Good morning everyone! It's time, once again, for everybody's favorite game show: Would You Read It!
(Really, that would be so much more fun if it was lit up and sparkly, but I am not that talented at technology :))
Today's pitch comes to us from the lovely Megan in Indiana. Welcome, Megan, and thanks so much for playing the game!
Megan presents us with this entry:
Title: The Rhyme Machine
Age/Genre: PB
Pitch: “Chaos breaks out in a classroom when an imaginary ‘rhyme machine’ springs to life and starts creating things that rhyme with anything that’s said.”
So what do you think? Would You Read It? YES, MAYBE, or NO?
If your answer is YES, please feel free to tell us what you particularly liked and why the pitch piqued your interest. If your answer is MAYBE or NO, please feel free to tell us what you think could be better in the spirit of helping Megan improve her pitch. (However, I must ask that comments be constructive and respectful. I reserve the right not to publish comments that are mean because that is not what this is about.)
And now, seriously!, please send your pitches for the coming weeks and spread the word to all your writer friends or this game will die on the vine! We can only play if we have pitches. I know a lot of you have big writer followings, so I would be most grateful if you wouldn't mind spreading the word!
Rules For The Game: send your working title if you have one, the age/genre you're writing for, and The Pitch, (and your pitch can be anonymous if you prefer - just let me know) to susanna@susannahill.com (or use the handy Email Me button on the right-hand side.) Try out pitches you're polishing for submission to get a sense of how they're working, or try out pitches for ideas you're mulling over to see if they have merit. Writers and readers are here to help!
Megan looks forward to your thoughts on her pitch!
I'd read the Rhyming Machine - what a fantastic idea for a children's book!
ReplyDeleteAdo - as you are someone who runs a Mom Blog, I'm sure Megan will be thrilled to hear your good opinion! I think it sounds like a great idea too!
ReplyDeleteYes - It sounds like fun and I think there will be a lot of humor in this story. Plus, as a classroom teacher, I'm thinking this book might be useful for teaching rhyme, and kids could invent their own "rhyme machines".
ReplyDeleteI think it sounds wonderful! My daughter (age 2.5) loves to play with words, and rhyming is a great way to introduce phonics. And the premise sounds like a whole lot of fun! Great pitch :)
ReplyDeleteI know, Andrea, it sounds great, doesn't it? I can't wait to read it :)
ReplyDeleteThanks, Jess!
ReplyDeleteThis is great! Thank you all for your comments so far!!
ReplyDeleteIt sounds like a fun idea and the illustrator could have a wonderful time with it. Will the items all be listed, and would it be written in a rhyme scheme as well?
ReplyDeleteAlisha- It isn't written in rhyme because I'm a hopeless wreck when it comes to meter! : )
ReplyDeleteBut when someone says something in the classroom, the machine imeediately yells out a rhyme and the thing it yells appears. So there are a good number of rhymes laid out in the story.
I would read it! I think starting with 'Chaos' is a great hook. It sounds fun and ideal for school kids. Great pitch Megan!
ReplyDeleteYes, yes, yes! And starting the pitch with the word "chaos" is perfect. It really sets the scene. We've worked hard with my 5 year old on rhyme, which is important for learning to read, so we'd love this.
ReplyDeleteHilarious! I'm so in. Chaos, imaginary and springs to life just reel you in. Well done megan for making your pitch so concise. Sounds fab!
ReplyDeleteThank you, everyone! This has been very helpful in identifying what strikes people and, consequently, what I can highlight in a query letter!
ReplyDeleteYES! Oh, that sounds like so much fun!
ReplyDeleteI would read it. What a fresh idea. One question, what is PB?
ReplyDeleteCiara - PB means Picture Book :)
ReplyDeleteYes, I would love to read it. It reminds me of the scene in Princess Bride when the giant keeps doing that to the little guy. Such a funny premise!
ReplyDeleteTheresa -
ReplyDeleteNo more rhymes - I mean it!
Anybody want a peanut?
I LOVE The Princess Bride :)
Oh my goodness, that part made me laugh so much when I was little!!
ReplyDeleteI would buy it as a present for children I know so I believe that counts as a YES. Sounds like a cute, happy book. :-)
ReplyDeleteAnd to the Princess Bride quote above- BAHAHA. I do so love the Princess Bride.
And Susanna- I would like to subscribe to your blog by email but can't seem to find a way to do that?
Cally - well, you're pretty much asking the wrong person, but isn't that what you get if you choose subscribe to posts on the right up there with that orange box? If not, let me know and I'll take it up with my web designer. You are not the first person who has mentioned this... Maybe this is why people use word press instead of blogger?
ReplyDeleteHehehe, I thought you might say that. No, the 'Subscribe to posts' up to the right doesn't have an email version. Many others, but not email. I've subscribed via Google Reader, but that's not enough. I want to receive your posts in my inbox instantly! ;-)
ReplyDeleteI that case, I will take it up directly with my web person who knows so much more about everything computer than I can ever hope to! Meanwhile, just so you know, there's an extremely educational new post up NOW!
ReplyDeleteYep. Yep. Yep. Kids love rhyme--even though authors are discouraged from writing rhyming books. My little granddaughters make up rhymes to every word they know. I love it because it shows a love of words and an ease with words
ReplyDeleteAnd I've had the pleasure of reading it! It IS awesome!
ReplyDeleteOh, wow, Christie! Lucky you!
ReplyDeleteGreat idea! I would love to read it!!!
ReplyDeleteThanks for chiming in, Elaine! I'm sure Larissa will be glad to hear that :)
ReplyDeleteI love this idea! I think it has the potential to be a really fun book to read aloud with kids and could also give them inspiration to start thinking of their own rhymes.
ReplyDelete