I’m very excited today to have my rhyming children’s story ‘The Flower Show Fiasco’ published in the online magazine Australian Women Online.

When I decided to try submitting to Australian Women Online’s ‘Bedtime Stories’ section and saw the theme was flowers this month my initial thought was to write something about fairies in the garden, but then I got this idea for a disastrous flower show (which I think in part was inspired by a Hairy Maclarey book my children have about a disastrous pet show).

I love writing for children and for me many of my children’s stories naturally flow onto the page as rhyming stories. Which isn’t to say rhyme isn’t difficult to write as it needs to be perfect not only in rhyme, but in meter and rhythm as well. When you write in rhyme you gain a whole new respect for authors who do it so well, like Mem Fox, Graeme Base and Lynley Dodd. It takes a lot of work to make it flow naturally off the tongue.

It was a lot of fun to write, especially thinking up all the different flowers I could include in the story. I hope you all enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. It is completely free to read on the Australian Women Online website (under Bedtime Stories) and is also printable if you would like to print it up for your child to keep.

Photo: Tania McCartney