To Rhyme or Not to Rhyme?

To Rhyme or Not to Rhyme? by Kristin Martin, illustrated by Joanne Knott (Glimmer Press) PB RRP $24.99 ISBN 978064846354

Reviewed by Dianne Bates

Said to be one of South Australia’s ‘most skilful and inventive children’s poets’, Kristin Martin has assembled this collection of rhyming and non-rhyming poems with connections to the Australian curriculum in Science and English from Foundation to Year 7. The front cover gives a glimpse into the subject matter of Martin’s poems – nature – from dragonflies to swallows to frogs and more.

The book is divided into two sections – one for rhyming and one for non-rhyming poems. Here’s an example of a rhyming quartet from ‘Sparkly Treasure’: ‘I found a sparkly treasure/on the dusty path, today/I’m lucky that I found it/as we wandered on our way’. 

All the poems are simple and use simple language. While none of them employ clichés, none of the images are remarkable. 

Many poems offer prosaic statements (from ‘Drought’ for example): ‘It’s hot and dry and dusty/ I wish that it would rain’. However, for a child who loves animals, weather and country, the poems are likely to spark an interest.