ReFoReMo Day 5: Susannah Richards Shares What Makes a Good Story

by Susannah Richards

I live a life that is full of stories. 40,000 plus books and an old house (1852 on the Historical Register) make sure that everyday I have stories to share. Frog and Toad author and storyteller Arnold Lobel said, “Books to the ceiling, Books to the sky, My pile of books is a mile high. How I love them! How I need them!" I could not agree more because stories are foundation and essence of life. There are so many different ways to tell a story. Writing a story is not about getting an idea and sitting down to tell it. It may be about having an idea and finding the story (or letting it find you), looking at it from different angles, over it, under it, behind it, in front of it, around it, and even through it. What makes a story is not based on any one formula and even when a formula or format works for a series like the If You Give a… (Mouse, Moose, Pig etc.) is successful, the variables that made those stories work may not easily transfer to other stories with integrity. For fun, check out the pacing, event relationships, and character traits in this Laura Numeroff and Felicia Bond bestselling series and then try your hand at changing the variables to get your storytelling brain in gear.

What makes a good story is dependent on many factors including the time when it is written and the audience who finds it. A story is so many things-a narrative, real or imagined, a series of events, a new perspective on an old story or the mixing of multiple stories. There is no such thing as a good story by itself, there is however a good story for certain people at certain times under certain circumstances. If you want to find a story you have to be willing to let the story be told. And sometimes the story that you thought you would tell is not the story that ends up being told. Let the story unfold. The following picture books use very different story techniques (literary techniques, theme, plot, characters, tone, conflict/tension building, pacing, language, style and tone, text formats, images) in different forms, with different paces, in different amounts, from different perspectives. Wishing you luck in finding stories and letting them find you. Remember that they may be as close as your pocket or they may take a while to hatch.

 Egg by Kevin Henkes. With his 50^th book he has definitely mastered how to tell a story that is universal and moves perfectly from frame to frame. In particular check out Henkes' recent "trilogy" that focus on patience, perspective and appreciating-Waiting, When Spring Comes and Egg. They have similar elements with very different storytelling patterns.

One Proud Penny by Randy Siegel illustrated by Serge Bloch.  Who knew the penny had such a pennywise backstory? The balance between real and almost real is worth penny pinching to be able to buy the story.

Oops, Pounce, Quick, Run: An AlphabetCaper by Mike Twohy. HarperCollins, 2016. While the alphabet form has a long history, Twohy proves that when you pick the right word and combine with illustrations that share the storytelling, you can move from A to Z with a pounce and a ball.

 Panda Pants by Jacqueline Davies, illustrated by Sydney Hanson. Knopf, 2016. Davies manages to tell a universal story in a new way with a mother and child panda that seems to reflect the universal parent and child relationship.

The Rooster Who Would Not Be Quiet! by Carmen Agra 

Deedy, illustrated by Eugene Yelchin. If you have not heard Carmen Agra Deedy tell a story then you have missed great storytelling. Check        out her TED Talk, Once Upon a Time My Mother….This allegoric story      finds a unique voice to say we need to be free to follow our voice.

This is Not a Picture Book by Sergio Ruzzier. Metafiction storytelling that takes a simple conflict and creates just the right tension to move the story forward.

XO, Ox: A Love Story by Adam Rex, illustrated by Scott Campbell. An Ox and a gazelle have a story to tell but there are really three stories here from the viewpoints. This epistolary story is worth its story in stamps.


Take Me Out to the Yakyu by Aaron Meshon. While many may delight in the comparing and contrasting of two pastimes, this is a story that explores how are two cultures similar and different with a little bit of a celebration of family.

Billions of Bricks: A Counting Book About Building by Kurt Cyrus. With so many construction books, the competition to build a new one with a novel story is monumental. This counting book is built brick by brick with descriptive text worthy of a read aloud.

 The Girl with a Parrot on Her Head by Daisy Hirst. A fresh twist on how to find and cultivate friends, with a parrot on your head.

      The Philharmonic Gets Dressed by Karla Kuskin, illustrated by Marc Simont. While this book has been around for over 30 years, there is something about the story. One night, many musicians. The richness of the details and the melody of the combination of the text and the illustrations deserves applause.

Leave Me Alone by Vera Brosgol, RoaringBrook, 2016. OK, I am cheating and including a perfect dozen but there is no stopping this knitting grandmother on her epic journey to find a home to finish her knitting. The language, images and her expressions are so central to the storytelling.

Susannah Richards is an associate professor of education at Eastern Connecticut State University where she teaches courses in English Language Arts  methods and Children's and Young Adult Literature. She was a member of the 2013 John Newbery Award Committee and 2017 Geisel Award Committee. 

She is an active advocate for books for youth and those who create them. She is a frequent speaker at state, national and international conferences where she has moderated panels and conversations with Norton Juster, Sophie Blackall, Sean Qualls, Brian Floca, Laura Amy Schlitz, Sharon Creech, Chris Van Allsburg, Hervé Tullet, Angela Dominguez, Melissa Sweet, Andrea Davis Pinkney, Jane Yolen, Katherine Applegate, Jason Chin, Ed Emberley and others. She has coordinated many literature related events including the Rhode Island Festival of Children's Books and Authors, the Silent Art Auction at BEA, and bookety, bookety related projects. 

For bookish and other items of interest follow Susannah @SussingOutBooks on Twitter and Instagram.