Analyzing Mentor Texts for Picture Books

Choose a mentor text to help guide you in writing your picture book.

Fictional texts:

• Freedom Summer by Deborah Wiles
• The Lorax by Dr. Seuss
• Terrible Things by Eve Bunting

Nonfiction texts:

• And Tango Makes Three by Justin Richardson
• The Librarian of Basra by Jeanette Winter

If you have another text in mind, see me.

Group activity:

1. Reread text carefully and thoughtfully.
2. Annotate:
1. Character and conflict
2. Setting
3. Mountain of action: rising action, crisis/climax, falling action, and resolution
4. Writing techniques:
• use of repetition
• similes, metaphors, symbolism
• sensory details and imagery
• kid-friendly language and sound; rhyme and rhythm; made-up words; onomatopoeia (words that show sound - POW!)
• theme
3. Create a story map (mountain of action) for the mentor text. Do this on a separate sheet of paper. Include character, setting, rising action, crisis/climax, falling action, resolution, and theme(s).
4. Reflect on your mentor texts:
1. Based on the mentor texts, what did you learn about how to write a good story?
2. What are at least 3 writing strategies you want to include in your story? Give an example from your mentor text.