunda loves weaving tidbits of the natural world into her stories and feels extra sparkly when they pivot on humor. In 2020 she received a WIP Fellowship Grant from the Writing and Illustrating for Young Readers Conference for a middle grade manuscript, and in 2021 she was a PBParty Finalist. Her published works include Chicken Frank, Dinosaur! (Albert Whitman 2021), educational leveled-readers (Benchmark and Richard C. Owen, Publisher), and poems and nonfiction in BabyBug and Cricket magazines. She is represented by Stacey Kondla at The Rights Factory.


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