While sorting through a box of old books I purchased at an estate sale years ago, I came across a tiny yellow picture book written by Ruth Krauss and illustrated by Maurice Sendak, published in 1960, titled Open House for Butterflies. Not having a storyline, as usually expected in this type of work, I found it to contain random, mostly silly thoughts that could be likened to a child's thought process. Whimsical illustrations are accented by statements such as, “Open house for butterflies is a good thing to have.” “ Look, I'm running away with my imagination.” “ Nojuice is a good word to know in case you have a glass of no juice.” and “A good thing not to be is a little tree because you might grow up to be a telephone pole.”
I was not familiar with this little classic, but was immediately struck with the thought that it would be a perfect inspirational tool to use with young children when encouraging them to write their own picture book. I was particularly taken with the author's statement that, “If I had a tail I'd pull my wagon with it while I was picking flowers.” I was fortunate enough to be able to test out my theory during a visit with my 6 and 7 year old nieces, Annie and Molly. Both being true creative spirits in their own right, the sisters asked me if I would write a book with them. (They had remembered the books I had written and read to them when I last saw them a year earlier.) I suggested the title, If I Had a Tail. They loved the idea and began shouting out all the things they would do if they possessed that appendage. We jotted them all down, then listed all the rhyming words we could think of that worked with their ideas. Then all three of us put paper cupcake liners on top of our heads, upside down, calling them our "thinking caps" while we strained our brains linking the thoughts together and editing them down into a little poem.
When we were happy with the end product of our writing, the girls moved onto the illustration process. Molly worked diligently at designing the cover, placing the title in the center and over 40 different tails around the edges of the page. Annie contributed the artwork for the first page. I then showed the girls how to search on Google Images for pictures they could “borrow” for their personal book. Although this picture book will never be in line for a Caldecott or a Newbery award, the girls had the opportunity to stretch their imaginations, learn some new skills and deem their old, great aunt officially cool.
If I Had a Tail
by Molly & Annie Mullahy
If I had a tail I could sail like a whale
with a white sheet tied to its tip and my feet.
I could swat a lot or hit a bit, at bugs and baseballs
or punch a bully in the nose with it.
Swing on a tree or bounce up high like tigger.........wheeeee!
But now I'm so hot, I need to cool down.
I'll use my tail like a fan while strolling into town.
In a quiet time, it could be a quill pen
to write a rhyme or paint a picture of a fat hen
To celebrate all my fun, I'll frost a cake.
Then I'll eat it all up and get a tummyache.
