Zzzzzt! Cr-a-a-ck! Boom! Boom! Rumble! Swish-wack! Thump-wump! Rumble-brum-brum-brum . . . brum . . . brum Shutta uses these delicious sound words overlaid on the art to convey a complete sensory experience for the reader as the huge storm rolls in.
In this final example, fellow Rhyme Doctor Patricia Toht employs this effectively in her poetry collection, ALL ABOARD THE LONDON BUS (Illustrated by Sam Usher).In her poem “The Tube” look at two sound words Patty employs to make you feel that you are right there in the underground waiting for the next train. Glowing light. Gust of wind. Rumble. Screech! Train pulls in. You can almost feel the platform shudder as the train arrives—better hop on the train! Read further and find more great sound words in the poem, including Hisssss. Ka-thunk! Whip! Zip! And more . . . Can you find a way to use sound words effectively in any of your current projects?
Your reader will benefit from the full sensory experience. See you next time. Happy writing! by Eileen Meyer, Rhyme Doctor
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When my older children were young, they liked this picture book biography:  Johnny Appleseed is written by Reeve Lindbergh and is illustrated by Kathy Jakobsen. The poetic text and folk art illustrations meld beautifully to tell the story of John Chapman, the legendary man who planted apple trees and spread apple seeds throughout the Midwest.  With autumn arriving and apple-picking underway, I was reminded of this book. My mind then wandered to wonder -- can picture book biographies (PBBs) be written in rhyme today? In my search, I discovered The Amazing Scientists books from The Innovation Press, written in verse by Julia Finley Mosca and illustrated by Daniel Rieley:  The Girl Who Thought in Pictures: the Story of Dr. Temple Grandin (2017) The Doctor With and Eye for Eyes: the Story of Dr. Patricia Bath (2017) The Girl With a Mind for Math: the Story of Raye Montague (2018) The Astronaut With a Song for the Stars: the Story of Dr. Ellen Ochoa (2019) If you are interested in writing PBBs in rhyme, this series would make a good study. Each 40-page book includes the story of the scientist, which follows a chronological arc of the scientist's life and accomplishments. After the story is a four-spread section of back matter, which includes fun facts, a timeline, a more detailed biography, and a bibliography. Ask yourself: What do I like about the rhyming text? What are the patterns of rhythm and rhyme, and what poetic devices are employed in the telling? What picture book story elements are included, and how are they executed? Is there anything I don't like about the rhythm and rhyme? What would this story have been like if it were NOT written in rhyme? I appreciate that these books focus on female scientists. I feel the text-in-verse has good rhythm and rhyme, and the back matter is thorough.
Another approach by authors who prefer poetry is to write PBBs in free verse and/or sprinkle the text with some rhythm and rhyme in strategic places. I found this approach particularly well-suited to biographies about people who excelled in artistic endeavors, like writing and music.
 So, yes! Picture book biographies are still being written in rhyme today, whether in strict rhyming text, or in free verse, or in a text peppered with bits of poetry. Study more mentor texts and plunge right in!
~ Patricia Toht |
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