Peggy Archer
Children's Author

 

I loved nursery rhymes as a child. Now my granddaughter comes home from pre-school singing them, a great reminder of those days long ago.

 

I love the rhyme and the rhythm of a poem in verse, and sometimes you just have to sing it out loud! How to get there is the hard part. And you know there will be multiple revisions along the way.

 

Here's my first version of the opening poem in my picture book NAME THAT DOG!—  

 

If you're going to get a puppy

then you need a puppy name.

One that gets his tail to wagging

when you play a puppy game.

 

A name your dog will come to.

One that rolls right off your tongue.

A name that says "I love you."

One that says "let's have some fun."

 

For every dog is special,

and no dog is quite the same.

So jump into the alphabet

to find the perfect name!

 

Not exactly what I was hoping for. The only part that I really liked was the ending. It wasn't just about the rhyme. It was word choice, rhythm and tone. How could I make the reader feel the excitement and fun of the dogs in the poems to come.

 

So I started making lists. Lists of words that had anything to do with dogs. How they looked, how they sounded, what they liked.

Here's what I ended up with—

 

Happy puppies,

scrappy puppies,

     puppies playing games.

Shaggy puppies,

waggy puppies,

     each one needs a name.

A stick-fetching

     ball-catching

          name that you can call

A yip-yapping

     water-lapping

          puppy, big or small.

Perky puppies,

peppy puppies—

     none of them the same.

So jump into

     the alphabet and

          pick a puppy name!

 

I had fun with the words, the rhythm, and with alliteration and internal rhyme. It was a perfect start to my book about dogs and their names, with a poem that sings!

 

Word choice and poetry is not just for poems in verse. Check out my blog post for ways to make your picture book feel lyrical on the Writing Day Workshops blog.

 

Happy Poetry Month 2026!

 

 

I love talking to kids in schools. I try to make it interactive when I talk about writing and books. But the best part is the Q&A. You just never know what kids are going to say!

 

One time I was at a school and I was reading a silly poem from my book, FROM DAWN TO DREAMS, about taking a bath. One verse goes like this…

 

Splish! Splash!

Take a bath

Here in the warm spring rain.

Hang me out

By the water spout

Until I'm dry again!

 

I jokingly asked the class if anyone had ever taken a bath outside in the rain. One young boy wiggled his hand in the air. "I did!" he told me.

"Really?" I said.

"YES! I did!"

"Did you use a bar of soap?" I asked.

"Yes!" he said. "I used a bar of soap!"

I guess you just never know unless you ask!

 

Here's the complete poem, Splish! Splash! from my book, FROM DAWN TO DREAMS, Poems for Busy Babies.

 

Splish! Splash!

Take a bath

Here in the laundry tub.

Spin me around

Til I'm upside-down

And make our noses rub!

 

Splish! Splash!

Take a bath

Here in the kitchen sink.

Wash me up

With my sippy cup

Until I start to shrink!

 

Splish! Splash!

Take a bath

Here in the warm spring rain.

Hang me out

By the water spout

Until I'm dry again!

 

Splish! Splash!

Take a bath

Here in the big white tub.

Bubble me clean

Like a beauty queen

And wrap me in a hug!

 

Happy Poetry Month!

 

Sometimes you pick up a book just meaning to scan the contents, with no intention of really reading it. But then something happens… you read just one line or word. And before you know it, you're buried in that book and can't put it down! 

 

That's the way it was for me with PLEASE BURY ME IN THE LIBRARY, a poetry collection for children by J. Patrick Lewis. Here's my favorite poem from the book…

 

Please bury me in the library

In the clean, well-lighted stacks

Of Novels, History, Poetry,

Right next to the Paperbacks,

 

Where the Kids' Books dance

With True romance

And the Dictionary dozes.

Please bury me in the library

With a dozen long-stemmed proses.

 

Way back by a rack of Magazines,

I won't be sad too often,

If they bury me in the library

With Bookworms in my coffin.

 

I love the word choices and the rhythm. And I'm sure that the title of this book alone has drawn many kids into the world of poetry.

 

Similarly, my grandson loves poems with humor. When the kids were at our house for the day he would read poems by authors like Shel Silverstein, Bruce Lansky or Alan Katz out loud to his siblings and cousins until they were all laughing together.

 

Another time, another grandson was in a grumpy mood, mad and pouty about something. I started reading THE POUT, POUT FISH, a picture book in verse by Deborah Diesen, out loud. Try as he would, it wasn't long before he was giggling, then laughing out loud.

 

Poetry connects us to each other. It can lighten the mood or help us through times of stress. It opens the door to language and creativity. And much more. 

 

Find more Poetry Links for National Poetry Month on Reading Rockets! 

 

Hooray for the Power of Poetry!

Hooray for Poetry Month! 

Happy Poetry Month!

 

I'm excited to be featured as one of the Writing Day Workshop's guest authors. I love picture books with a poetic feel to them. My blog post, Poetry in Picture Books, Crafting Lyrical Magic for Read-Aloud Delight, gives examples from different picture books to show how using poetic tools when writing a picture book in prose helps to give it that poetic feel and read-aloud quality. I hope you'll check it out!

 

While you're there check out the Writing Day Workshops website. There's much to explore for writers of all genres. And something for everyone wherever you are on your writing journey.

 

But what I love best is the WDW blog which features posts by agents and authors about writing for all genres, including children's books. Search for what you're interested in by category.

 

My thanks to Chuck Sambuchino, executive Director & Coordinator of WDW and bestselling author of GOODNIGHT, PICKLEBALL. And to Brandy Vallance, Event Facilitator at WDW and literary agent and author.

 

Thanks for reading my post ont the Writing Day Workshop! Have fun with your words when writing your picture book! And don't forget to think 'poetry.'