Shae Millward is the author of The Rabbit’s Magician, Koalas Like To, and A Boy and a Dog. She is based in sunny, sandy, seaside, subtropical Hervey Bay, Queensland. Shae enjoys writing poetry, song lyrics, funny or inspirational quotes, short stories, picture books, and more! Shae’s creative writing skills once helped her win a trip to Disneyland!

Today she’s sharing her experiences writing KOALAS LIKE TO, a humorous picture book featuring fun rhyme and repetition along with a cast of cute koala characters and their quirky capers.

Koalas like to sleep in trees.

Koalas like to eat gum leaves.

Koalas like to sing and dance.

Koalas wear striped underpants.

You will be surprised what these koalas get up to!

THE HARDEST THING ABOUT WRITING THIS BOOK

As this story was written for the First 5 Forever program, I was asked to remove the contractions to make the text simpler for young children. Sounds easy – Don’t becomes Do not, I’ll becomes I will, I’m becomes I am. Except, what was once one syllable has become two, which messes up the rhythm. It took a bit of restructuring to eliminate the contractions while maintaining the flow.

THE MOST FUN THING ABOUT WRITING THIS BOOK

Thinking up all the wacky antics for the koalas to partake in. When the editor did the page lay-out, she informed me that there was room for an extra verse. It was so much fun that I came up with more than a page full of funny options and then we had to decide which to use!

YOUR WRITING PROMPT

Here is a verse from the book:

Koalas like to sleep in trees.

Koalas like to eat gum leaves.

They also like to try on wigs.

And roll around in mud with pigs.

Now, keep the first two lines the same, but make up your own lines 3 and 4 (they should rhyme with each other).

Koalas like to sleep in trees.

Koalas like to eat gum leaves.

……………………………………

…………………………………….

Write as many verses as you like, then draw a picture to illustrate your favourite.