Your time to rhyme: A Dr Seuss challenge

http://www.theguardian.com/childrens-books-site/2015/feb/22/your-time-to-rhyme-a-dr-seuss-challenge

Version 0 of 1.

There aren’t many authors who have new books published when they are more than a hundred years old - but they’re not Dr Seuss. What Pet Should I Get? was discovered by his widow hidden away in a box and will be out in July.

So to celebrate the exciting news - and the 111th anniversary of the author’s birth on March 2 - we are setting you a poetry challenge. Here it is, conveniently set to rhyme:

It’s too cold to bask,It’s too wet to play,so we have set you a taskon this cold, cold grey day.

Please write us a rhyme,it doesn’t have to be long,or take much of your time.You can’t get it wrong.

The words can be silly,like green eggs and hamnot fancy nor frilly,as long as they scan

So muster your might:Write!Write!Write!Write!And if you’re lucky you mightsee it up on the site!

That’s it! If we can manage it here at the books desk it’s a sure thing that you’ll be able to do it as well.

Just remember, Dr Seuss is famous for revolutionising children’s literature by using a limited selection of easy words. The Cat in the Hat only uses 220 different words throughout the whole book - and none of them are more than five letters long except for the world “SHOULD”.

If you’re lost for ideas, how about starting from the title of the new book - What Pet Should I Get?

Or you can look for inspiration from your favourite Dr Seuss story, whether it’s Green Eggs and Ham, One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish or How the Grinch Stole Christmas! So do get rhyming!

Please share your poems with us by emailing childrens.books@theguardian.com and we’ll add them to this rhyming blog for all to see!

Your wonderful rhymes!

Violet Hemburrow, aged 11

What pet shall I have?I like one that wears a coat,One that can handle sailing a boat,A pet with an imagination,That’s the sort of thing I want on my vacation.

What pet shall I have?I like pets small and tall,But I’ll tell you what I like most of all,A pet that can fly way up high,A pet that you can talk to,I don’t see a reason why.I like one that wears a coat,One that can handle sailing a boat,A pet with an imagination,That’s the sort of thing I want on my vacation.

How I wish for a pet with all these talents,Maybe one day it’ll happen,But hold your horses for just one second,I reckon…Wait…I’ve found the perfect pet for me,And the best part, he loves me.

Jude Goddard:

My dog’s a shy dog,A hide from passers-by dog,Prefers to stay inside and read the papers,Watch TV.

My dog’s a shy dog,A go out in disguise dog,He wears a felt fedora, knitted spats,A stripey ‘T’.

My dog’s a shy dog,A stay in where its dry dog,He doesn’t like the river, dodges puddles,Hates the sea.

My dog’s a shy dog,A wouldn’t hurt a fly dog,Respects my friends and family,But saves all his love for me.

Jon Chanter:

A llama farmer will charm her llamas,As llamas are calmer for it.The balm of her charm must calm llamas qualms -As alarmed or harmed llamas can spit.

What Pet Should I Get By site member Rue Primrose

What pet should I get?That’s what I think,Maybe a monkey,Maybe a chimp.

What pet should I get?I live in a flat,So not a pony, Maybe a cat.

What pet should I get?I can’t get a dog,My mum and dad workI can’t even get a hog.

What pet should I get?I don’t know,Maybe a hamster,Who’s first name is Poe.

What pet should I get,Although people will mock,I think I will stick,With my old pet rock.

I hope you liked it (Ed’s note: we didn’t like it… we LOVED it)

Haseena:

What pet shall I get?A fish is too needyA cat too greedyA rabbit too breedyAn owl?MaybeA snake too slimyA rat too uglyA pet?What shall I get?A wiggly wormTo squirm and squirmWill do just nicely.

Wendy G AKA ‘mizdarlin’:

Today there’s more rainThan what is in SpainSo, what sort of macShould I pack?Will the colour be black Can it hang from a rackWill it fit in a pack Tell me what sort of mac should I pack?

