Rhyme Time
by Kathy Halsey
Today I'm featuring my grandson's favorite rhyming picture book as a mentor text for all of you joining me in Angie Karcher's RhyPiBoMo.
Check out her FAQ page because there's still time to join in on all the fun. OK, confession time, here - rhyming is out of my comfort zone, and that's why I'm up for this challenge that began with guest bloggers and lessons March 30. Angie has even created a super list of rhyming books to serve as mentor texts for all of us would-be rhymers!
SKELETON CAT by Kristyn Crow, illustrated by Dan Krall has been read to death by my three year old grandson and me. This cute picture
book has plenty of onomatopoeia and is just plain fun to read aloud.The rhythm is so catchy that Tobin recites lines from it while he plays outside! The plot is simple but hooks readers right away. Who doesn't dream of being in a rock and roll band? Skeleton cat auditions as a drummer for a rock band, and the rhyme/rhythm really echo a drummer's beat. (I've been listening to my hubby play drums for 25 years now, and Kristyn Crow has got the drum cadence down cold!)
I double-dog dare you to recite the following lines from SKELETON CAT aloud. Go ahead, no one's listening...
"He went: Rattle, rattle. Clink, clink. Rattle, rattle clink. Tip tap.
Clickety-clack, ka-plink, ka-plink, ka-plink. He rocked and he rollicked
and he clunked around, and the kids in a playground heard the rattlin'
sound..." See, it's addicting, right? Rhyming is fun!
Go to your favorite local bookstore, head to the library, and stock up NOW for RhyPiBoMo. Please comment on YOUR go-to rhymer on the GROG and enter to win great prizes as our launch party continues!
When I husband and I first met on-line about 15 years ago, we often spent hours conversing completely in rhyme, just for fun. I am completely out of practice now though!
ReplyDeleteI just read it for the first time this weekend - but we've all been tromping around the house muttering lines from the new book "If It's Snowy and You Know It Clap Your Paws" by Kim Norman!
ReplyDeleteDon't know that one, sounds good.
DeleteI must get this book--what fun to read aloud! It's definitely addictive with that onomatopoeia drum rift.
ReplyDeleteIt is quite fun!
DeleteDig that rhythm!
ReplyDeleteYup, Joanna, it's what all the cool kids want, rhyme AND rhythm!
DeleteKathy, I signed up for RhyPiBoMo. I am looking forward to seeing you there. Great post :D
ReplyDeleteJackie, what group are you in? I'm in Zella's Zodiacs!
DeleteI am in the nosebleed section :D I am so far off I did not get a group on FB. We have to communicate via the gmail. I have never written a book in rhyme. I am truly new to this. My favorite rhyming books are written by Verla Kay and Linda Ashman.
DeleteKathy,
ReplyDeleteThanks for the post. I am not familiar with Skeleton Cat, but I will look for it. I just read Tyrannosaurus Drip by Julia Donaldson for my rhyming book of the day for RhyPiBoMo. It is a great one, too. All my favorite picture books seem to be the ones that rhyme - and it is because they use our language in such a fun way.
Katie, TY for stopping by the GROG! The mentor text you suggested is a new one to me! Fun & silly and language play!
ReplyDeleteI am crazy about Dan, the Taxi Man by Eric Ode, illustrated by Kent Culotta. The rhythm, rhyme, repetition and surprise ending are so much fun to read aloud. The illustrations add their own layer of fun.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the post. I recently drafted a rhyming picture book story and I keep having problems with the rhythm. I never heard of RhyPiBoMo, but it sounds like just what I would need to hone the craft.
ReplyDeleteSign up, Pluck. Be plucky.
DeleteThanks Kathy . . . I took your advice and signed up. :)
DeleteI haven't seen Skeleton Cat, but will have to find it. It is catchy. One of my favorites is Little Chicken Duck by Tim Beiser. It is fantastic!
ReplyDeleteI hate naming favorites. How about if instead I say my most recent discovery is Lisa Wheeler's Bubblegum (Chew-y, ooey bubblegum!).
ReplyDeleteI agree, Wendy. Hard to name favorites. This one sounds cute.
DeleteI just read BARNYARD SONG. Quite delightful.
ReplyDeleteAwesome!
ReplyDeleteI love rhyme, can't choose a favorite, but a few picture books in rhyme that I own are written by Dori Chaconas, Brenda Reeves Sturgis, Jennifer Ward.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the inspiration! I'm off to search the shelves.
ReplyDeleteEnjoy, Mary.
DeleteGreat post Kathy! Keep up the good work!
ReplyDeleteI love Hand, Hand, Fingers, Thumb by Al Perkins,
ReplyDeleteEric Gurney (Illustrator) for its jazz rhythms.
I will seek out skeleton cat at the library when next I am there.
Gotta find that one, Cecilia.
ReplyDeleteI put Skeleton Cat on my library list for this week, Kathy. One of my favorites from my childhood back in the dark ages was called Miss Twiggley's Tree. I can still recite much of it by heart - "Funny Miss Twiggley lived in a tree/with a dog named Puss and a color TV..."
ReplyDeleteI have a lot to learn about rhyming. I recently read Cowboy Clyde and Dirty Dawg by Lori Mortensen. It is a great rhyming book and so fun to read.
ReplyDeleteMany favorite books of rhyme have I. Oh dear! Oh me! Must I list only one? Oh my! A book by Margaret Wise Brown, is at the top of my list. Such a classic story, GOODNIGHT MOON.
ReplyDeleteAs an educator, rhyming is a skill that indicates a child can discern phonemes or sounds and is on the way to becoming a reader.
Excellent post, Kathy.
I'm participating in RhyPiBoMo. I sure am learning a lot! Thanks for this lesson, too!
ReplyDelete