From my hopetogetitpublished book
from the chapter on
Story Structures

There are several one part story structures that work for picture books especially as picture books take care of most of the show and the words need only tell. These are also not dependent on the well taught story arc. These are simple but very effective story types as in the first one which mimics how we all start telling stories.

Action/Reaction Structure. It goes from one event to another, from the last to the next, from it to another and so on, and so on, until the story comes to an end usually with a twist / end point. Or more visually it begins A to B, then B to C, C to D, D to E, etc until it is time to end with a twist.

These stories are often in a "Verse and Refrain" structure as well. this structure is found in many other structures and act like raisins in an oatmeal cookie, really nice but not needed, there are other structures like "Begending" or "Book Ends," which are like like the nuts in the cookie also help to make it tastier and richer.

A Verse and Refrain is just like it sounds, it does not have to be actual verse but rather a part of the story is told, say part A, which we will call Verse A and then a refrain is given. We will call if Z1. So the book reads A to B-Z1, B to C-Z1, C to D-z1 ... you get the idea. Often it ends with a twist in the refrain so it might be at the end, H to J-X1.

Begendings or Book Ends are stories that start in one place, take you other places but tend up right where they started. Almost all mono-myth stories work this way, but so do many others. This is a structure you can place on to the main structure of any story.

"Kitten's First Moon" by Kevin Henkes Has all three of the above structures. As it's base structure is the A to B, B to C, C to D,... Etc. Bit it also starts in one place, the porch, and ends back on the porch. It also has a refrain which subtlety changes near the end to foreshadow the end of the book. And it won a Caldecott for its marvelous pictures and its fulfilling story.

Try these structures for yourself and see how much fun they can be.