Putting it all Together.
So here we are, ready to put everything together into a manuscript for our rhyming children’s picture book.
If you are having trouble coming up with an idea for your book, brainstorming on a big piece of paper can be helpful.
You can also take a preexisting poem and draw inspiration from that.
Let’s take St George and the Dragon.
This poem is about what happened after St George slayed the dragon.
But dragons are cool creatures, and you might want to write a whole story about dragons. Opening on a problem is a strong way to start a story.
So what if we take the first verse of this poem and tweak it a little bit? In the original it reads,
St George he slew the dragon,
But he didn't shout hurray.
He dumped it in the wagon
Just to clear the mess away.
But we can add some modern elements and think a little sideways to come up with our own story. If dragons lived today, would they roam around wild? Maybe they would, but what if they actually lived at the zoo?
What if they escaped from the zoo?
That’s a compelling problem. So keeping the original seven syllable beat and some of the original rhymes, we could open our book with the verse,
The zoo has lost its dragons.
And our town is in dismay.
We threw our stuff in wagons-
Then we quickly ran away.
See how this is now a completely different story? I have used the foundation of Alfred Noyes’s poem and I’ve even been inspired by his rhymes, but the idea is completely original.
You may even use someone else’s story, provided it is in the public domain. I’m not a lawyer and you shouldn’t take legal advice from me, but even I can tell you, if a story is over eight hundred years old, it’s fair game. It can be quite a bit younger than that, and still be fair game, but that’s for you to research.
Let’s take a famous story from Greek Mythology. Queen Helen cleans out the national gold deposit of Sparta and hops it for Troy with another man, leaving her husband, child and parents behind.
Sources differ on how culpable Helen was in this unsavoury act, but everyone agrees that it’s ancient material and you can write about it if you like.
Here’s how the ancient Greek poetess Sappho tells it:
“Some say a host of horsemen, others of infantry and others
of ships, is the most beautiful thing on the dark earth
but I say, it is what you love
Full easy it is to make this understood of one and all: for
she that far surpassed all mortals in beauty, Helen her
most noble husband
Deserted, and went sailing to Troy, with never a thought for
her daughter and dear parents.”
— Sappho, fragment 16 (Translation taken from Gumpert, Grafting Helen).
No offence to old Sappho (it was impressive she managed to have a career back then), but I think we can do better than that.
I’m going to construct this loosely within the range of 11 to 12 beats per line. This is to demonstrate how you can use an old source for your plot, if you wish.
Old Helen of Sparta had a beautiful face.
But her horrible heart was a dark evil place.
Some people like weapons, all dripping with blood.
While others choose armies that rush like a flood.
But the very best thing is the thing that you love.
Hot Helen loved money; gave family the shove.
She sailed for Troy with her hunky boyfriend.
For her parents and child, it was really the end.
I don’t really think this is an appropriate subject for a children’s picture book, but I use it as an example of how you don’t need to come up with your own plot, if you don’t want too. The world is full of ancient literature and you’re welcome to use it.
I also wrote this piece to demonstrate that poetry can be constructed with a slightly looser beat and still work. Be careful though, a rhyming poem must fall within a consistent mathematical range, or it simply won’t read well.
Although I have taken a flippant tone so far, rhyming books do present a wonderful opportunity to say something truly beautiful. If you want deep, beautiful thoughts to work with, then I don’t think you can do better than the book of Psalms in the Bible.
The following is taken from the King James Version.
Psalm 29.
(A Psalm of David.)
“Give unto the LORD, O ye mighty, give unto the LORD glory and strength.
Give unto the LORD the glory due unto his name; worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness.
The voice of the LORD is upon the waters: the God of glory thundereth: the LORD is upon many waters.
The voice of the LORD is powerful; the voice of the LORD is full of majesty.
The voice of the LORD breaketh the cedars; yea, the LORD breaketh the cedars of Lebanon.
He maketh them also to skip like a calf; Lebanon and Sirion like a young unicorn.
The voice of the LORD divideth the flames of fire.
The voice of the LORD shaketh the wilderness; the LORD shaketh the wilderness of Kadesh.
The voice of the LORD maketh the hinds to calve, and discovereth the forests: and in his temple doth every one speak of his glory.
The LORD sitteth upon the flood; yea, the LORD sitteth King for ever.
The LORD will give strength unto his people; the LORD will bless his people with peace.”
I’ll admit, there’s no way I can write anything that good- ever.
However, in that current form, it’s tough for a child to understand.
So if I was to create a children’s book out of this, I would first work out the essence of what the psalm is saying.
Then I would use the constructional techniques I have outlined, to write something like this:
The Lord is big! The Lord is strong!
Come together and sing him a song!
His voice is beautiful and loud!
He sounds like thunder, in the cloud.
He shakes the mountains and the trees!
His voice is glorious, across the seas!
He gives us joy! He gives us peace!
May our praises never cease!
This is our God! Forever King!
And we will lift our hearts and sing!
I haven’t used any plot here, just thoughts that hang together nicely. I’ve also been loose with the beat. And that is OK. Once you understand the concept of rhythm and musicality in poetry, you can start playing around with it.
It is an art, after all!
This concludes my series on how to write a rhyming children’s book. You can find more tips on this subject on my YouTube channel.
Happy writing!
Toodle pip!
Ruthie
With the exception of the writing quoted for the sake of demonstration, the writing in this essay belongs to R.M. Hamilton. All rights reserved. The picture of the typewriter keys is generously provided by Pixabay.