What Equals a Sequel? Questions to Consider When Writing the Second Book in a Series

By Guest Blogger Carrie Finison

“It’s tough to sell a picture book in this market.” That’s something that I’ve been hearing since I started writing back in 2010. After several manuscript submissions went nowhere, I decided I would try writing some sequels. Dozens of Doughnuts (G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers, 2020) and Don’t Hug Doug (G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers, 2021) had both found an audience, and I thought it would be easier to build on that success.

What I found was that writing a sequel was both easier AND more difficult. When writing an original story, you can venture anywhere your imagination takes you and change whatever you need to make the story a good one. With a sequel, many story elements are already determined. The process is a bit like packing the trunk of a slightly-too-small car for a two-week vacation. You have so much you want to fit in, but the parameters are already defined. Fans of the first book will want something familiar but also new. At the same time, the sequel also needs to satisfy those who haven’t read the original. It’s a tall order!

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​Here are some questions I considered when writing the manuscript that became Plenty of Pancakes (G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers, 2026) the sequel to Dozens of Doughnuts.
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What’s the natural “next problem” or situation for these characters?
I wanted the situation in Plenty of Pancakes to feel like a twist on the original, and also flow naturally from it. Dozens of Doughnuts takes place in the fall, as LouAnn the bear is getting ready to hibernate. As she makes batch after batch of doughnuts, her friends keep ringing her doorbell, eating the doughnuts, and leaving none for her.

​Plenty of Pancakes takes place in early spring. LouAnn’s friend Topsy makes batch after batch of pancakes for hungry LouAnn to eat when she awakes from hibernation, but a mysterious someone keeps eating them. The similar plots allowed me to keep the basic structure of the original story while writing something new and different.​

How will the text format and voice mirror the original?
I stuck to the same meter and rhyme scheme as the original story, and even used some of the same phrasing and rhymes, but in new ways. For example, in Dozens of Doughnuts, the first spread includes these lines (referring to LouAnn the bear): ​

She’ll eat some sweet treats, then warm and well-fed
she'll sleep away winter tucked tight in her bed.

​In Plenty of Pancakes, the second spread includes these lines:
 
LouAnn slept all winter, tucked tight in her bed,
but soon she’ll wake up, and a bear must be fed.
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​The new text calls back to the original but also puts a new twist on it. I did this in quite a few places throughout the manuscript.
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Will all the original characters return, and in what roles?
​Readers expect to see at least some familiar characters in a new story. For me, that meant seven characters to somehow work into the plot. However, in the sequel Topsy the opossum becomes the new main character since LouAnn is still in hibernation mode. This made the story feel fresh. I also introduced new characters—two little pancake thieves.
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What hooked readers the first time?
​Kids love the doughnuts in the original story, so I needed a popular food item that could hold its own and look good when illustrated. Enter pancakes!

What other elements or layers from the original can be worked into the new story?
In my case, that meant a new refrain that readers could say aloud to participate in the reading. In Dozens of Doughnuts, readers love saying the doorbell sound out loud—“Ding dong!” Plenty of Pancakes has a similar refrain, and kids can chime in when Topsy shouts, “Who’s there?” as well as when the thieves gobble the pancakes—“Munch, munch, munch!”

Dozens of Doughnuts, also has a subtle math element, as the batches of twelve doughnuts are divided by factors of 12—2, 3, 4, and 6. In Plenty of Pancakes, all of the pancakes are depicted in batches of 5, and Topsy briefly models counting by fives. 

​While the manuscript for Plenty of Pancakes closely mirrored the first book, the sequel I wrote to Don’t Hug Doug (G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers, 2021) took a different path. Even Steven: A Book About Sharing (G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers, 2026) is more a companion book than a true sequel, since it’s not about the same characters. Still, I had to think about what readers loved about the original story, and deliver on what they’d expect from another book in the series.

What other topics lend themselves to being explored within a similar format?
Don’t Hug Doug tackled the topic of consent and personal boundaries in a light-hearted way. Even Steven takes on the topic of sharing in a way that kids will find humorous. It works because both books explore their themes in many different situations and settings that are familiar to kids.

How will the established story structure work with the new topic?
Both books include a combination of narrative text and dialogue balloons, with a similar comic panel style of illustration. Both also use plenty of rhyme, which makes them fun to read aloud.

I also had to figure out how a meta-fictive element would work in the sequel. In Don’t Hug Doug, readers are invited to interact with the physical book at the end by giving Doug a high five right on the page. In Even Steven, readers are invited to help Steven figure out how to share some tough-to-share items—including the book they are holding.
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​I hope these examples help break down the process of writing a sequel. As you revisit worlds and characters you’ve created, the most important question to keep in mind is:
What did readers love about the first book, and how can I give that to them again in a new way?
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Happy writing!

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Carrie Finison writes children’s books with humor and heart that are fun to read aloud. Her books include Dozens of Doughnuts and the sequel, Plenty of Pancakes; Don’t Hug Doug, an ALA Notable Children’s Book; Even Steven: A Book About Sharing; Lulu & Zoey: A Sister Story (Running Press Kids, 2022); Hurry, Little Tortoise, Time for School (Random House Studio, 2022); Pigs Dig a Road (G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers, 2024); and Touch a Truck Day (Chronicle Books2026), a lift-the-flap board book. She lives in the Boston area. Visit her at www.carriefinison.com , or follow on social media @CarrieFinison.