In 2018, I participated in Marcie Colleen’s Crafting the Chapter Book Class through The Writing Barn. Four years later, Erinn Pascal at Andrews McMeel acquired HEDGEHOG WHODUNIT, my chapter book series about a sleepy hedgehog and tireless rat solving animal antics in City Zoo.
As part of Marcie’s class, she encouraged us to think like cartoonists. (Finally, watching television counted as productivity!)
As part of Marcie’s class, she encouraged us to think like cartoonists. (Finally, watching television counted as productivity!)
Because I was drafting a story set in the zoo, I dove into re-watching one of my all-time favorite cartoons, The Penguins of Madagascar, a spin-off of the Madagascar movies that aired on TV between 2008-2014.
Here are three takeaways from that series you can apply to your chapter-book writing:
1. Distinct characterization:
The Dreamworks Animation team does an amazing job with characterization, establishing the different personalities of the four main characters before the credits even end. There’s Kowalski, the gadgeteer; Rico, who coughs up various how-did-those-fit-in-his-belly devices; Private, the fumbling adorable one; and Skipper, the head of the rookery who gets the job done. When King Julien XIII and his fun-loving lemur underlings, Maurice and Mort, enter, the music changes and there’s an impromptu lemur dance party. This highlights how these three ringtails will act as a foil to the four get-the-job-done penguins.
To make sure my chapter book characters were distinct, during the revision process I went through and highlighted each character’s dialogue in a different color. Then I read only one character’s dialogue at a time, making sure it was consistent. When all the dialogue was put back together, my goal was to cover up the speaker tags and still be able to tell which character was speaking. If this wasn’t clear, I knew I still had more work to do in terms of making my characters leap off the page.
2. Fast-paced plot:
In the first episode, 'Popcorn Panic,' the setting—Central Park Zoo—is established in the very first shot. The camera then zooms in on the penguins who, through a pair of binoculars that appear both homemade and high-tech, spot a popcorn stand. Within seconds we already know their goal, and they commence the aptly named stealth operation: 'Operation Popcorn.' The problem enters in the form of irate Zoo Keeper Alice, who is determined not to let zoo guests feed the animals. The animals hold an emergency meeting with both Skipper and King Julien promising to get everyone their salted, buttery treat. Fun and games ensues, involving a battery-operated getaway car, breaking and entering, impromptu 'zoovenir' disguises, coughed up dynamite, an incinerator, and even praying to the 'salty snack gods'—all in less than eleven minutes.
To make sure my plot didn’t sag, I put it through Blake Snyder’s 'Beat Sheet.' Whenever I’m stuck, I 'beat out' the manuscript, making sure it contains each of the fifteen beats Snyder outlines in Save The Cat (this is a book for screenwriters, but it’s applicable to all writers). Sometimes I use it as a brainstorming device. Other times, I use it as a reverse outline after I’m done drafting, identifying places where beats are missing, overlapping, or perhaps going on too long.
3. Clever humor:
While looking at the zoo’s map, Kowalski points to the snack storage facility at 11 o’clock. 'Blast,' replies Skipper, 'it’s already 10:57,' which not only adds verbal irony but also a ticking clock. Literally. (See fast-paced plot above.)
Dramatic irony is also used throughout this short episode, which is always funny because kids love being 'in' on the jokes. They love knowing more than King Julien about popcorn kernels—or 'popcorn eggs,' as he calls them. He’s convinced the animals need to sit on the eggs for them to hatch and that soon 'popcorn will begin exploding from [his] bottom!' What kid isn’t going to laugh at his line? (I’m laughing at it again just typing it.)
To help me find that sweet spot when it came to humor, I took out my highlighters again. This time I color-coded the different forms of humor I used throughout the manuscript. Hitch speaks in short, simple sentences and is a bit of a snark with a dry sense of humor. Vinnie, on the other hand, gets carried away when he speaks, often interrupting Hitch and talking in long punny run-on sentences. Highlighting in different colors allowed me to see patterns. Now I noticed when the devices weren’t consistent with the characters, or if there were too many devices in any one chapter, page, paragraph, and line.
Writing can be difficult at times, but it can also be a fun romp. And turning to cartoons as mentor texts can make it even more so. Think like a cartoonist and 'the salty snack gods' will reward you too!
