[Jan S Posts: 3 Status: Offline I love kids' books!]

I've been fiddling with rhymes as a sort of hobby for decades now, and am considering consolidating a few into a collection. Question: in a picture book of rhymes (not a plot-based book), do all the rhymes have to share the same meter, etc., or can they be distinct from each other since there is no plot line to follow?

Thank you,
Jan Sheldon

[Vijaya Posts: 7,104 Status: Offline Encourage]

Jan. The poetry collections I've read that don't have a story but organized around a theme have all had different rhyme schemes from poem to poem. Very enjoyable.

You might want to change the topic of your question (use the Modify button)--I thought you'd get more responses under poetry than under intro. Welcome again. We're so happy to have you here.

[dewsanddamps Posts: 2,320 Status: Offline]

  Hi, Jan! I don't know the answer to your question, but I'm glad you found us.

[Debbie Vilardi Posts: 7,068 Status: Offline Language is so cool!]

It's actually better if the poems don't all follow the same meter. That would get tedious to read. The poems should vary but be on a theme to hold them together, and if there is some sort of progression (not really an arc but something that helps us know why they are in the order they are in) that will help.

[Jan S Posts: 3 Status: Offline I love kids' books!]

Thank you! You're all so nice - I appreciate the welcome and the advice.

Second question - in such a book (collection of themed rhymes), does the 500-word limit still apply?

[Pons Posts: 2,482 Status: Offline]

To answer your first question: I'm afraid a  book of poems all in the same rhyme pattern and meter would be boring. Feel free to have fun changing things up.

For the second question: a collection of poems is sort of in a category of it's own. I don't think the 500 word rule would apply, because a child or parent can start and stop anywhere in the book. You'd rarely read through the whole book in one sitting, unless it was a very short collection. Others may know more about this.

[Vijaya Posts: 7,104 Status: Offline Encourage]

Jan, I don't the limit applies to collections. Check out some of Laura Purdie Salas' books. Oh and Boyds Mills' imprint Wordsong--they make gorgeous poetry books. Good luck!!!

[Debbie Vilardi Posts: 7,068 Status: Offline Language is so cool!]

As with any picture book, you have to think about the pages will lay out. Will you have a poem on each spread or page, some longer poems that maybe include a page turn, or some spreads with two or three poems on them? A traditional picture book is either 32 or 40 pages with room for front matter (title and copyright pages as part of that). Fitting that is more important than word count.

V's advice to check out poetry picture books is spot on.

[Jan S Posts: 3 Status: Offline I love kids' books!]

And, once again, thank you all!

I really appreciate the kind advice. Clearly, I've a lot to learn!

[JulieM Posts: 995 Status: Offline]

Just adding to the idea mentioned above about the poems following a theme. I bought a picture book called "Now I am Five" in which there are poems of various meter and word count. They are all about a young child's experiences - e.g. bath-time, getting dressed, playing. I think the word count is considerably over 500 words, from memory.
Best wishes with the project.