Today’s poetic form is a Spanish form called the quintilla, and offers five different ways to rhyme the five lines of this poem. Today’s book is a fun rhyming picture book titled Quick as a Cricket.

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The Quintilla Poetic Form

Today’s form takes us to Spain as we stay seated right where we are. With origins in the 15th century, it evolved into its own as a standalone poem in the 16th century. (source)

So What is the Quintilla?

A quintilla is a five-line isosyllabic stanza that employs two rhymes. The rules for the rhyme schemes are that no three consecutive lines may rhyme nor may it end in a rhyming couplet.

The Quintilla’s Characteristics

So the quintilla’s elements are that, at its most basic, it is:

• stanzaic: one or more five-line stanzas; each stanza can use the same or different rhyme scheme (from among the five allowed ones)
• isosyllabic: 8 syllables per line
• rhymed: An ab rhyme scheme in which at least two lines use the “a” rhyme and at least two lines use the “b” rhyme. But note that no three consecutive lines may rhyme and the stanza cannot end with a rhyming couplet.

Based on the rules for rhyming, here are the possible rhyme schemes:

• abaab
• ababa
• abbab
• aabab
• aabba

It would be cool to write a poem which uses all five rhyme schemes across five stanzas. The famous 18th century Spanish writer Nicolás Fernández de Moratín used four of these forms in his poem “Fiesta de toros en Madrid.”

h/t: Wikipedia

Our Attempts

From My Daughter

Swimmering Summers
Starry nights come later to see,
Five star days are all there to be.
Sunny days with laughter and fun,
Melting ice cream, pools, a palm tree.
Spent with loved ones, summer well done!
~ Sahana

For NaPoWriMo Day 20 Prompt

Today’s prompt is to write a poem that anthropomorphizes a kind of food. It could be a favorite food of yours, or maybe one you feel conflicted about.

My favorite thing to get out of my kids’ Halloween haul each year was Almond Joy (until they decided they are too old for it a couple of years ago, and I had to resort to buying them, but usually in a mixed bag of candies to cater to everyone else too!)

The Fears of Being Joy(ous)
“What is the Joy for in my name?
She’s made hide-and-seek my pet game!
Her steps send me deep in the mix.
Is devouring me her fame-claim?
Oh well, there she comes. Farewell, Twix!”
~ Vidya Tiru @ LadyInReadWrites

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The Book

Quick as a Cricket

Adorable, delightful, and totally fun read full of energy and rhymes that beg you to read it out loud. This book is bound to get children act out things as well as allow them to understand that each of us is actually so many things in one ‘me.’ We can be as busy as a bee or as lazy as a lizard.

Each page compares the child being like some animal using an adjective (a characteristic or a feeling); and through these, we can not only learn that each of us is complex, but also that it is okay to feel completely opposite things at different times, or even at the same time (to feel happily sad, or feel loud or be silent). In addition, there are cool language lessons too: similes and metaphors, rhyming (of course), and even alliteration/assonance/consonance, and more!

And of course, the illustrations are vibrant and detailed and oh so joyous! I went through the pages just looking at the images a couple of times.

Gift it to loved ones or to yourself! You can also read it online at the Internet Archive (link above in info section), or listen to the author and illustrator read the book here.

Get it here: Amazon

And Now, the End of This Post

Dear readers, have you read the featured book? Or any similar reads? I would love to hear your thoughts and recommendations. What do you think about the quintilla poetic form? Will you attempt it yourself?

For previous posts in the challenges for this month, check out the links below:

Day 0  Day 1 – A  Day 2 – B  Day 3  Day 4 – C  Day 5 – D  Day 6 – E  Day 7 – F  Day 8 – G Day 9 – H Day 10 Day 11 – I Day 12 – J Day 13 – K Day 14 – L Day 15 – M Day 16 – N Day 17 Day 18 – O Day 19 – P

Linking up to BlogChatterA2Z, Blogging from A-to-Z April Challenge, NaPoWriMo, and the Ultimate Blog Challenge