Jatin Puri:

Up the tree the cat wentTo find what the cat dreamtTo smell with its little noseAll the stories never told

But a birdie saw the cat tryHe even saw the cat crySo he flew to him and he saidYou’ll find your dream when you go to bed

David Harrison:

If you’re in need of a pet, To pet when upset, Or to make you feel happy, When sat on your lappy, You might like a Wuddles, They’re partial to cuddles, Or a Curly-tailed Flampa, To spoil and to pamper, Or a pair of Proud Fonnings, To guard your belongings, Or maybe a Chorm, To keep your seat warm, If it’s long walks you yearn for, Consider a Perndor, They only eat flowers, And walk gladly for hours, But the best pets of all, Which will come when you call, Are the Toe-licking Cheetums You really can’t beat ‘ums.

Storm Reece:

I am not a bear

A koala is not really a bear,But, do I look like I care?You’re the one who wants to stare,So go on, let’s compare.

Does a grizzly sit in a tree like me?I hope not. It would beA very nasty catastrophe.One I wouldn’t want to see.

The polar bear is big and white.Oh, what a lovely sightBut definitely not a blightOn me, and not as bright.

My food is at my fingertips.No work or icy slips,So you can keep your fish and chips,Only gum leaves pass these lips.

Yes, I have claws and fluffy ears,But bears are not my peers,Who came up with these ideas?It brings me close to tears.

A single title is all I need,Koala. No need to proceedWith any other word or deed,Are we agreed?

Sandra Webster:

What pet should I get?A tiger but my mum says noThey eat all the meat and might eat meIn that case I would run up to a tree.There I meet a baboon whose cheeks are blue and his teeth all yellowAnd the noise he makes would make the neighbourhood bellowI don’t want a baboon.My mum says son get a cute little dogThey don’t mind having a walk in the fogand his collar will be brightSo we don’t get a frightWhen we see him jumping right over a log.But me, I’ll go for a fishNot one on a dishBut one in a bowlWho has a soul.

Sylvia Campbell:

woofles, froggles and hoggles

a whiffly woofle is a doga whiffly woofle, not a frog!why would I want a whiffly woofle?why, whiffly woofles wooflethat’s why

a friggle froggle is a froga friffle froggle, not a hog!why would I want a friggle froggle?why, friggle froggles froggelthat’s why

a higgle hoggle is a hoga higgle hoggle, not a dog!why would I want a higgle hoggle?why higgle hoggles hogglethat’s why

Ken Drinkald:

What pet shall I get?I asked my dear wifeYou can’t have a petThey’re nothing but strifeSo I got a big ratShe hates things like thatNow I live in the shedOn my own with my rat.

Zoë-Laura Dina:

The winter is cold,The winter is chilly.It’s time for the oldTo become rather silly.

Building a snowman,Throwing snow balls,Sledging in a trash can;They’re not grown-ups at all!

They tell you “don’t do that.”And “Behave yourself.”Whilst Mum’s dressed as a catAnd Dad as an Elf!

They say that “time,It’s wasted on the young.”Meet these parents of mine,And you’ll agree that that’s wrong.

Each year it’s the same,And I don’t mean to moan,But is anyone saneAt their retirement home?

Evelyn Hong:

I found a whisker on the floor,Along with a tip from my cat’s claw.She grooms all day from head to toes,Yet still sheds fur wherever she goes.

My litle cat can be quite needy,And also tends to be so greedy.Gulping down her food, if quick,Tends to make her rather sick.

Hairballs really aren’t much fun,Especially in my cat’s tum.So better out than in we say!As I clear up her litter tray.

Gerry McDonnell:

Excited extremelyan exhaled screamly a book that was seemlylost will unmeanly

be displayed to the worldevery boy,every girlcan imagine a squirrelor an oyster with pearl

what pet should they get?unheard of I beta crane headed spretor a bear shaped froggette

excited extremelyfor this we wait keenlyThanks to yous, family SeussOur minds wander freely

Donnacadh Hurley:

My pet met a vet,The path was wet.He slipped, the vet dippedAnd the pet thoughtGood slip, no snip!

Huw Roberts:

Oh, don’t go down where the Drongo goes,Heaven’s only knows what he’ll do to your nose.No doubt he’ll bite it right off,Eat it all in one quaff,And you’ll feel rather queer,When he stars on your ear, But there’s no-one alive who can honestly say,“Today I went down where the Drongo goes,and got away.”

Kirstin Maguire:

You won’t believe what I have just read,In the newspaper, eyes wide as they saidThat old Dr Seuss has a brand new book,Will arrive in July for us to take a look.

