Deconstructing Picture Books—an Exercise
If you want to be a Picture Book author—but have never written for children (or maybe never written for anyone at all)—a good place to start is by studying published picture books. Understanding the fundamental structure will help you see the pattern and apply it to your own writing.
Picture Books Follow a Predictable Structure
Every picture book can be deconstructed into 4 main sections:
Motivation—This is the catalyst or inciting event—the situation that pushes the Main Character (MC) to move toward their goal.
Obstacles—these are the challenges, problems, and trouble-makers that happen in the middle of the story and prevent the MC from reaching their goal. These obstacles provide the meat of the story—it’s where all the action happens!
With each obstacle, the MC must overcome the challenge and try again. The reader should feel the tension rising—Oh no! Now what will they do!?
Pay attention to the number of obstacles that the MC encounters. Frequently, this will be 3 (I’ll talk about The Rule of Three in another post).
An “Ah-ha! Moment”—this is the epiphany, when the MC finally figures out what to do, tries it, and IT WORKS! Sometimes, this epiphany moment happens as a realization that they must try something completely different—they understand why the previous attempts didn’t work.
This epiphany can never come from another character in the story (especially not an adult).
The Resolution—this is the payoff, the big finale, where the reader sees the results of the MCs persistence. Sometimes this is a single line of dialogue; other times it’s a bit of narration; and still others, it’s just a picture. But it can never be a summary of the moral lesson from the author.
Let’s Look at an Example
For this example, I’ll use the book Old Rock (is not boring), by Deb Pilutti. ISBN: 978-0-525-51818-1, Copyright © 2020, G.P. Putnam’s Sons
Motivation—Old Rock wants his friends to realize that he is NOT boring (or bored).
Obstacles
Hummingbird thinks Old Rock has not seen anything—and that is boring!
Solution: Old Rock surprises everyone by sharing a time he flew.
Hummingbird, Tall Pine, and Spotted Beetle are unimpressed with the one time Old Rock flew. Spotted Beetle suggests that he sees much more than Old Rock because he climbs.
Solution: Old Rock surprises everyone again by sharing all that he has seen and done through the millennia.
Spotted Beetle and Hummingbird are starting to come around. But, Tall Pine is unconvinced, because Old Rock can’t move.
Solution: Old Rock surprises everyone again by sharing about his somersaulting moves into the valley. And now everyone is intrigued.
“Ah-ha! Moment”—Old Rock realizes he must help the others see things from his perspective, by making them feel like they are part of what makes his world amazing.
Resolution—Old Rock articulates why he loves his spot and how his friends help make it a beautiful (NOT BORING) place to be. And they agree, because they realize how they’ve helped (and they are not boring).
Bonus Material
At the end of this story, Pilutti has made use of her plot outline to provide more information about how Earth has evolved and changed over time. Each era of time is also included in the story that Old Rock tells his friends to help them realize how and why he is NOT bored.
And Now, You Try!
Choose your favorite picture books. For each book, determine the Motivation, Obstacles, “Ah-ha! Moment,” and Resolution. I recommend you do this exercise with at least 3 books. If you still don’t see the pattern, try a few more!
Motivation—The event that drives the MC to move toward their goal.
What does your MC want more than anything?
Why have they suddenly decided to try for it? (This is the catalyst or inciting incident.)
Obstacles—What prevents your MC from reaching their goal? With each new obstacle, what does the MC learn that will affect their next attempt?
Obstacle 1:
Solution 1:
Obstacle 2:
Solution 2:
Obstacle 3:
Solution 3:
“Ah-ha! Moment”—The epiphany—your MC has finally landed on the best thing to do (and it works!)
What is the “ah-ha! moment”?
What does this final attempt look like?
Resolution—The big finale, where the reader sees the results of the MC’s persistence.
What happens after the “ah-ha! moment” to end the story?
Is this ending satisfying? Why?
Does the ending follow logically and rationally (child’s perspective) from all previous attempts? Note: This answer should always be YES. If not, look again (or if it’s your own writing, revise).
If you prefer to work by hand, please download and print my Deconstructing Picture Books Exercise PDF. (It’s free!) You can also use this worksheet to outline your own story.
