St. Charles couple's ABC book a tribute to Chicago

Married for 23 years, Steven L. Layne and Deborah Dover Layne of St. Charles like to spend time together working on their ABCs.

The Laynes, both educators and authors, have written four alphabet books for Sleeping Bear Press of Ann Arbor, Mich. The couple's newest book, "W is for Windy City," is an alphabetical tribute to Chicago.

From A (the Adler Planetarium and Art Institute) to Z (the city's zoos), Chicago's landmarks, people and history are highlighted with poetry and prose. The book's colorful illustrations were created by Michael Hays and Judy MacDonald.

"This is the book I've wanted to write," said Deborah, who grew up in St. Charles and currently works as the curriculum and media specialist at the Westminster Christian School in Elgin. "I've lived here in the Chicago area my whole life. It's near and dear to my heart, and I had always wanted to do something about Chicago for the kids' (book) market."

The Laynes have their writing teamwork down to a science. Deborah does the research for the text. Steven writes the poetry.

"We begin by brainstorming ideas for the different letters," said Steven Layne, professor of literacy education at Judson University in Elgin. "We proofread each other's work and make suggestions."

For the letter B, the Laynes focused on President Barack Obama. Deborah's text about Obama's life and his path to the White House is accompanied by poetry from Steve:

"Barack Obama is the Bwho left Chicago for D.C.He opened up the White House dooras president number forty-four"The Chicago Cubs baseball team is featured on the books's letter C page - "I wanted to get Wrigley Field into the book, because when I was a kid I went to so many Cubs games," Deborah said.And readers can learn about the Great Chicago Fire of 1871 under the letter G.Steven, who is the author of 21 books including young adult novels and a professional book on literacy for educators, said "W is for Windy City" can inspire even out-of-town readers to think about the special qualities in their own corners of the world."Even kids from very small towns can think about the rich history in their own city - every city has a story to tell," he said.Both Laynes learned something new in the research and writing of "W is for Windy City."Deborah learned more about the life of talk show host Oprah Winfrey, whose Chicago-based Harpo Studios is the focus of the book's H page.For Steven, who grew up in Indiana, the legend of famed goat owner's 1945 never-win-a-championship curse against the Chicago Cubs was new. The Laynes, who have four children, have no immediate plans for writing another book together. For now, they are enjoying teaching readers about Chicago."Chicago really is a magnificent place," Deborah said.False15001367Learn about some of Chicago's history, landmarks and people in "W is for Windy City," by husband-and-wife authors Steven L. Layne and Deborah Dover Layne of St. Charles.Courtesy Sleeping Bear PressFalse