One of the most frequently asked questions by new kidlit writers is “why do editors say not to write in rhyme?” There’s plenty of picture books written in rhyme, right? They get published somehow!
Well, the answer is a bit complicated. It’s not that editors don’t necessarily LIKE rhyme. It’s just that it is very difficult to do well. Here’s why:
- Rhyme scheme can dictate story–but shouldn’t. Tales should unfold organically, not be forced into the confines of the rhyme. Often it’s suggested to write in prose first—so you don’t get locked into a plot that doesn’t work—then translate it to rhyme.
- Common rhyme schemes can be stale. Editors see them again and again. Avoid overly simple, one-syllable rhyme schemes like go/show/know, to/you, me/be/she/he/see, run/fun/sun, day/may/way/say. If your reader can guess the word at the end of the line before they get there, your rhyme scheme may be too common. Editors want to read rhyme that surprises them.
- Forced rhyme or near-rhyme can ruin a story. This is when words don’t exactly rhyme unless you mispronounce them. Once in a while this is acceptable, but more than a few times in a manuscript and it distracts.
- The meter (or beat) must be spot-on. That doesn’t just mean the number of syllables in each line, but the emphasis on those syllables. Meter shouldn’t be so sing-songy and constant that it lulls the reader to sleep (unless maybe it’s a bedtime book) or so rough that it tongue-ties the reader and forces them to speak unnaturally. Some good rhyming books offer a break in the rhyme scheme for variety—not unlike a bridge in a song.
- Rhyming books are difficult to translate into other languages. An editor may not want to lose out on foreign book sales, so they’ll pass on a rhyming project.
However, if your heart is set on rhyme and if you have a talent for it, you should go for it. At first, Karma Wilson listened to the “don’t rhyme” advice.
“When I first started submitting some 15 years ago all the guidelines said, ‘No rhyme and no talking animals!’ For THREE years I avoided rhyme and talking animals. But guess what my first book sale was? BEAR SNORES ON! And guess what the guidelines said for McElderry books? NO RHYME AND NO TALKING ANIMALS! My passion is rhyme, and talking animals are great as long as they have something interesting to say.”
Yes, you can break the rules like Karma. But get your rhyme critiqued and know whether or not you can nail it.
Me, I’m terrible at rhyme and I know it. I cannot “hear” meter. I’ve tried and failed. My friends have coached me, but I still don’t get the right beat. I can’t dance to it. (I can’t dance anyway. Think Elaine from Seinfeld. Sweet fancy Moses!)
So what is successful rhyme? I’m glad you asked! I’ve got a few examples for you.
In HUSH, LITTLE DRAGON, Boni Ashburn spoofs the lullaby “Hush, Little Baby”. Instead of buying her baby a mockingbird, the mama dragon in the story brings her darling son various villagers to eat. It’s delightfully tongue-in-cheek. Some of the best lines:
Here she comes with a fresh magician.
Don’t mind the taste—he’s good nutrition.
…and later on…
If Mama finds a mean old queen,
Honey, you are lucky—that’s good cuisine!
Notice how these rhymes are out of the ordinary. They’re surprising and fun, plus the words have multiple syllables. She also rhymes “flee” with “fiery” and “bolt” with “revolt”. I challenge you to find these rhymes in another book! You won’t—and that is what makes this story so special.
Jean Reidy’s LIGHT UP THE NIGHT is an example of rhyme that elicits glorious illustrations. Remember that in picture books the art tells half the tale, and these lines create an expansive view of our world (click on image for larger version)…
This is my country, with highlands and plains,
with farmlands and cities and highways and trains…
Notice how there is a break in the rhyme scheme at the end of the stanza—and that line is set apart in the illustration for emphasis. Coincidentally, Jean blogged today about her decision to write in rhyme. Go check it out!
In Corey Rosen Schwartz’s THE THREE NINJA PIGS, the rhyme is infused with porcine puns. Kids and adults alike will appreciate the humor:
She then gave a swift demonstration
With backflips and butterfly kicks
The wolf looked quite shaken
but hollered, “Yo, Bacon!
I’m not at all scared of your tricks.”
There’s more great piggish laughs (like my favorite “pork-chop” line) but you’ll just have to wait until it’s released in September!
So I hope I’ve provided you with some background on why rhyming picture book manuscripts are a hard sell…but that if they’re done well, they can be spectacular.
