what is it? a riddle rhyme!

When I was young, our family owned a big book of nursery and Mother Goose rhymes. I recall being especially fond of the rhymes that were riddles. "Humpty Dumpty" may be the best known of these. Here are a few others that I liked:

Riddle rhymes are poems that describe something (or someone) without naming it. I tried my own hand at writing some riddles, and these four themed couplets were shared in Ladybug Magazine in March 2014.

Imagine my delight when, a few years later, I discovered that some of my favorite poets had written entire collections of riddle poetry! I'd like to share three diverse collections that appeal to different age groups.

When Riddles Come Rumbling: Poems to Ponder, is written by Rebecca Kai Dotlich, illustrated by Karen Dugan, and published by Wordsong, an imprint of Highlights (2001).

Of the three, this collection is most accessible to young ages. Like many collections, it begins with an invitation to the reader:

When riddles come rumbling
as no doubt they do,
such poems are to ponder
as clue after clue
weaves words
into puzzles
then welcomes you in,
when riddles come rumbling
it's time to 
​begin...

I love the alliteration in this invitation poem (poems/ponder, weaves/words, riddles/rumbling), its connection to the title, and the subtle instructions that are laid out to the reader.

Following the introduction are 29 poems -- 28 riddle poems + a closing poem -- with one poem on each page. Each riddle poem about an object is embedded in an illustration that provides additional visual clues to the object's identity. 

Spot the Plot: A Riddle Book of Book Riddles, is written by J. Patrick Lewis, illustrated by Lynn Munsinger, and published by Chronicle Books (2009).

Targeted to a slightly older audience, the 13 untitled poems in this collection present riddles about well-known children's books, both picture books and novels. Each poem is presented on a two-page spread, with the answers appearing on last spread in the spines of an illustrated stack of books. The dust jacket of the book cleverly contains an invitation riddle on the inside flap. The riddle below is about one of my favorite books.

I enjoy the rhyme scheme of this poem. The two quatrain stanzas have a rhyme scheme of AAAB CCCB, with the first three lines of each stanza rhyming with each other, and the last lines of each stanza rhyming. I also like the repetition of "spider" and "pig" who are the main characters in the famous book.
​

Butterfly Eyes and Other Secrets of the Meadow is written by Joyce Sidman, illustrated by Beth Krommes, and published by Houghton Mifflin (2006).

This collection falls at the intersection of poetry and nature nonfiction, exploring the hidden world of a meadow, and is the most sophisticated of the three books I'm sharing. The book of 16 poems is set up with two poems presented, side-by-side, on a spread with an ending question of "What am I?" (or a similar phrase).

The poem "Bubble Song" has three stanzas that follow a pattern and repeats the word "bubble" and variations of the word, which makes it fun to read aloud. I also like the repetition of the "I never..." lines at the end of each stanza.
The following spread reveals the answers to the poems and provides factual information about the subjects. 

The book wraps up with a page of back matter, a glossary of terms used in the book.

Riddle rhymes are satisfying to write and fun to share. They do NOT necessarily have to rhyme, but I enjoy that extra challenge. Why don't you try your hand at writing some? I haven't seen any recent riddle poem collections, so maybe the time is ripe for a new one!

To explore another way of using verse as a guessing game, check out Michelle Schaub's exploration of a format that uses predictive text. The reader anticipates and predicts a rhyming word that is revealed after a page turn. Click here to read Michelle's post. 

​~ Patricia Toht