Rhyme and rhythm are fun and basic to the development of language.
Nursery rhymes and songs have been handed down verbally over generations and in all cultures. They are a means of storytelling, learning language as well as connecting us to our past.
With the development of the printing press, the number of stories has exploded, both for adults and children. The addition of illustrations enhances a book’s appeal to young readers. Today there are countless children’s rhyming books.
So why would you be interested in mine? Read on and find out…
Crash – the sound of cake tins falling in my pantry.
The start of an epic adventure in children’s book writing.
I had just completed a kitchen renovation in 2020 (yes, the pandemic had started, but that’s another story). I have no idea how a mum and baby possum had entered my pantry. Could it have been through our doggy door? To make space for the night, they had pushed my tins to the floor.
Luckily my husband managed to gently encourage them into a box. We placed them outside in an open chicken coop, with bananas for dinner. By morning both possums and bananas had disappeared.
This is how my book ‘Possums in the Pantry’ was born.
Over the next 4 years our 2 grandsons were born. When visiting our home on the lake at Robina, they had much fun chasing the chickens (named Chanel, Popcorn and Abigail) out of my kitchen. Lizards were also invading, not just the laundry, but coming through the front door. Our rescue dog, Tully, looked part dingo and could act ferocious at times. I admit to imagining the bilbies. Could they have been water rats from the lake? Another confession, the lorikeets were mostly outside. Unless one counts my daughter’s pet galah that flew straight out the window to freedom a few years ago. So, it all came together as a story of life at Granny’s house.
Writing in rhyme has been challenging. I wanted it to be amusing (and ridiculous) for children, parents and grandparents reading out loud. Hoping to have this published has also been challenging.
Luckily, I heard of Ocean Reeve Publishing. Ocean offers ‘Assisted Publishing’ and answered all my questions. It takes time to get from the idea to the story, to the illustrations, to final draft. I was hoping to have my first copies available by Christmas.
(Fingers Crossed)
But mostly I’m hoping everyone finds the fun in my addition to all of the other children’s rhyming books.
I shall keep you posted on progress.
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