Thursday, April 25, 2013

Romp Around the Prompt

Take a look at this photo:



List a few words that rhyme with SHOE.
List a few words that rhyme with WALK.

Try to write a rhyming poem that contains four lines.
Make the first and third lines rhyme with SHOE,
and the second and fourth lines rhyme with WALK.

Send them to me via the email on www.nancyviau.com. I may post one on my website!

Thursday, April 18, 2013

Storm Song Celebration!

To celebrate the release of my second picture book, STORM SONG, which came out THIS WEEK (Wah-HOOO!), I'm challenging you to write a weather-related story or poem.

STORM SONG is filled with onomatopoeia or sound words. Here are a few lines from the book: (That cute illustration is by French illustrator Gynux. He did a wonderful job bringing my characters to life.)

Raindrops beat 

A steady sound--


Tat. Tat. Tap.

Pitter, pat, POUND!


But other types of weather can inspire us to make noisy or not-so-noisy stories and poems using onomatopoeia, too.

For example, what sounds might you hear on a snowy day, a windy day, or even a sunny one? Can these sounds be words? What if you heard hail or thunder? Or icicles cracking and falling from the roof? What word would describe a soft cloud as it roams across the sky?

Now, put on your weather gear, be inspired, and get to work!

Wednesday, April 10, 2013

Acrostic Poem Day

April is National Poetry Month, but you knew that already, right?

I bet you've had some experience with creating Acrostic Poems. They can be as hard or easy as you like, and they're pretty fun to do!

Check out this activity on readwritethink.org:  Acrostic Poems.

I picked SPRING as my word and this is what I came up with:

Spring
Pansies
Rest
In
Nancy's
Garden

HAPPY SPRING!

Thursday, April 4, 2013

It's Not Easy...

It's not easy...

These three words appear throughout my picture book, LOOK WHAT I CAN DO!

Example 1:
It's not easy to cross the path.
My feet are tired. I want a bath.

Example 2:
It's not easy to slither fast.
I slide downhill. I won't be last.

In the world of rhyme, these are known as couplets--two rhyming stanzas--and they're not that hard to create.

GIVE IT A TRY! After all,
IT'S NATIONAL POETRY MONTH!

Fill in the blanks.



It's not easy to ________________.
My________________.       I______________________.

or

It's not easy to ________________.
I __________________.       I______________________