Mary Had a Little Glam
by Tammi Sauer
Illustrated by Vanessa Brantley-Newton
2016 Best in Rhyme Award Top 10
Congratulations Tammi!
See the Top 20 Best in Rhyme Books for 2016
Writing A Rhyming Picture Book Well
by Tammi Sauer
My first book, COWBOY CAMP, debuted in 2005. Since then, I’ve had sixteen other books hit the shelves, and I have another twelve under contract. Do you know how many of those books are written in rhyme? One.
I never planned to write a rhymer. This book snuck up on me and demanded to be written. I blame Linda Ashman.
While reading Linda’s writing resource, THE NUTS & BOLTS GUIDE TO WRITING PICTURE BOOKS, one of the writing exercises caught my attention. It suggested writing a fresh take on a familiar song or rhyme such as “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star” or “Mary Had a Little Lamb.”
Out of nowhere, the words MARY HAD A LITTLE GLAM popped into my head. I knew I had to write Mary’s story. And, of course, since “Mary Had a Little Lamb” is written in rhyme, I knew my manuscript needed to follow suit.
This situation was equal parts exciting and flat-out scary.
Sure, I’d read hundreds and hundreds of rhyming picture books, but I’d never considered writing one. I knew a rhyming picture book needed to have all of the other important picture book components, plus it had to actually, you know, RHYME.
First and foremost, I knew I had to give Mary a story. That’s key. The manuscript couldn’t just be one cute and bouncy stanza after another. Each stanza needed to serve a purpose in pushing the story forward.
Once I uncovered Mary’s story, I read—and analyzed!—even more rhyming picture books. I also did a lot of research on writing rhyme. The best resource I have found for this, by the way, is Lane Fredrickson’s site rhymeweaver.com. I seriously cannot believe that goldmine of information is free.
Another thing that I did was go over the manuscript again and again in my head during my morning walks. I pounded out the story’s rhythm with each step. This helped me to make sure I had my accented syllables in the right spots.
Once I felt I had a solid draft that was full of story and fun language and void of inverted syntax and near rhymes, I shared it with my critique group as well as with a few of my other author friends who write in rhyme. I knew that if I was going to send a rhymer Out There, I wanted every word, phrase, and stanza to be as strong as possible.
All of that hard work paid off. MARY HAD A LITTLE GLAM, illustrated by the oh-so-fabulous Vanessa Brantley-Newton, received a star from Kirkus. My favorite words in the review? “Sauer’s rhythm never falters.” Yes! My little rhymer also made the 2016 Best in Rhyme Top 10 List.
At the present time, I don’t have plans to write another rhymer, but, if I do, I will blame Linda Ashman.
Tammi Sauer is a full time children’s book author who also presents at schools and conferences across the nation. She has sold 29 picture books to major publishing houses including Disney*Hyperion, HarperCollins, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Penguin Random House, Simon & Schuster, and Sterling. In addition to winning awards, Tammi’s books have gone on to do great things. CHICKEN DANCE: THE MUSICAL is currently on a national tour, NUGGET & FANG was a featured book at the 2015 Scholastic Book Fair, and YOUR ALIEN, an NPR Best Book of 2015, was recently released in Italian, Spanish, Korean, and French which makes her feel extra fancy. You can learn more about Tammi at www.tammisauer.com and can follow her on Twitter at @SauerTammi.
Congratulations
Week 1 Prize Winners
Monday – Maria Bostian – Copy of A FAIRY FRIEND by Sue Fliess
Tuesday – Judy Sobanski – Copy of TEENY TINY TOADY by Jill Esbaum
Wednesday – Elizabeth Saba – Copy of HENRY WANTS MORE by Linda Ashman
Thursday – Arin Wensley – Copy of TRAINBOTS by Miranda Paul
Friday – Maria Oka – Copy of RACE CAR DREAMS and swag – Sharon Chriscoe
Thank you for reading the blog posts and commenting daily!!
I will stick these in the mail this week. I have your addresses via registration.
Thank you to the authors and publishers
for the generous book donations!!
To participate in Rhyme Revolution:
Read the blog post and comment below
to be eligible for a prize.
Registration ends tonight at midnight so register if you haven’t already!
Angie Karcher 
This was a fun book to read. Congrats on all the success!
Love this story of how Tammi got her rhyme to work. Thank you, Tammi! Congratulations everyone!
Tammi, I love the notion of pacing the rhyme out on a walk. Perfect! Thanks for a great post on what to do if a rhyming text snags you. 😉
Congrats everyone.
A perfect illustration of how much needs to go into a rhyming picture book to make it work! Thanks for the great read, Tammi, and let’s hope you do write another rhymer!
Thanks for telling us about the journey of writing Mary Had a Little Glam. Your study of rhyme paid off. Congrats on your Best in Rhyme award.
RhymeWeaver is an excellent site. Renée LaTulippe also has info on her website and sometimes I read old posts from The Meter Maids And, of course, yes..Linda Ashman’s book.
Love the idea of ‘glamming up’ a traditional nursery rhyme. I’m now going through them all in my head!
Hi Tammi, Thanks for sharing your rhyming story. I adore the title – Mary Had A Little Glam, and the cover illustration is gorgeous. Having the classroom setting full of other nursery rhyme characters is so creative and Mary’s toy lamb around her waist gives an added touch.
Love this!
Thanks for sharing your rhyme experience, Tammi. It’s pretty neat how you worked your lesson into a published book.
And, congratulations to all the Rhyme Revolutions winners, so far!
Thanks, Tammi for this great post! The site RhymeWeaver is an awesome, and I am thankful I was introduced to it last year.
Great post, Tammi! I agree – Rhyme Weaver is a fantastic source!
