Little Rhymes for Little People

Little Rhymes for Little People

In the upcoming children's picture book, Little Rhymes for Little People, author John Stewart Westlake has crafted an enchanting collection of rhymes that aim to educate children about the different kinds of animals & other land and sea creatures.

The book, which features beautiful colour illustrations from Sophie Scahill, contains twenty-one illustrated rhymes, each one about a different kind of animal or sea creature. Children will be delighted and amused by the rhymes, and the illustrations create a unique world where they get to learn more about the animals that roam this earth.

Suited for readers aged 3-7, Little Rhymes for Little People is the perfect gift for youngsters and families this Christmas.

Little Rhymes For Little People

I have always enjoyed the challenge of putting words together as playful, meaningful rhymes. But what led up to the birth of the Little Rhymes was a Court Case in which I represented my daughter and son-in-law. There were several hearings over a period of two months and, having literally dragged myself out of retirement to do the Case, I found it challenging and stimulating. The final hearing was on February 28. With that out of the way there was little more to do, but my probably overstimulated brain refused to slow down.

While I was preoccupied with the Court Case there was some renovation work going on at my house. One of the people working there was a man called Tim. It occurred to my restless brain that "I like Tim" rhymes with "I liked him". I grabbed a pen and paper and started writing. What emerged was Tigers. Whilst I find that the words don't exactly fall onto the paper, once I begin with an idea that satisfies me, the rhyme itself can emerge quite quickly. But I have my share of false starts and rhymes that I cannot finish for lack of an appropriate rhyming word.

Having written Tigers, I kept on going until I had five or six rhymes I was happy with. These I showed to my ten year old granddaughter who could not be shifted from her simple statement: "I love them!" Encouraged by this and complimentary statements from a few other people, I continued until I had written the twenty-one rhymes that now appear in the book. It's quite strange, I have failed to find someone who does not like the rhymes. I think: "Are they all just being polite?"

There is another little strand to the story that I find intriguing. I have been learning Mandarin for the past two and a half years. This has led to my attending a Mandarin language school in Xiamen, a very pleasant and interesting coastal city in Fujian Province, China. On a visit to Xiamen I purchased a number of children's books all written in Chinese. One of these little books contained simple illustrated rhymes about animals. I was fascinated, not only by the way in which the thoughts were expressed in Chinese, but also by the way the author had contrived to achieve rhyme precisely as an author writing in English would do it. Of course, on translation of the Chinese rhymes into English, the rhyme is lost, but the thought expressed in the rhyme remains.

It was this little Chinese book that acted as the catalyst for my decision to try and publish the Little Rhymes. Had I not seen the Chinese book, I think I would have gone on to regard the Little Rhymes as something with which to amuse my grandchildren. The Chinese book caused me to realise that the Little Rhymes could possibly be of use in entertaining and stimulating a wider group of children.
- John Westlake
www.littlerhymes.com.au  

John Westlake is a retired lawyer. He spent most of his career working as a lawyer in large organisations. As a hobby John has built three boats, two small ones while still at work and a larger one after his retirement. As a primary school student John attended Haberfield Demonstration School in Sydney. Many of the lessons were conducted in the presence of student teachers. John frequently wrote poems and remembers being called upon by the teacher to recite them for the student teachers. John has always enjoyed language and regards simple rhyming poetry as an excellent and enjoyable way for small children to discover the use of language. For the past two years John has been learning Mandarin, both in Sydney and in China. John has three children and five grandchildren aged three to ten.

Little Rhymes for Little People
Woodslane
Author: John Westlake
Illustrations: Sophie Scahill