Why is Mooge Written in Rhyme?
Traditionally, rhyming children’s books are aimed at early reading age groups, where simple concepts, containing core vocabulary, alliteration, repetition and rhymes, help children pick up phonetics and word relationships, accompanied by big, bright pictures so they can relate the written to the visual. With the right support, there is then a transition from what is termed the decoding stage to the fluent, comprehending reading stage, and prose becomes the standard format for children’s books, as narratives and characters become more complex.
There is no rule to say that rhyming should be phased out after the early years, yet it is not very common in books for 7-11 year olds. This is generally because it is harder to form those complex narratives and characters when restricted to necessary relationships between lines. However, rhyming has the capacity to stretch the reader with a diversity of language and grammatical styles. To comply with scansion and rhyme, the author must inventively tell the story, not always able to use the most straight-forward word or convey an incident as they may wish. Compare a stage play to a film. The former is restricted in space and movement, whereby the latter has very few limitations, particularly with modern CGI. However, from those very restrictions, stage directors tap directly into our imagination with interpretations and illusions to take us elsewhere, while the boardwalk remains static. A rhyming story similarly uses its restrictions to its advantage, allowing the reader to see familiar things in a different way. You, of course, have to ensure the vocabulary level is appropriate, but there is a vitality to rhyme which we all find appealing. It also works well with humour.
From a pun to a limerick, the rhyme sticks with us through life. There is something innately comedic about using words that sound the same. Be it the inevitable ending the form and rhyme prepare us for, or the surprise rhyme that blows away our assumptions, our lingering childish heart enjoys the patterns. And that’s why I think parents and grandparents like reading rhyming stories for their children and grandchildren so much. Traditional prose can, of course, be funny but rarely silly with it, and silly is a special kind of humour. From Chaplin to Mr Bean, silly, or slapstick as better know in the cinematic world, has always worked for laughs, and doesn’t necessitate the absence of pathos or sharper satire, as Chaplin proved. There is a poetic rhythm to classic slapstick, which is why I think it translates to rhyming stories so well.
Putting the rhyming in Mooge aside for a moment, you still have the complex narrative, a full story arc from humans with nothing, competing with the animals, to step-by-step advances that lead towards civilisation and global dominance. That is some serious stuff, perhaps unpalatable or too complex for children. But add in humour through rhyme and it becomes a fun way to learn. You also see a recognisable and familiar relationship in the characters. Mooge and Flair aren’t from another time, they are the readers’ parents transported to the past. Their inactions and relationships are as well built as any novel, and each character is distinct and essential to the narrative. As humanity advances, the characters grow, adapting to change, facing the next challenge.
This is why Mooge: The Prehistoric Genius is suited to the transition from the decoding stage, when children can learn through reading it with some assistance, to the comprehending stage, when children can read it alone and learn about humanity, and at both stages have fun. That is why Mooge is written in rhyme.
Sorry this blog didn’t have a single rhyme. I just didn’t have any time… Doh!
Nate Wrey