I love that this book snuck up on you and demanded to be written and the notion of walking out the beat. Great blog !
Love the image (& tip) of walking to ‘pound out the rhythm.’ And thx for the RhymeWeaver reminder.
Hi, Tammi! Great job learning to rhyme with style. Walking is an essential part of my writing process too.
Wow – congratulations – that’s a lot of books! And thanks for sharing your journey of writing Mary had a little glam and all the wonderful resources !
Great post! I love how you got the idea for MARY HAD A LITTLE GLAM. A good rhyme, that flows effortlessly, gives the reader so much pleasure and joy. It’s like magic! I’m learning about rhyme mostly to enrich my prose, but I don’t think I’ll ever have the courage to actually write a rhyming story. Or maybe I will. Who knows?
Thanks for sharing!
A great Monday morning eye opener! Thanks for sharing your “rhyming process”, Tammi and especially the tidbit about testing your rhymes during your morning walk. A wonderful journey to your success and I look forward to all your upcoming book releases!
Thanks Tammi! I love that the idea came to you and you knew it had to be written. Thanks for sharing the process and the hard work that come with it to make it flow so freely!
Thank you for sharing!
I love Linda Ashman’s book also. I love the new resource of rhymeweaver.com. Thank you for the great post.
I had to look up inverted syntax. Thanks for helping me start my day by learning something new.
As a lover of rhyme, ‘this post was so juicy. Love how that title came to her begging to be written. Sounds like such a fun book from a prolific author.
Love the admission that this book caught you & forced you to write in rhyme. I think some subjects do. And thank you, Tammi, for the reminder to look at rhymeweaver.com – sounds like a tremendous rhyming resource.
TAMMI: CONGRATS on your MUCH DESERVED AWARD–I ADORE “MARY HAD A LITTLE GLAM!” I appreciate you taking the time to share your writing wisdom. I was especially intrigued and encouraged by how you pounded out the rhythm for your story as you took your morning walks. I CAN’T WAIT to give this a try! TRULY INSPIRING!!! THANK YOU!!!
The story is absolutely fantastic, and the rhyme fits perfectly. Thanks for sharing your journey about writing in rhyme!
Wow! Tammi, the writing machine! This post reminds me just how important it is to grab all of the opportunities for inspiration that we get. And, I agree, that’s a great book!
Tammi – Thanks for a great post! I love how you walked around your neighborhood pounding out the rhymes! Looking forward to reading all your upcoming books!
What a fun story that yes, HAD to be in rhyme! (And thanks for the reminder about rhymeweaver, too!)
I’m glad you chose to go with rhyme on this one, Tammi. It’s terrific.
Thanks Tammi! I enjoy all of your books. I am taking a class with you this summer. Thanks Angie and Linda Ashman. I am VERY excited to have a copy of Henry Wants More! This week of writing is now off to a great start.
Thank you Tammi, for sharing your story. Congrats on all your books and all the new ones coming out! I can’t wait to read about glamorous little Mary! 🙂
Oh what a fun story! I love writing in rhyme and love to see wonderful rhymers make it big! Congratulations, and thank you for such an inspiration post – hard work pays off!!
Loved reading MARY HAD A LITTLE GLAM! I really enjoyed it! Wrote down info on Linda’s book, too. Thanks, Tammi, for getting our rhyming week started off right.
Thanks for the advice! I will check out the rhyme site.
This looks adorable! Thanks for the great tips and resources 🙂 xoXo Susan Bernardo
Tammi, thank you for sharing your insights in the process
Thanks, Tammi, for laying out a plan for writing and revising a rhyming picture book!
I’m sure you’ll take that leap again, Tammi! Rhyme and rhythm are in your blood.
Wow, Tammi! You are riding the wave of success. I loved your post and seeing the amount of work that went into creating MARY HAD A LITTLE GLAM. Congratulations to you!
It’s always nice to have someone to blame! I find that my rhyming picture book plays itself while I’m driving. And thanks for sharing the rhymeweaver site.
It’s very hard to write a rhyming picture book and do it well. Thanks for the great post!
I love hearing a great story behind the story. MARY HAD A LITTLE GLAM is proof that sometimes a story HAS to be written in rhyme. And they are right. It is perfectly executed. Thanks and congrats, Tammi!
Tammi,
Thank you for sharing your process and the resources. I will definitely look into these. yOu’ve been a big help.
sue
Tammi…I always try to find a takeaway from every blog post or webinar presentation…here’s mine today:
“First and foremost, I knew I had to give Mary a story. That’s key. The manuscript couldn’t just be one cute and bouncy stanza after another. Each stanza needed to serve a purpose in pushing the story forward.
I am going to emblazon this on my forehead and in my heart…when writing a rhyming story we need to always remember that the story is key! We need to establish that before we start worrying aout the rhyme and meter. I think that many times, we write lots of cute rhyming verses…but that doesn’t mean we have a story there. 😉 GREAT POST!
Thanks Tammi! This is a great post and I love the concept of your rhymer. Some stories have to be told in rhyme. I have one that won’t let go. You’ve given me a plan to make sure it is the best story it can be. I can’t wait to dig into my rhymer!
I love Tammi’s work and this is exciting to see her do a rhyming book. Kudos!
Tammi, your picture books always entertain, rhyming or not. Mary’s story was particularly charming. Thanks for sharing her story of creation. 🙂
Thank you for sharing. i have a a rhyming book scream at me too. I have never written anything in rhyme before and I am intimidated by the process. Your resources and your own story, help to squash the fear.
Thanks for sharing your journey with us. I can’t wait to look up the new site.
Great tips, Tammie. Thank you for sharing your experience in finding that rhyme after finding the story 🙂 I enjoy all your books! Congratulations to all the winners.