Growing up in Maine, Heather Preusser read all the Nancy Drew mysteries. Every. Single. One. Now she writes her own mysteries featuring a hardboiled hedgehog detective and his tireless rodent sidekick solving animal antics at City Zoo. HEDGEHOG WHODUNIT, the first book in her chapter book series, released in October 2024. The second book, THE CAROUSEL CAPER, came out in July 2025, and the third book, THE PROTECTIVE ORDER OF PEANUTS (P.O.O.P.) will be available in 2026. She is also the author of the picture book A SYMPHONY OF COWBELLS (Sleeping Bear Press, 2017). When she’s not writing or teaching, Heather plays with her five-year-old, a budding boxitect. She and her family live in Colorado.
Here are three takeaways from that series you can apply to your chapter-book writing:
1. Distinct characterization:
The Dreamworks Animation team does an amazing job with characterization, establishing the different personalities of the four main characters before the credits even end. There’s Kowalski, the gadgeteer; Rico, who coughs up various how-did-those-fit-in-his-belly devices; Private, the fumbling adorable one; and Skipper, the head of the rookery who gets the job done. When King Julien XIII and his fun-loving lemur underlings, Maurice and Mort, enter, the music changes and there’s an impromptu lemur dance party. This highlights how these three ringtails will act as a foil to the four get-the-job-done penguins.
To make sure my chapter book characters were distinct, during the revision process I went through and highlighted each character’s dialogue in a different color. Then I read only one character’s dialogue at a time, making sure it was consistent. When all the dialogue was put back together, my goal was to cover up the speaker tags and still be able to tell which character was speaking. If this wasn’t clear, I knew I still had more work to do in terms of making my characters leap off the page.
2. Fast-paced plot:
In the first episode, 'Popcorn Panic,' the setting—Central Park Zoo—is established in the very first shot. The camera then zooms in on the penguins who, through a pair of binoculars that appear both homemade and high-tech, spot a popcorn stand. Within seconds we already know their goal, and they commence the aptly named stealth operation: 'Operation Popcorn.' The problem enters in the form of irate Zoo Keeper Alice, who is determined not to let zoo guests feed the animals. The animals hold an emergency meeting with both Skipper and King Julien promising to get everyone their salted, buttery treat. Fun and games ensues, involving a battery-operated getaway car, breaking and entering, impromptu 'zoovenir' disguises, coughed up dynamite, an incinerator, and even praying to the 'salty snack gods'—all in less than eleven minutes.
To make sure my plot didn’t sag, I put it through Blake Snyder’s 'Beat Sheet.' Whenever I’m stuck, I 'beat out' the manuscript, making sure it contains each of the fifteen beats Snyder outlines in Save The Cat (this is a book for screenwriters, but it’s applicable to all writers). Sometimes I use it as a brainstorming device. Other times, I use it as a reverse outline after I’m done drafting, identifying places where beats are missing, overlapping, or perhaps going on too long.
3. Clever humor:
While looking at the zoo’s map, Kowalski points to the snack storage facility at 11 o’clock. 'Blast,' replies Skipper, 'it’s already 10:57,' which not only adds verbal irony but also a ticking clock. Literally. (See fast-paced plot above.)
Dramatic irony is also used throughout this short episode, which is always funny because kids love being 'in' on the jokes. They love knowing more than King Julien about popcorn kernels—or 'popcorn eggs,' as he calls them. He’s convinced the animals need to sit on the eggs for them to hatch and that soon 'popcorn will begin exploding from [his] bottom!' What kid isn’t going to laugh at his line? (I’m laughing at it again just typing it.)
To help me find that sweet spot when it came to humor, I took out my highlighters again. This time I color-coded the different forms of humor I used throughout the manuscript. Hitch speaks in short, simple sentences and is a bit of a snark with a dry sense of humor. Vinnie, on the other hand, gets carried away when he speaks, often interrupting Hitch and talking in long punny run-on sentences. Highlighting in different colors allowed me to see patterns. Now I noticed when the devices weren’t consistent with the characters, or if there were too many devices in any one chapter, page, paragraph, and line.
Writing can be difficult at times, but it can also be a fun romp. And turning to cartoons as mentor texts can make it even more so. Think like a cartoonist and 'the salty snack gods' will reward you too!
Growing up in Maine, Heather Preusser read all the Nancy Drew mysteries. Every. Single. One. Now she writes her own mysteries featuring a hardboiled hedgehog detective and his tireless rodent sidekick solving animal antics at City Zoo. HEDGEHOG WHODUNIT, the first book in her chapter book series, released in October 2024. The second book, THE CAROUSEL CAPER, came out in July 2025, and the third book, THE PROTECTIVE ORDER OF PEANUTS (P.O.O.P.) will be available in 2026. She is also the author of the picture book A SYMPHONY OF COWBELLS (Sleeping Bear Press, 2017). When she’s not writing or teaching, Heather plays with her five-year-old, a budding boxitect. She and her family live in Colorado.
