ADDING POP TO PICTURE BOOK TEXT WITH POETIC DEVICES—PLUS A NEW RELEASE!

​If you’ve been a  subscriber to the Rhyme Doctors’ HOUSE CALLS newsletter for the past few years, you’ve seen my posts about using poetic devices in your projects. (See archives on our website in the House Calls Blog, Poetry Prescriptions files.) I adore poetic devices, those tools we use to create rhythm, strengthen meaning, and establish a mood in our writing. They can help us build a stronger connection to readers, too. 

​I​ use a variety of poetic devices in my new rhyming picture book releasing next week,
​BUILD A SANDCASTLE (Illustrated by Manica Musil, Reycraft Books), an ode to that favorite beach activity. The book celebrates summer days, friendship, and building sandcastles, with handy STEM pointers from a spunky starfish. Charming sewn-felt artistry by illustrator Manica Musil pairs perfectly with the rhyming text.

In this page spread, two little friends work together, dancing and mashing down a pile of sand to create a firm foundation for their soon-to-be-built masterpiece. In just twenty-four words, I employ numerous poetic devices to add musicality to my lines.  (Tip: Read the sample text aloud to hear the sound effects created by the poetic devices used. This is so helpful as we work on our own drafts, too!)

Sample text:
Stand upon this spongy swamp.
Flex your feet and gently STOMP!
Then . . .
MASH it!
SPLASH it!
DANCE around!
Make this bedrock firm and sound.
 
Find assonance (repeating vowel sounds in words and phrases that are close together) in these words with the soft “a” sound: stand / mash / splash / dance. 
I also do the same thing with a repeated soft “e” sound: flex / gently / then / bedrock
 
I use consonance (repeating consonant sounds in nearby words – can occur at beginning, middle or end of words) with both the repeated “sh” and “s” sounds from these words near each other:
mash / splash / dance / sound / stand /spongy / swamp / stomp
 
There’s quite a bit of alliteration (repetition of usually initial sounds of neighboring words or syllables) with the repeated use of words beginning with “s” and a little bit with “f”:
stand / spongy / swamp / stomp / splash / sound;  flex / feet
 
I used caesura (a pause in a line of text created by a space, comma, dash, ellipsis or other form of punctuation) with the use of “Then . . .”
 
There’s a bit of onomatopoeia (words that imitate the sound of what they mean) in the words stomp and splash.
 
And a few more of my favorite poetic devices:
true or perfect rhyme (the stressed vowel sounds in both words are identical, as are any sounds thereafter) with the words:  swamp / stomp, a-round / sound.
 
rhythm (trochaic poetic meter) courses through the text, showcased here in these lines:
(In my scansion diagram of the lines below, UPPER case indicates a stressed syllable; lower case indicates unstressed)
STAND u-PON this SPONG-y SWAMP.
FLEX your FEET and GENT-ly STOMP!
Then . . .
MASH it! SPLASH it! DANCE a-ROUND!
MAKE this BED-rock FIRM and SOUND.
 

​​​
Just twenty-four words and I employed seven different poetic devices. I love the musicality and great sound effects that result. Enjoy playing around with these elements in your projects, too. Which poetic devices will add something extra to your current project?

BUILD A SANDCASTLE (Written by me, Illustrated by Manica Musil, Reycraft Books) is out in the world 4/24! (Book birthdays are great fun!) I hope you’ll read the book aloud with a young friend and spend some time at the beach this summer building your own masterpiece!

- Eileen Rajala Meyer, Rhyme Doctor