Rhyme
(from Macmillan Teach Yourself Grammar and Style in 24 Hours)

by Pamela Rice Hahn and Dennis E. Hensley, Ph.D.

Rhyme
Rhyme is a series of word endings that repeats the same, or similar, sounds.

Old Mother Hubbard went to her cupboard....

Rhymes can be used to add a whimsical, yet effective, touch to ad copy:

e.g.
You can always trust our milk, so buy some now.
The only stuff fresher is still in the cow.

If you'd enjoy playing a word game designed increase attention spans and improve the vocabulary in young children, take a look at "Task: Rhyme Time" from page 14 of Macmillan Teach Yourself Grammar and Style in 24 Hours:

Task: Rhyme Time
Rhymes increase a child's attention span because the child soon learns to listen for the repeated, familiar sound patterns. You can use this to your advantage if you have a youngster in the car with you during a long trip.
Example: Through the fog, the little green frog in a soggy wet bog jumped from log to log before the dog could hog all the grog.
Play a game to see how many rhyming words you can use in a sentence. This stuff is allowed to be fun, too. (Don't forget to let the kid win!)

End note:
One of the sentences that survives from when I'd play that game with my daughter Lara is: Please don't tease the fleas on my knees, you'll make them sneeze and wheeze; just give them a cuddle, and give them a squeeze, and feed them some cheese.

Last week, I recited that sentence to my granddaughter -- who just celebrated her fifth birthday in August. She listened to me say the sentence and remained silent for a minute, then said, "You left out trees." So, we modified the sentence to: Please don't tease the fleas on my knees, the breeze from the trees makes them sneeze and wheeze; just give them a cuddle, and give them a squeeze, and feed them some cheese.

Copyright © 2000 Pamela Rice Hahn
All Rights Reserved

You can read more about this book -- expanded table of contents, introduction, author bio's -- on the Web site.

For more fun with rhymes, read The Ball That Started It All, also in this issue of The Blue Rose Bouquet.

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