Rhymes A-Plenty, Rhymes Galore

RhyPiBoMo is winding down. It's bee a wonderful month of writing and reading poetry for children. One great interview that was shared was Patricia Toht's interview of Kenn Nesbitt, the current Children's Poet Laureate,Part 1 and Part 2 on Groggspot. It was a delightful read. So many of the daily posts for RhyPiBoMo included words of inspiration from other writers who are passionate about their craft. The daily assignments kept us improving our skills.

In reading a huge assortment of rhyming picture books, I have discovered a couple of new favorites.

Boogie Knights by Lisa Wheeler/Illustrated by Mark Siegel, is so much fun and masterfully done. There is so much to be learned from her rhyming style.



Chicks Run Wild by Sudipta Bardham-Quallen/ Illustrated by Ward Jenkins, is just delightful!

A Restful Saturday

This week for my Saturday post, I thought I would include some of the great rhyming books I have been  reading as part of my assignment for RhyPiBoMo. I've read some real clunkers, but I have also discovered some gems that have already become favorites.

One Dark Night by Lisa Wheeler

Romping Monsters, Stomping Monsters by Jane Yolen

Piggies in a Polka by Kathi Appelt

Samantha on a Roll by Linda Ashman

Runny Babbit by Shel Silverstein

They are all masterfully done and a joy to read aloud!

KidLit411: The Weekly 411

I found a great blog with loads of helpful info that I'm going to start following:

KidLit411: The Weekly 411 (4/18/14)

"Work" Time Spent On-line

I have been spending more time on-line this month. I am participating in RhyPiBoMo, and with each daily post there are wonderful links to be explored. I am also trying to get into the habit of keeping this blog current, so here I am again. Some of the sites I've explored that were useful included:

Cynthia Leitich Smith's How to Write Books for Children and Young Adults- This is full of great information and inspiration

Rhymer- A Free Rhyming Dictionary- I've used RhymeZone before. This is a great alternative.

Angie Karcher's RhyPiBoMo Blog- There is so much information here about writing in rhyme, I've had to take it in in small doses.

Margot Finke's Secrets of Writing for Children- Scroll halfway down and find self-critique tips including a list of words that can be cut. I fall into the same old trap with a few of these words and it's helpful to refer back to the list from time to time.

A View from the Circ Desk

Working in a children's library is great fun. I love hearing the kid's opinions about the books they are reading and I also like to see what makes them choose a book off the shelf. So far, I discovered that some things never change. Trucks, princesses and cute animal characters are perennial favorites. I also am reminded that each month, different seasonal topics are highlighted by the librarians. These books are displayed so the covers can be seen, as opposed to all the other books whose skinny binding/title are the only things kids have to base their choices on. Topics worthy of pursuing right now include: Spring, gardening, poetry  (April is poetry month), St. Patrick's Day. Just think of all the things that might make a school bulletin board.

A Trip to the Mechanic

True to my word, and my new resolve, I am posting on Tuesdays with some new information I have learned about writing children's picture books. I have been participating in RhyPiBoMo and have been reading so much in and about rhyme,  I thought I would do something completely different here. I have been trying to learn more about the pacing of PB's. Here are some sources I found helpful.

Miranda Paul's blog post- A Peek at Pacing: 12 Picture Books I Love is a fun look at the pacing techniques used in 12 PBs. It's a great read. She also wrote about storyboarding if having something visual/tangible helps with the pacing process.

Diane Muldrow addressed the topic from an editor's viewpoint in Aug. 2011 on the SCBWI official conference blog.

Tara Lazar has a helpful post about picture book dummies and picture book construction.

I must admit that I have tried making dummies, marked page breaks in my manuscripts and read whatever I can find on pacing. I still don't know if I'm on the right track!

RhyPiBoMo Homework

Our rhyming assignment for the day, as part of RhyPiBoMo, was to write a poem about April Fool's day. Here is what I came up with:

Someone's knocking on my door

I'm sure I've seen this fool before

He speaks of millions? An untied shoe?

A chalked eraser? What else is new?

This fool is extra cruel this year

He just announced that Spring is here

Hopefully the sunny, warmish weather we're enjoying today is not just a teaser!