“You're never too old, too wacky, too wild, to pick up a book and read to a child.” - Dr Seuss

I want to acknowledge how children’s books have played a major role in my early life and take a moment to appreciate their creators. As a new children’s book author (and longtime book lover) I recognize how books have the ability to teach, entertain, and move us. I remember the simple delight of bonding with story books at an early age. The possibility of being able to provide that experience, as a new author, to young readers today is a joy! My book, Horsing Around In The Town Of Gold Hill: A Story To Stirrup The Imagination And Spur Creativity, was written to encourage the FUN of reading, as it is a complex process that requires practice, perseverance and patience for new readers.

Writing the book entirely in rhyme was probably the biggest challenge I faced in the process. I wanted the cadence of this story’s rhyme scheme to resemble the rhythm of a walking horse. It is intended to be read aloud as it is written for a target audience of children who do not know or are learning how to read. However, I’ve been told by middle-aged adults that they resonate with the story’s lessons, too! Stories in rhyme provide a fun way for kids to expand their vocabulary and pronunciation skills. They can often figure out how to say a word and know its meaning by the rhyming context in which it’s placed, and they love predicting the word that comes next. I am drawn to the rhythm. I think a mistake for many writers is that they make the rhyme more important than the story, at the expense of the dialogue and plot. The story starts with the main character, a horse, who is stuck in a routine that has her lamenting, “Life with the herd can be so dull and boring. I’d be happy with days of new sights and exploring. But it might get too cold, too hot, too bright…Too windy, too dusty, mosquitos might bite!”

Of course, Dr. Suess is the OG of rhyming children’s books; many of the most popular children's books of all time. Who doesn’t love Green Eggs And Ham? A lesser known rhyming story I love is Rosie and the Rustlers, by Roy Gerrard. It is a beautifully illustrated rhyming western tale that takes place “where the mountains meet the prairie, where the men are wild and hairy.” The Gruffalo, by author Julia Donaldson, is another favorite, with its "terrible tusks, terrible claws, and terrible teeth in his terrible jaws". Bear Snores On, written by Karma Wilson, is a funny tale of FOMO when a tiny mouse and a few other forest animals seek shelter in a sleeping bear's snug cave. It turns into a full-blown party around an oblivious bear, "And they nibble and they munch with a chew-chomp-crunch! But the bear snores on."

Do you write children’s books? What is your writing process like? Tell me everything!!

I would love to know some of your beloved rhyming children’s books and what you enjoy about them!