He’d be more than a hundred if he were here,As if by magic the new book appeared.The name of the book is ‘What Pet Should I Get?’What pet should he get, well let’s take a bet.

We’re not sure exactly when he wrote it, ‘58 to ‘62 , raise your hands and vote it.But the best bit of all I’ve saved to the last,The story’s characters he had cast.

It’s not the Grinch who found Christmas cheer,Not Sam-I-am, who from what I hearStill doesn’t like green eggs and ham,Perhaps instead he’d like stawberry jam.

The characters in it I’ll now tell you,You won’t believe it, won’t know what to do.From ‘One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish’,The same people, like he granted a wish.A new book of that sister and brother,Like Cat in a Hat, what will we tell Mother?

Jack Richards:

What pet, should I get?They all do sayWhat pet, should I get?Here, now today

No cat, no dogNo parrot, no frogWhat pet, should I get?I just can’t see

What pet, should I get?To belong to meNo ferret, no ratNo hamster,no bat

What pet, should I get?What should it beWhat pet, should I get?To live with me

No fish, no bearNo rabbit, no hairWhat pet, should I get?Do you really careWhat pet, should I get?Perhaps a bear

I’ll get them all to make a zooI’ll buy them all for me and you.

Donald McGrath:

O I wonder I wonderWhat pet I should get,A cat or a birdLike the little egret?

One or the otherbut never the two,at least not together:That just wouldn’t do!

For cats like to thinkThat birds are just food.When it comes to things featheredCats can be so rude!

Elaine Fleischer:

What pet shall I get?Said the bird to the catOne that likes meSaid the cat to the birdThat’s the silliest of silliest answers I’ve heardSaid the bird to the catAnd that was, after all, that

Shabab Uddin:

What pet should I get?Asked Priam for days,Then a horse he met,In the strangest of ways.

He woke to find,The army outside,Had left on the wind,Leaving a horse behind.

I have been sent by Odysseus,And have come all this way,As a gift of peace,To be friends from today.

But as Priam slept,In Zeus’s bed,A thought had crept,Straight into his head.

What if it was not a gift?A Trojan of some kind,A bid for a power shift,To distract his mind.

He thought not to fuss,To return to rest,When he saw Pyrrhus,And felt cold in his chest.

Libby Banks:

I wanted to buy you a nice birthday giftSo I thought of an elephant.Too big to liftShould I choose a giraffe licking leaves way up highWith its black rolling tongue making shapes in the skyA hippo? Hooray, but he’d break all the bedsCos they’re all rather heavy with horns on their headsRhinoceros? Whynoceros? It might be the oneBut they’re too big to stop when they start to runThe snake was asleep and had ceased all it’s hissingIt was stripey and shiny but something was missingIt didn’t look happy but a bug on the busWith a big bag of buns was perfect for us

Daniel Ellis:

What pet should I Get?

A dog, cat even a bear!What shall I get?Do you really care?I haven’t found the perfect pet yet!

What pet should I get?A Killer Whale?How aboutOne with a lovely, long tail.

Where should I look?In a bookPerhaps I should ask my friendNamed Buck

What pet should I get?Not one that gets wet!I still haven’t decided yetHow about a bear

Sadly I’m starting not to really careA bear it will beThank goodness I made the perfect choice for me!

Lorna Crabbe and her daughter Ivy:

What pet should I get? A wimple that whimpers?A wollick that woos?Or a clomper that climpers?And clambers and panders and wanders and wails. Or maybe a bifflot that billows and sailsoff shore in a boat once a month, sometimes more. I may get two bifflots, or three, maybe four.They could sleep on the table beside the front doorFor there’s nothing that table is ever used for.And the bifflots could keep their white boat in the hallIt’s covered in crumbs, but it’s only quite small. Their boots and their nets and their buckets and stoutCould be tucked in quite neatly, it won’t put us out. We’d just need to watch and take care everydaythat we always make sure the ice cream’s put away. ‘Cos a bifflot with ices, well that causes troubleIt gets stuck in his throat, and creates a big bubbleThen the bifflot floats off, and gets caught up in trees, or aeroplanes, birds wings, or swarms of old beesWho buzz at it crossly and sting at its knees, And there’s nothing to save it unless it can sneeze.Then it plummets to earth with a crash and a startAnd really these things are no good for its heart.