Understanding and Identifying Story Structures in Picture Books

Hello writing friends, 



Today, I’m coming to you with the topic story structures.



As a neurodivergent creator, more often than not, I struggle with organizing my thoughts and ideas. I get so excited about the inspiration for a new story that I tend to hyper-fixate on the creative side and throw the rest out the window. You know, the important parts like, “Hey, what kind of story do I want to write?" And even when I do take the time to try and research a specific structure, sometimes my attention gets the best of me, and I end up going down the ADHD rabbit hole of information- which, of course, leads me to getting overwhelmed. And then I look at the clock, and five hours have disappeared. It’s really quite an annoying and sometimes miserable process. Today, I plan to put an end to this vicious cycle once and for all!


But why, you may wonder, is this all so important anyway? 


The simple answer is that if you’re going to write picture books- and successfully, you need to understand them. And understanding and identifying your story structure is a key part of this. 
If you’re anything like me, hopefully, this blog post will help you get organized and focus on what type of story you’re writing- or want to write! 



P.S. Feel free to leave your comments below, sharing any resources or helpful tips you might have!

Exploring Story Structures

Concept- 

Books meant to teach young children basic concepts such as ABCs, numbers, colors, opposites, time, size, etc.

Taken from: libguides.com children's literature concepts



Meta-

Metaconcepts are concepts about concepts — terms like approach, assumption, condition, context, framework, issue, level, model, perspective, process, prospect, role, strategy, subject, tendency, variable and even concept itself.

Examples of meta books:

•	We Are in A Book! by Willems, Mo. ...

•	The Panda Problem. by Underwood, Deborah. ...

•	A Book. by Gerstein, Mordicai. ...

•	The Monster at the End of This Book. Starring Lovable, Furry, Old Grover. ...

•	Press Here. by Tullet, Hervé ...

•	It's A Book. by Smith, Lane. ...

•	There Are Cats in This Book. ...

•	There Are No Cats in This Book!

Read more about metaconcpets here or here




-Lyrical & poems

List of examples of lyrical and poetic picture books. 

Find out more at literacious.com Lyrical and Poetic Picture Books


-Character-Driven

A character-driven story places the primary focus on the characters' internal struggles, motivations, and personal growth, with the plot often being secondary to the development of the characters. The characters' actions and motivations are shaped by their unique personalities, values, and desires.

Taken from: Dabble Writer 



-Narrative

Classic narrative structure looks like this:

•	Beginning: the protagonist, protagonist’s desire, why they want it, and the problem to attaining it are introduced. The protagonist has a call to action.

•	Middle: the problem escalates as the protagonist attempts to solve the problem and attain their desire.

•	Climax: the point at which the protagonist faces their greatest challenge, solves the problem and is changed in the process. The climax should come right before the end.

•	End: resolution for all. The protagonist has achieved their desire or no longer has a need for it (because they have changed).

Taken from bookediting.com: Narrative Structure In Children's Books 



Nonfiction-

True stories!

Here's a link to a great article on how to map out nonfiction picture books. Mentors for Rent: How to Write a Nonfiction Picture Book Step 13 Storyboard



How-to-

Self-explanatory in the title. Check out some examples listed below under "random list of various formats."



Epistolary-

Stories written in the form of letters (journaling/emailing/texting/etc.)

Some great examples of picture books that do this can be found on gretchenlouise.com: Epistolary Picture Books.



Cumulative-

Cumulative stories are rhythmic stories with a narration that builds upon itself, adding on and repeating previous information. This repetition makes this picture book story predictable...

Taken from imagination soup: cumulative stories for kids 



Prose-

Prose is a form of written or spoken language that follows the natural flow of speech, uses a language's ordinary grammatical structures, or follows the conventions of formal academic writing. 

Taken from: Wikipedia 



Random list of various formats-

•	List. Such as 17 THINGS I’M NOT ALLOWED TO DO ANYMORE, 100 THINGS THAT MAKE ME HAPPY, and TEN RULES OF THE BIRTHDAY WISH.

•	How-to guide. Such as, HOW TO READ A BOOK, HOW TO PUT YOUR PARENTS TO BED and HOW TO BABYSIT A GRANDMA.

•	Cumulative story. Such as, OHANA MEANS FAMILY, THERE WAS AN OLD DRAGON, AND THE CAZUELA THAT THE FARM MAIDEN STIRRED.

•	Dialogue-driven story. Such as ALMA, CLAYMATES, and SNAPPSY THE ALLIGATOR.

•	Lyrical poem or poems. Such as, BLUE ON BLUE, LAYLA’S HAPPINESS and A PORTRAIT IN POEMS.

•	Variety of viewpoints. Such as BORIS AND BELLA, DEAR DRAGON and SAME, SAME BUT DIFFERENT. 

-Taken from Picture Book Builders Pick and Commit: Choosing a Picture Book Structure





Symmetrical Paradigm Picture Books-

Examples of Symmetrical Paradigm Picture Books

Bine-Stock cites many classic examples in her book, and her explanations are worth looking into. They include:

WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE by Maurice Sendak

CHICKA CHICKA BOOM BOOM by Bill Martin, Jr., John Archambault, and Lois Ehlert

IF YOU GIVE A MOUSE A COOKIE by Laura Numeroff and Felicia Bond

GOODNIGHT MOON by Margaret Wise Brown and Clement Hurd

-Taken from Kidlit.com - Check out Mary Kole's kidlit Picture Book Structure





The Picture Book Plot Structure Step-by-Step Breakdown:

•	Step 1 – Introduction. This is the beginning of your story. ...

•	Step 2 – Introduce the Problem. ...

•	Step 3 – Solution Attempt #1. ...

•	Step 4 – Solution Attempt #2. ...

•	Step 5 – Solution Attempt #3. ...

•	Step 6 – Climax/Sense of Failure or Doubt. ...

•	Step 7 – Solution/Ending.

Taken from Journey To Kidlit: Picture Book Plot Structure Step by Step Breakdown 

They even have a free picture book template: check it out here!



And here's a link to Josh Funk's Guide to writing picture books!


(He is amazingly talented, so I highly recommend checking it out!)



Hopefully, these resources will help you on your creative journey. Happy writing and see you next time!



Sending all my love and best writer wishes!

Chelsea DiCicco