What are some of your favorite rhyming picture books? Please share in the comments!
38 comments
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March 13, 2012 at 10:49 am
Julie Falatko
I love anything by Lisa Wheeler. She does rhyme in a way that consistently surprises and delights.
And my fave from my childhood is “The Giant Jam Sandwich” by John Burroway Lord.
March 13, 2012 at 10:50 am
Sue Heavenrich
Tara, thanks for sharing this. I’ve heard the “don’t rhyme” mantra – but here’s the irony: I’m developing some literacy activities for pre-schoolers (and their parents) and all the teachers I’ve talked with have said “use rhyming books.” Why? Because the predictability of a rhyme helps kids succeed in guessing what’s next, in learning sounds, in identifying those sounds with print. so… keep on rhyming!
March 13, 2012 at 10:57 am
Tara Lazar
You’re absolutely right–rhyme is great for teaching literacy and story skills.
Repetitive refrains (in prose and poetry) can also help children identify words and what comes next in the story.
All told, picture books are awesome teaching tools!
May 5, 2014 at 3:28 pm
Dave Mowers
Exactly right! Poetry and rhyming aka: “kenning” comes from mythology and mythology was a system used to teach sacred knowledge handed down through the generations from parents to children and the easier it was to remember; the more rhyming or like song it was, the better!
I encourage anyone to read Hamlets Mill and in particular the astounding poem Vainomoinen. We have sadly lost the technical use of poem; it should all rhyme and be used in the classroom in the early grades to excite children to learn and teach them how to form systems for memory in later years.
March 13, 2012 at 11:02 am
Niki Masse Schoenfeldt
I really like THE WRIGGLY, WRIGGLY BABY by Jessica Clerk and SNOWMEN AT NIGHT by Caralyn Buehner. Also, keep an eye out, my picture book, DON’T LET THE BEDBUGS BITE! is a rhymer and comes out this fall.
March 13, 2012 at 11:07 am
Lori Alexander
My kids love JAKE GOES PEANUTS by Michael Wright (his other JAKE books are great, too). I’ve heard most of the reasons not to rhyme, but the last one was new to me. Makes a lot of sense that rhymes would be difficult to translate into other languages. Interesting. Thanks for the post!
March 13, 2012 at 11:44 am
Michelle Bradford
I enjoy Boni Ashburn’s books. I had the opportunity to hear her speak and teach at the SCBWI-MI Fall Mackinac Island 2011 Conference. She is so much fun!
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March 13, 2012 at 11:52 am
Julie Fulton
I’d heard about the difficulties with rhyming PBs too. I still went and wrote Mrs MacCready Was Ever So Greedy in rhyme – maybe it’s because I’m really a musician by trade.
I also used to teach and I know how much young children (and older ones if they’d admit it!) love to join in with the rhythm and rhyme of such stories.They are an invaluable tool in helping children to learn sounds and recognise them in print.
My favourite rhyming books? Would have to plump for Julia Donaldson – Room on the Broom or Tyrannosaurus Drip are brilliant examples of PBs that tell the story first and foremost and just happen to rhyme too. Doesn’t she make it look easy!!
My publishers have now requested a series of Ever So books – all in the same rhyme scheme – and trying to put the story first is causing me GREAT difficulty, but it is good fun too, playing around with words. There was much relief all round at home (particularly from husband) when I finally finished Tabitha Posy Was Ever So Nosy. A little bit of rest now before the next one is tackled!
March 13, 2012 at 12:08 pm
Lynn A. Davidson
Tara, thank you for this excellent and very interesting post.
I am still needing to find a ‘home’ for my rhyming story, but .. maybe one day.
Children love rhyme, especially when they can guess the word that is coming, and at times when it is unexpected they like the surprise of it and keep it in mind. Or so I’ve found .. 🙂
March 13, 2012 at 12:15 pm
Joanna
I just wrote my first rhyming picture book – completely unintentionally. I sat down to write prose and it all came out in rhyme. I don’t think one should fight that. However, I am lapping up posts like these, in an attempt to avoid some of the worse rhyming pitfalls! Thanks, Tara!
March 13, 2012 at 12:24 pm
sharon from farm and fru fru
What a great post! Very informative. I never thought of the language translation consideration so thanks for that. Sheep in a Jeep was always the fave at our house!
