From Our Shelves: Resources for Kidlit Rhymers

Usually, the Rhyme Doctors' Mentor Text posts share picture book and poetry collection titles that you can study and learn from. But today, we're stepping away to share the craft books we keep on our own shelves that educate and inspire us. We hope you will find them helpful in your own writing journeys.

We all own a copy of Writing Picture Books: A Hands-On Guide From Story Creation to Publication, by Ann Whitford Paul. (Revised and Expanded Edition, published by Writer's Digest Books, 2018.)

This book is a "go-to" recommendation because it effectively covers the important story elements of a good picture book. As we tell clients, one of the hard things about being a rhyming author is that meter and rhyme are secondary to story. Story comes first -- no amount of stellar rhythm and rhyme will make up for story issues. Because we like to write in rhyme, we work twice and hard!
We've found that "Part Three: the Structure of Your Story," which digs into items like hook, plotting, and ending, have been particularly helpful. We all return to this book when our own stories hit stumbles. 

These two books are from my own collection. Although I wrote quite a bit of poetry when I was younger, I was never taught much about poetry. So when I chose to focus on writing in rhyme, I had a lot of learning to do! 

A book aimed at students was the perfect starting point for me. Poem-Making: Ways to Begin Writing Poetry, is by Mayra Cohn Livingston (A Charlotte Zolotow Book, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers, 1991). The author presents the basics of voice, rhyme, meter, poetic devices, and poetry forms in a simple-to-understand way. Poems, sprinkled throughout, give pertinent examples. The book is now out-of-print, but used copies can be found. Other student-targeted books include Knock at a Star: a Child's Introduction to Poetry, by X.J. Kennedy and Dorothy M. Kennedy (Little, Brown, and Co, 1999), How to Write Poetry by Paul B. Janeczko (Scholastic, 1999), and Poetry Matters: Writing a Poem from the Inside Out, by Ralph Fletcher (HarperCollins, 2002).

Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear, by Elizabeth Gilbert (Riverhead Books, an imprint of Penguin Random House, 2015), is a salve for me when my creativity feels depleted. I prefer the audiobook, narrated by the author. Gilbert shares her own creative process and her insights into inspiration. Chapters are short and sweet, like delicious amuse-bouches for your brain. Currently, I'm revisiting the section, "Persistence."

Rhyme Doctor Eileen Meyer's first recommendation is Mary Oliver's Rules for the Dance: a Handbook for Writing and Reading Metrical Verse, (HarperCollins Publishers, 1998). Eileen says reading this book "was like going to [poetry] school." Mary Oliver, a world-renowned poet, breaks down the nitty-gritty of metrical rhyme with specific examples. This is next-level learning for rhyming authors who are serious about perfecting metered poetry, which includes rhyme, line length, and metrical pattern.

​Still Writing: the Perils and Pleasures of a Creative Life, by Dani Shapiro (Grove Press, 2013) can make you feel wonderful about being a writer. As one reviewer says, it "offers up a cornucopia of wisdom, insights, and practical lessons." The author does not write kidlit, but her reflections on 20 years' of writing present topics that are relatable on a a broad level. Like Elizabeth Gilbert, Shapiro writes in vignettes, making it easy to squeeze in reading time.

Rhyme Doctor Michelle Schaub is crazy about poemcrazy: freeing your life with words, by Susan G. Wooldridge (Clarkson Potter Publishers, 1996). Michelle describes the book as "invigorating, inspiring, and fun." The author presents many inventive ways to play with poetry and encourages readers to practice at the end of each chapter. After reading this, Michelle says, you'll find yourself becoming more poetic in your approach to life and writing.

​Writing the Life Poetic: an Invitation to Read and Write Poetry, by Sage Cohen (Writer's Digest Books, 2009) is a book that works for those who want to write poems, as well as those who want to add a more poetic feel to non-rhyming texts. It covers the gamut of poetry writing, from coming up with ideas to detailed dives into sound, rhyme, rhythm, and repetition. Like poemcrazy, this book offers a "Try This!" challenge at the end of each chapter to spur you on to write.

The three of us have been writing for children for over 20 years now, so a few of these books are very old friends. This is a reflection of the poetry skills and all-around good advice we've harvested. They've definitely withstood the test of time! 

Happy writing!

~ Patricia Toht