Dr. Seuss was challenged to write books for beginning readers, using a limited vocabulary. 
Writing in rhyme, he used a total of 30 unique words in Hop on Pop and 49 unique words in Green Eggs and Ham. 

Can the same idea be applied to picture books? How many unique words would it take to tell a rhyming story in a picture book? You'd obviously need at least TWO, since rhyming words are a clear criterion. But how many more than that to tell a story with a beginning, middle, and end? How many more to have a problem/conflict/resolution? I analyzed these three books to help me explore the question.

(I found it interesting that the main character in all three books is a bear! Why is that? Maybe it's because bears are popular characters in picture books. But maybe it's also because BEAR has so many wonderful rhyming words.)

Orange, Pear, Apple, Bear by Emily Gravett (Simon & Schuster, 2005) is a book that delighted me from the first time I read it almost two decades ago. This book uses only FIVE unique words -- the four title words, plus the word THERE. The magic in storytelling happens through word combinations and clever use of the same word as both noun and adjective.

In the spread below, you can see that the words ORANGE and APPLE are now used as  descriptors of the pear and bear, respectively. 

The entire book is 31 words long, mixing and matching the initial 4 words, ending with a final word, "There!". I really enjoyed the wordplay in combination with the art. The story has a beginning (individual pages with art of the four words of the title), middle (the wordplay combinations), and end (the bear eats up the fruit, leaving a fruit peels and a departing bear), but no problem or conflict.

Bear Hare by Jeff Mack (Henry Holt & Company, 2026) is a recently released title from an author of more than fifty books. It uses TEN unique words. An important part of the story's wordplay uses four words that are homophones (BEAR/BARE and HAIR/HARE). This story has two characters and also uses varying word combinations to drive the story. I found that even writing down unique words as the appear in the book begins to tell a story:

The various word combinations reveal that both characters want the floppy, Andy-Warhol-like wig of blue hair, stealing it from each other, which causes tension to rise. 

At the climax, the hair is torn. Can you choose the word from the list that is the resolution to the problem?
The total story contains 49 words in different combinations. With seven of the ten unique words being from the same word family, this book is certain to be a fun read-aloud!

I'll pause briefly to point out that creators who are both author and illustrator might have an upper hand in writing books with a low number of unique words. With the twists in wordplay, so much is portrayed through the illustrations.  Yet the next book proves that thought doesn't hold true. 

a bear, a bee, and a honey tree by author Daniel Bernstrom and illustrator Brandon James Scott (Hippo Park/Astra Books for Young Readers, 2022) is written using 34 unique words. The bear, the bee, and the tree all share the spotlight.

This book also has a word (honey) that is sometimes used as a noun and sometimes as an adjective. In addition to recombining words, the author also uses precise, descriptive words to convey mood and suggest action -- SNEAKY, FRETFUL, ANGRY, GRUMBLING, SEARCHING, HIDING. In some spots, adjectives will foreshadow something to some. The spread below begins some trouble!

In the two spreads that follow, the author says:

A "rumbling tree"? What does that mean? Turning the page reveals the bear looking in on a "million fuzzy buzzing bees." The entire story runs 116 words, using combinations of the 34 unique words. Truly, having limited words does not have to limit the story you can tell!

This author and illustrator team has written two additional books about this insatiable bear:
a bear, a fish, and a fishy wish (2024) and
a bear, a man, and a donut van (2026).

I love a challenge and may take a stab at writing a book with limited unique words. Here are six guidelines I've written for myself:

You are most welcome to join me in the challenge!

​~ Patricia Toht

A few months ago, I began reading WHALE BOYS, THE TRUE ADVENTURES OF MELVILLE AND MANJIRO by J.C. Kato, newly released by Reycraft Books, 2026. The more I read, the more I fell in love with this lyrical novel! So, I wanted to share it with the Rhyme Doctors' House Calls readers as an example of a longer lyrical text for exploration and study. I was struck by the beauty of J.C.'s poetic verse, written in chapters structured by alternating viewpoints of the two protagonists. The experts agreed--as this book just earned a Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection Honor! Often, the Rhyme Doctors share blog posts focusing on picture books. WHALE BOYS offered an opportunity to mix it up and take a closer look at a novel written like a beautiful flowing poem. . . .

Do you like to write in rhyme? Are you also a foodie? If you answered "Yes" to both, why not try writing a rhyming or lyrical picture book with a food theme? In today's Mentor Text Referrals, I look at three recent books with food themes -- two in metered rhyme and one lyrical text.

Plenty of Pancakes reunites the team of Carrie Finison (author) and Brianne Farley (illustrator) and is published bby G. P. Putnam's Sons, 2026. It is a companion book to Dozens of Doughnuts, published in 2020 and featured in the House Calls post "Two Picture Books that Almost Rhymed."

​My newest lyrical nonfiction picture book, A Pathway for Pollinators, illustrated by Blanca Goméz and published by Norton Young Readers, releases today!  Just in time for planting season!

I'm continuing my series with a deeper dive into various poetry forms. So far we've looked at List poems and Haiku if you'd like to review those posts. Today's topic: Concrete poetry, also known as shape poetry, is “a form of playing with words, ideas, letters, and art. It is, in a sense, a picture poem, one that gives not only words but delight to the eye.” (Myra Cohn Livingston, Poem-Making) The poem’s words are placed or fit into the construct of a recognizable shape to reflect the poem’s subject. That’s the challenge – can you select the right wording to not only capture the subject matter effectively with lyrical language, but also form it into a pleasing shape to reflect your topic! Achieving this can be more difficult than it sounds. Let’s explore some concrete poem examples from a few children’s picture books.

Whether you prefer the term graphic novel, sequential art, or comics, books written in this style have exploded in popularity this century. The first graphic novel that I read was Raina Telgemeier's SMILE, a memoir about the author navigating school while dealing with the repercussions of a mouth injury. Published in 2010, it led a surge of fans to graphic novels. Since 2010, the sales of books in comic/graphic format have soared to nearly $2 billion in sales, according to Publishing Perspectives.

This popularity has led to an expansion of topics tackled in this style, encompassing both fiction and nonfiction, and targeting ages 4-8 to adult. It was only a matter of time before poetry and the graphic format would join forces in the children's book market.

The two books we'll look at today are collections of poems by author-illustrators who have illustrated them in a comic style: 

Brr! Baby, it's cold outside. Time to cuddle up with a cozy winter-themed picture book. Better yet, time to write one! "But wait," you say. "Hasn't this topic been covered . . . a lot?" True, snow and winter are enduringly popular topics for picture books. For good reason. There's perennial magic in that fluffy white stuff that falls from the sky. The key is to capture that magic in a fresh way. 

This time of year, it always feels to me that Thanksgiving is being squeezed into a smaller and smaller space by Halloween and Christmas. Looking at the holiday picture book section of my library shows the same -- multiple shelves packed with Halloween and Christmas books, but only a few rows of Thanksgiving titles wedged between them.

Luckily, more books that celebrate Thanksgiving, harvest, and gathering together are being added each year. And books that are at the edges of Thanksgiving, (like those about turkeys, pies, feasts), are also more plentiful. Here are three newer titles that fit the (turkey) bill.

​Here at the Rhyme Doctors we're big fans of rhyming and lyrical picture books. But we also know that strict metered rhyme and even loose, free-verse lyricism are not always the best choice for a project.