March 13, 2012 at 1:01 pm
Corey Schwartz
Anything by Julia Donaldson (i.e. The Gruffalo)
And, of course, Dr Seuss!
March 13, 2012 at 1:21 pm
Anna J. Boll
Nice post. Excellent examples!
March 13, 2012 at 1:39 pm
Kristin Gray
Hey, you featured some of my favorite peeps! And I totally snorted at the Elaine line. I understand! Great post as always.
March 13, 2012 at 2:17 pm
Kirsten Larson
I love Mem Fox’s “Time to Sleep.” And when the boys were little, we did LOTS of Sandra Boynton. Rhyme galore!
March 13, 2012 at 2:25 pm
caroline starr rose
I’ve heard this for years, too….and my first picture book to sell rhymes. Go figure.
March 13, 2012 at 2:43 pm
Renee LaTulippe
As a life-long rhymer and writer of children’s poetry, I too was disappointed to discover the no-rhyme rule, and had every intention of continuing to rhyme as I tried my hand at PB manuscripts. I mean, it’s what I do! But to my surprise, when I sat down to do it, my brain seized up and I felt completely boxed in. So I wrote in prose. And the story — which is based on one of my children’s poems anyways — was so much the better for the switch. As you say, Tara, I think the story has to tell YOU whether it wants to be written in rhyme or prose.
It’s also worthy to note that a poem does not equal a PB ms. Two very different things.
I recently reviewed my two current favorite rhyming PBs: I Took the Moon for a Walk, which is so gentle and soothing, and Bear Snores On – Karma’s got some amazing rhymin’ goin’ on there!
March 13, 2012 at 3:58 pm
salarsen
I hadn’t thought about the translation of PBs. That’s an interesting point. I tried rhyming with one of my stories, but I haven’t perfected it by any means. I might keep it traditionally written. Thanks for these great points.
March 13, 2012 at 4:48 pm
Patricia Tilton
Thank you for your very informative and thoughtful post on rhyming. I found it helpful I believe there are a lot of people who write rhyme very well, as if it is their second language. But, I’ve been so confused by the constant expert advice about not submitting rhyme. It seems like among our group of writers, many write ryhme. Rhyme isn’t something that I feel remotely comfortable writing. Although I may play with it for fun. So your comments helped. I love critiquing other writer’s rhyme.
March 13, 2012 at 5:58 pm
Lynda Shoup
Great post, Tara. I love how you share not only rules, but also reasons. As a school librarian I have found that I can get the attention of my students with rhyme, so I give directions in rhyme whenever possible. When I sit down to write the rhyme comes to me whether I want it to or not. If it sounds like it might work, I keep it to tweak. If not, I’ll rewrite in prose. I’ll be taking another look at my work keeping your guidelines in mind.
March 13, 2012 at 7:19 pm
Ramona
Fix-it Duck is a great rhyming picture book by Jez Alborough. Simple sentences. Lots of onomatopoiea. A fun read!
Rhyme is fun to read along to aslong as it isn’t laborious to read.
March 13, 2012 at 7:26 pm
Joanne Fritz
Great post, Tara. And aren’t we all lucky that Karma Wilson decided to go ahead and break those rules? Her books are gems.
I’m also looking forward to Corey’s THREE NINJA PIGS, since I’ve been lucky enough to read it. And I know how hard she worked on it! Coolest rhymes ever.
March 13, 2012 at 10:17 pm
Boni Ashburn
Tara!! I love a good rhyme debate and clicked over to find *my book* as an example??? Wow- you just made my day! Thank you 🙂 I am a great example of someone who learned how to rhyme through trial and error. I was NOT a natural rhymer and really, really struggled to get it. My early attempts were bad, bad, BAD. But I love good rhyme and wanted to write it, so I studied every book by Karma Wilson, Lisa Wheeler, Julia Donaldson, Linda Ashman, Mary Ann Hoberman… and the tutorials on Dori Chaconas’ site and Hope Vestergaard’s site were invaluable as well. Thanks for the taste of Corey’s book- can’t wait for that one!
March 13, 2012 at 10:59 pm
Tara Lazar
Oh, come on, Boni! You know how much I love your book! How could I NOT mention it?
March 13, 2012 at 10:43 pm
Jarm Del Boccio
Thanks for this, Tara…my March PB manuscript for 12×12 is turning out in rhyme, so this was a timely post!
