Getting each word just right, that is one of the hardest skills when writing poetry. William Wordsworth would walk the hills by his house in Cumberland, England and write poetry in his head. He would say them out loud while he walked and he would remember them and write them when he returned home. For children’s books, poetry needs to be exciting as they are the best critics when reading a book. They will simply become disinterested or bored. 

Children love rhyming books, and they love anticipating the rhyming words and saying them with adults. Here is a good example from Cheerful Chick by Martha Brockenbrough.

Cheerful chick worked day and night
Until at last her moves felt right.

And then she hatched her lifelong dream
To build a barnyard cheering team.

She got her muscles good and warm
And did her moves with perfect form:

Side splits, wing stands, super punches –
Chicken shook her feathers bunches!

Here’s another line that’s fun from Cheerful Chick:

Ms. Cow just stood and blinked and chewed.
And said, “I’m so not in the moooood.”

A successful poem should provide a visual image of the subject and somehow create a physical reaction with the reader. Many authors are scared to try to write a children’s rhyming book. It’s harder than it looks. Here are some tips when trying your first rhyming book.

1. Have knowledge of poetry. Rhyming must be consistent. Sometimes beginning writers make unwise word choices and the rhyme does not add to the overall meaning and seems forced. Create some spill-over lines to add freshness. Sometimes new writers make unwise word choices or forced rhymes. 
2. Keep the focus. Sometimes writers are having so much fun with the rhyming that they lose focus of the story OR there is no focus to begin with. 
3. Rhythm. Again, this has to do with consistency. Just because you can count syllables, doesn’t mean that you have mastered rhythm. Read your poem out loud over and over or have someone read it out loud to see if the stresses fall in the right place. When you create a consistent pattern and rhythm, you won’t jar the reader. 
4. Last tip: Studying poetry is one of the best things to strengthen your prose writing!

Some of my favorite children’s poetry writers: 

Jack Prelutsky books, The Gargoyle of the Roof, Ogden Nash: Custard the Dragon and the Wicked Knight, Linda Ashman books- Samantha on a Roll, William’s Winter Nap, Keith Baker books. I also love reading the classics. There are plenty of the classics for children: Emily Dickinson: Poetry for Kids, You Come Too: Favorite Poems for Young Readers (Robert Frost). 

Good Books for Learning the Craft:

Writing Picture Books by Ann Whitford Paul
The Nuts & Bolts Guide to Writing Picture Books by Linda Ashman
The Ode Less Traveled: Unlocking the Poet Within by Stephen Fry
Letters to a Young Poet by Rainer Maria Rilke
Poetry from A to Z: A Guide for Young Writers by Paul Janeczko and Cathy Bobak