1. A formulaic opening, creating anticipation

It’s important for the book to start off in a way that creates a feeling of anticipation and intrigue e.g., “Once upon a time…” 

2. Description of the setting

Your students might have great imaginations of their own, but to understand a story they’ll need a brief description of the setting to give them some foundation to build their mental picture around.

3. Introduction of the character(s) – often contrasting

It’s important for stories to quickly introduce the characters, and to make clear distinctions between each of them. You’ll often find early-years books do this almost immediately, setting contrasts between each of the characters shortly after describing the setting.

For example, we quickly find out that Cinderella is pretty, wears rags, and must do all the chores. Cinderella’s stepsisters are ugly, wear beautiful clothes and force Cinderella to do all the chores.

So, very quickly in the story, elements of good and bad characters are introduced. 

4. Introduction of a problem

The main character will generally meet a problem of some kind that interrupts their standard daily life. This will challenge them to overcome the problem and leave readers with a sense of achievement/success.

We can see an example of this in the fairy tale Little Red Riding Hood, where the little girl leaves the path despite her mother’s warnings.

5. A series of events, heightening the suspense and anticipation, which lead to the resolution of the problem

Just like the dips and climbs in a rollercoaster, a story should have a series of events that take the reader on a suspenseful (but enjoyable!) ride.

In Little Red Riding Hood, we can see this where the little girl is about to be eaten by the wolf when, just in time, her father arrives and kills the wolf.

6. A closing which, like the opening, is often formulaic:

Stories for young learners should generally finish with an ending that matches their formulaic start. 

For example: “They lived happily ever after.”

7. A moral or morals

The moral(s) may be explicit or implied. 

Little Red Riding Hood has two clear morals:

1. Children should learn from their parents/caregivers and do what they are told.
2. Wickedness will eventually be overcome.

Extras:

The 7 points above are the typical features we would expect to see. However, there are also some other features which may be found in good stories, to different degrees:

• Repetition of phrases and patterns
• Dramatic irony
• Predictability
• Sense of inevitability
• Rich lexis
• Alliteration
• Metaphors
• Surprise or twists at the end