Having fun with words is the best part of writing a children’s book.
Conjuring up rhymes to create word pictures in a reader’s mind or putting together a catchy refrain the reader and their long suffering parents won’t forget is all part of the enjoyment.
I like stories that bounce along sometimes in rhyme but more often than not I enjoy creating a rhythm with the sounds of words eg. clickety-click click, snuggly socks for shivering sheep-dogs, short spotty socks.
Using the initial consonant sounds of words two or more times in a line is known as alliteration.
Here are three other ways to have fun with words.
* Metaphor – comparing two unlike things using the verb to be. ‘The colour green is a fresh spring day.’
* Refrain – A line or a group of lines repeated throughout a story. ‘You can’t have a laugh with a scarf’.
* Rhyme – Two of the most common patterns are end rhymes where the words at the end of a sentence rhyme.
‘The more he ate, the more he grew,
until he reached six foot two.’
or internal rhyme when words rhyme within a line. ‘The boy on the sand played in a rock band’.
A children’s picture book will be read over and over again. It has to convey a beginning, middle and end in as few words as possible – the challenge is finding the best words!