March 14, 2012 at 4:38 am
Lynn Ward
Hi Tara,
Excellent article. I too initially balked at the ‘no rhyme’ advice but sometimes nothing but rhyme will do 🙂
I agree wholeheartedly with the advice that the story must lead and I have written manuscripts initially in prose, found it lacked ‘sparkle’ and then turned it into rhyme. Because the story was already there I was less likely to fall into the trap of a plot ‘wandering’ to fit into the rhyme scheme.
I have some prose picture book manuscripts in the ‘bottom drawer’ but my first contracted books (The Big Beet – Scholastic, due around April 2013 and Sally Snicker’s Knickers – Walker Books due in 2014) are both rhyming.
As you pointed out though, the international market is probably restricted with rhyming books. Perhaps the only negative 😉
Love your blog.
Lynn
March 14, 2012 at 6:43 am
thiskidreviewsbooks
I really admire people who can write in rhymes. It is easy to rhyme but hard to make it sound good! It’s fun to keep trying 🙂 Great post!
March 16, 2012 at 9:39 pm
Helen Ross
Great information Tara.
March 17, 2012 at 10:35 am
Carol
Great post! Very informative. I recall hearing these things at some conferences I’ve attended but I think you did a by far better explanation as to the why’s of this. So many of us grew up with rhyming stories on our bookshelves that you just assume that’s what you should write. Dr. Seuss of course is the first that comes to my mind.
March 17, 2012 at 11:05 am
Tara Lazar
Gee, thanks. I wrote this because you always hear “no rhyme” but the whys aren’t usually mentioned. Bottom line is that if it’s a good story executed well, it will sell, rhyme or not. (As demonstrated by Karma Wilson’s BEAR SNORES ON.)
March 27, 2012 at 8:52 am
Lori Grusin Degman
Great post, Tara! I hope wanna-be rhymers take it to heart!
Julie Falatko commented about Lisa Wheeler – if you ever have a chance to attend her Picture Book Boot Camp, don’t pass it up – it’s awesome!! Here’s a link to find out more about it: http://www.lisawheelerbooks.com/LW/boot_camp.html
September 18, 2014 at 7:51 am
Good morning, Kidlit and GOODNIGHT, ARK! Laura Sassi’s Debut! (plus a giveaway!) | Writing for Kids (While Raising Them)
[…] you have any hesitations about writing in rhyme? You know, because we hear so often not to do it because it’s difficult to do […]
August 27, 2015 at 12:57 am
Brett M Young
Hello Tara, my 1st published book was in rhyme, for younf readers, published in the U.S. It wasnt dumbed down , in fact i made a point of using above average verbage and language. I have since written 3 kids/ young adults books but am finding all the doors closed. Do you know if there are certain publishers that work in the genre. I am an award winning poet, freelance editorialist, musician from Sydney, Australia. My first book is titled The Twontle, and was very well recieved. You can find it easiliy.
Thanks
Brett
February 22, 2016 at 6:46 am
If the Shoe DOESN’T Fit: Thoughts on Rhyming…or Not” | Laura Sassi Tales
[…] “Why Do Editors Say Not to Write in Rhyme?” by Tara Lazar […]
March 5, 2016 at 7:45 am
Margaret Flint Suter
I love to rhyme and so much of my children’s things do. I work on my meter, and keep moving things around and one day, It will all work out!! Loved this blog!
November 17, 2016 at 11:01 pm
Alex Borns-Weil
encouraging, since I love to write in rhyme; you gave me some good food for thought
thanks
January 17, 2019 at 12:10 am
Lily J Ingraham
I adore Crazy Hair, by Neil Gaiman
For my avid 6 year old reader and me, it is a sweet vacation from everyday words and mundane concepts. The wacky illustrations are not what I would’ve expected in a children’s book, but they delight and ignite the imagination.
August 16, 2019 at 8:18 pm
Alison
I love rhyming stories for my kids. They enjoy them and I like reading them. I had the pleasure of meeting a fairly local author at a book signing at Barnes and Noble in Rhode Island who writes books for children in rhyme. She only had this first one out, but after chatting with her for a bit, I have been waiting for the next book release. She was also very kind to my daughter who is an aspiring author herself. The author’s name was Krystal Fernandes and her book we really liked is, Jasper the Bold (ish).