Tuesday, July 19, 2022

RHYMING ZONE

 

There is a truth universally acknowledged that a picture book writer in pursuit of le mot juste, must not make it a rhyming one.


Picture books, the ones conceived for the youngest listeners who adore rhyme. Imagine that.


The reasons agents and editors give is that most of us think we can rhyme well, but most of us can’t. Add to that are commercial considerations with a long view to foreign languages editions. Translating rhyming texts is even harder than rhyming well in the original language.


All true. But still.


Rhyme has charm. Rhyme has beat. Rhyme tickles and tingles the bottom of feet.

Gotta get up. Gotta dance. Love to rhyme?

Take a chance.


So, as I just demonstrated, it is hard to do well.

But if you must, then do. Take a chance. Some texts just beg for it.

6 comments:

Vijaya said...

I agree, Mirka. Take a chance. Ten Easter Eggs garnered good rejections over the years but when I turned it into a rhymer (on advice by Salina Yoon) it sold on the second try. It used to be just Ten Eggs so I had to revise it to be an Easter book. But I'm thrilled with how pretty and fun it turned out.

Evelyn said...

You give good advice. I don't have any published rhyming PBs. But my only PB mss that have received a contract offer (which I declined) or have gone to acquisition meetings were both rhyming PBs. I like to write in rhyme.

MirkaK said...

Some writers made a career out of rhymes and, of course, for a long time, the only way to write poetry was by rhyming. I wonder whether anyone has done research on whether small children remember things better through rhymes.

Mirka Breen said...

MirkaK, Good point. I know I remember things much better when they are rhymed lines.

Barbara Etlin said...

I think this rule, like most other writing rules, is mostly nonsensical. Young kids love rhyming poetry. It may be harder to sell to a publisher (like some other silly rules, such as avoid talking animals). But once a publisher decides to be brave and ignore the rule, these books often are bestsellers.

Go for it!

Elizabeth Varadan, Author said...

I have regretted the rigidity of the advice not to rhyme picture books. I think children DO learn better by rhyme and that's a reason for its popularity for decades, even centuries. Bedtime stories are also soothing in rhyme. More than anything, I think small children deserve some range of styles.