MOWMT March 9: Lyrical Language with Roxanne Troup

To Rhyme or Not to Rhyme

You’ve heard the old saying, “A picture is worth a thousand words.” But words do more than create pictures in our minds. They also create mood. 

As read a-loud texts, picture books rely on the musicality of language to convey more than a story’s meaning. Lyrical language amplifies the feeling of story. It creates atmosphere, and inspires young readers to come back to the same story again and again in the hopes they will experience that feeling once more.

Writers create these feelings in lots of different ways. Some choose to rhyme; others use poetic or lyrical language that reflects the story’s purpose. Illustrators build upon these feelings with art style, color choice, and perspective.

Take, for instance, the poetic language in WISHES by Mượn Thị Văn and Victo Ngai. 

“The night wished it was quieter. The bag wished it was deeper...The boat wished it was bigger.” 

And so goes the text of a refugee story of hope in the face of the unknown. The sparse repetitiveness of this text (along with moody art and amazing page turns) creates the hushed, rushed, high-stress feeling of a midnight escape before resolving into a heartfelt wish for the future.

Or MONSTERS IN THE BRINY by Lynn Becker and Scott Brundage that introduces readers to mythical creatures using the bouncy, rollicking rhyme of a traditional sea shanty. 

“What do you do with a grumpy kraken? Crabby, cranky, crusty kraken? What do you do with a grumpy kraken? Kraken in the briny. Share some jokes and your best riddle, feed her cakes from Cookie’s griddle, teach her how to bow the fiddle, kraken in the briny.” Doesn’t that just make you want to dance?

Here’s another example of a great rhythmic read aloud, but this one’s done without rhyming.

WET DOG! by Elise Broach and David Catrow begins: “He was a good old dog and a hot old dog, as he lay in the noonday sun. And he dozed and he drowsed in the beating-down sun, with his long pink tongue hanging out.”

With long sentences, and a generous sprinkling of alliteration and assonance, the author recreates the feeling of a lazy summer day full of sunshine and shenanigans. Though originally published in 2005, this book is still available and selling well (based on Amazon rankings) in paperback. I wonder if that has to do with the author’s choice of language?

In FLASHLIGHT NIGHT by Matt Forrest Esenwine and Fred Koehler, Esenwine’s rhyming verse creates a feeling of mystery and adventure. 

“Flashlight opens up the night. Leads you past old post and rail along a long- forgotten trail, into woods no others dare, for fear of what is waiting there.”

Koehler builds on that mystery with inky art that serves double duty and exposes the true story—one of imagination and backyard play—in the beams of a flashlight.

My next book with Amanda Lenz (coming this fall from Schiffer Kids), entitled REACHING FOR THE STARS, uses a waltzing rhythm and unexpected rhymes to celebrate explorers of the past and inspire the next generation of space enthusiasts to “reach for the stars.”

“What will we find light-years away, beyond the expanse where our planets play? . . . Perhaps we will see a meteor shower, or discover a giant nebula tower.” I hope you’ll watch for my cover reveal next month!

PRIZE: Share one of your favorite lyrical reads (rhyming or nonrhyming) in the comment section for a chance to win a picture book critique or 20-minute Ask-Me-Anything session with Roxanne Troup.

With a background in education, award-winning author, Roxanne Troup, writes children's books that entertain, educate, and inspire. She lives in the mountains of Colorado and loves hiking with her family, planning her garden, gazing at stars, and exploring our amazing world through stories–both written and lived. Roxanne also enjoys visiting schools to water seeds of literacy and inspire the next generation of explorers, story-tellers, and scientists. She is also a writing mentor at her local SCBWI group, a picture book reviewer at Goodreads with Ronna, and a volunteer judge at Rate Your Story. Connect with her on Twitter or her website.

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