PICTURE BOOKS WITH CUMULATIVE STRUCTURE AND RHYME

One important consideration when writing a picture book is what structure it will take. Author Pat Zietlow Miller listed several options in her post "Pick and Commit" on the Picture Book Builders blog:

• the classic picture book structure (main character with a problem)
• list
• how-to guide
• cumulative story
• dialogue-driven storylyrical poem or poems
• variety of viewpoints 
• and more

Today, I'm taking a look at cumulative structure -- a structure that builds as the pages progress. Perhaps the best-known example is the nursery rhyme, The House That Jack Built.

A cumulative structure is fun for young readers because it builds anticipation at the page turn. What is coming next? Also, the repetition of text can invite readers to join in the telling.

Some cumulative books use pattern, repetition, and rhythm, but do not employ rhyme. A classic example is The Napping House by Don and Audrey Wood. Another is the humorous The Farm The Mac Built by Tammi Sauer and Jackie Urbanovic.

But I especially like cumulative picture books that use rhyme in the telling.

Creep, Leap, Crunch: A Food Chain Story by Jody Jenson Shaffer and Christopher Silas Neal peppers the story with rhyme. This nonfiction book begins with a stanza of rhyme, in a mostly anapest rhythm (minus the first unstressed syllable);

There was a blue sky with a bright shining sun,
a glorious, life-giving, fiery sun.
The day has begun.

The spreads that follow introduce new characters in a few lines, then a longer stanza after that builds the cumulative text. When we reach the midpoint of the book, the reader has met the full cast.

Notice the generous use of alliteration (multiple words that begin with F, S, B, T), as well as the occasional ending perfect rhymes (thicket/cricket, trees/breeze, sun done). The last line circles the reader back to the book's opening. On the next page, "But some days..." signals an upcoming change.
As the story continues, in each consecutive spread, a creature escapes their food chain fate. The couplets of lines on these pages do not rhyme, but instead use a repetitive pattern, naming the interacting characters and using specific verbs to indicate how prey escaped predator.

The simple ending concludes with a final perfect rhyme (seeds/needs):

and the hungry black bear
munches flowers and seeds...
          ...all that she needs.

The back of the book contains six pages of back matter that discusses the food chain. (This post by Michelle Schaub (behold-the-back-matter-where-lyrical-nonfiction-does-its-heavy-lifting.html) details how back matter can do the heavy lifting in lyrical nonfiction book.

Here are two more books that show variations of using rhyme in a cumulative structure:

The Bears Shared by Kim Norman and David Walker makes greater use of rhyme. This fictional story features a bear family and a bird family in their respective homes. The story opens with a familiar rhythm:

This is the lair the bears shared.

The author uses assonance in this line -- here it's the repetition of the "air" sound.

On the following pages, Mama bird makes a home for her babies, beginning with fur from the bears' lair. The cumulative text continues to build as a storm moves in. The author varies the rhythm a bit (you might recognize the alternating stressed and unstressed syllables (iamb rhythm) that begins with "the rain cloud" and continues until "family," after which it varies slightly. Notice the use of perfect rhymes (gray/day), (tree/family) and a triple perfect + near rhyme (hair/lair/shared)

As is common in many cumulative picture books, the story begins to "unravel" as the reader encounters an onomatopoeia (CRACK!) and a branch plunges the nest to the ground. The birds tumble down and slide into the bears' lair. 

What will happen? Read and find out!

The Lodge That Beaver Built by Randi Sonenshine and Anne Hunter is one of three books by the author that focus on animal habitats. These books take a different approach to the cumulative structure.
Because cumulative stanzas can sometimes feel cumbersome in length, the author chose to use a different pattern. Each stanza in the story consists of three lines. The first two lines rhyme, introducing something new that is going with "the lodge that beaver built" that repeatedly shows up in the third line.

The story reaches a climax when Beaver's lodge is destroyed by a flood, and Beaver must begin rebuilding. 

I'm especially fond of the word choices that the author makes in this book. She also makes use of three pages of back matter to extend learning. 

If you'd like to write a cumulative picture book that employs rhyme, there are many more mentor texts to choose from. Enlist the help of your local librarian to gather and bring a stack home today!

​~ Patricia Toht