You can try variations on traditional rhymes such as Monday’s Child:

Monday's Child

Monday's child is fair of face,
Tuesday's child is full of grace,
Wednesday's child is full of woe,
Thursday's child has far to go,
Friday's child is loving and giving,
Saturday's child works hard for its living,

And a child that's born on the Sabbath day,
Is blithe and bonny and good and gay.

Or have a go at writing nonsense verse, The Owl and the Pussy-Cat being a prime example:

The Owl and the Pussy-Cat

The Owl and the Pussy-Cat went to sea
In a beautiful pea-green boat;
They took some honey, and plenty of money,
Wrapped up in a five-pound note.
The Owl looked up to the stars above,
And sang to a small guitar,
'O lovely Pussy! O Pussy, my love,
What a beautiful Pussy you are,
You are,
You are!
What a beautiful Pussy you are!

Pussy said to the Owl, 'You elegant fowl!
How charmingly sweet you sing!
O let us be married! Too long we have tarried:
But what shall we do for a ring?'
They sailed away for a year and a day,
To the land where the Bong-tree grows,
And there in a wood a Piggy-wig stood,
With a ring at the end of his nose,
His nose,
His nose,
With a ring at the end of his nose.

'Dear Pig, are you willing to sell for one shilling
Your ring?' Said the Piggy, 'I will.'
So they took it away, and were married next day
By the turkey who lives on the hill.
They dined on mince, and slices of quince,
Which they ate with a runcible spoon;
And hand in hand, on the edge of the sand,
They danced in the light of the moon,
The moon,
The moon,
They danced by the light of the moon.

The Owl and the Pussy-Cat was written by Edward Lear in 1867 for the daughter of a friend. Edward suffered from depression and found writing nonsense verse an escape from his condition.

Lewis Carroll also enjoyed a talent in this field. His semi-nonsense poem ‘Jabberwocky’ is very popular. So popular in fact, that it is included amongst The Nation’s Favourite Poems.

Jabberwocky

Twas brillig and the slithy toves
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe:
All mimsy were the borogoves,
And the mome raths outgrabe.

"Beware the Jabberwock, my son!
The jaws that bite, the claws that catch!
Beware the Jubjub bird, and shun
The frumious Bandersnatch!"

He took his vorpal sword in hand:
Long time the manxome foe he sought-
So rested he by the Tumtum tree,
And stood awhile in thought.

And, as in uffish thought he stood,
The Jabberwock, with eyes of flame,
Came whiffling through the tulgey wood,
And burbled as it came!

One, two! One, two! And through and through
The vorpal blade went snicker-snack!
He left it dead, and with its head
He went galumphing back.

"And hast thou slain the Jabberwock?
Come to my arms, by beamish boy!
O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!"
He chortled in his joy.

'Twas brillig, and the slithy toves
Did grye and gimble in the wabe:
All mimsy were the borogroves,
And the mome raths outgrabe.

The limerick is another firm favourite among children and adults alike. Limericks are funny nonsense verses, often consisting of two long rhyming lines, followed by two short rhyming lines, and finishing with a longer line that rhymes with the first two. Here is a limerick penned by Edward Lear to give you an idea of how they should be written:

There was an old man with a beard,
Who said ‘It's just as I feared!
Two owls and a hen,
Four larks and a wren,
Have all built their nests in my beard!’

If you feel you need a little help and guidance to compose your limerick, check out the Limerick Workshop.

A.A. Milne is another poet who has delighted numerous children over the years with his collection of Winnie-the-Pooh poems and stories. Milne’s poetry is loved and adored by children the world over and with very good reason.

There is no need to complicate or confuse verse written for children. They love simplicity, humour, fantasy (the more fantastic the better), and the ridiculous.

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