TORRIBLE PUNS + Interview with author Tricia Torrible + a Giveaway!

Hello Picture Book Builder Fam! I’m very excited to share yet another FANTASTIC poetry collection, TORRIBLE PUNS, written by Tricia Torrible, and illustrated by Robert Dunn. Here’s my review:

This poetry collection is HILARIOUS and the concept is absolutely brilliant. Each poem tells a little story that leads the reader into a classic “dad-joke” punny punchline that will have adults and kids groaning. As an example: “I ate the test I had to take,/and now, I have a stomachache./My teacher needs to learn to bake./She’d said it was a piece of cake.” Buh-dum-dum! For those of us who may be a little slower to get the joke, never fear! The back matter explains all the punny double-meanings used in each poem so that no one feels left out. Great poetry collection!

I’m thrilled to have Tricia here to share a bit about the making of this wonderful book. Welcome, Tricia!

TT: Thanks for having me, Rebecca!

RGL: I am lucky enough to have seen many of your awesome “dad-joke” poems develop over the years in the Poet’s Garage, a critique forum where we both are members, so I’m so thrilled that you finally were able to put them together into this collection! It’s so BRILLIANT. Truly. How did this idea first start (do you remember which was your very first poem?) And when did it dawn on you to compile them into a collection and use your last name as a PERFECT title?

TT: Haha, yes, you’ve put up with a lot of my groan producing poems over the years, and I’m thankful for it. (You were also a major catalyst in my decision to start writing poetry, but we can save that story for another time!) As for how Torrible Puns started, it kind of just happened. When I first started writing poetry, I gravitated towards humorous poems, because that’s what I enjoyed as a child. And of course, when I think of humor, I think of jokes. The first punny poem that I wrote was “Circus Pony”, so that one will always hold a special place in my heart.

My original idea was to simply write poems to submit to magazines. However, once the punny poems kept flowing one after the other, I started to wonder if I could turn them into a full collection. Of course, as a new author, I had been told that getting a picture book poetry collection published was very difficult, so I had my fair amount of doubts. Still, I couldn’t shake that “what if” feeling. I decided to start sharing more of my punny poems with the Poet’s Garage to get some input. Not only did the group help me fine tune my poems to give me more confidence, but one member, Kelly Conroy, said something that made all the difference…she suggested I name the collection Torrible Puns. WHAT??? How did I not think of that? The title was just too perfect! It was at that moment that I decided I was going to go for it, no matter what.

RGL: Yes, Kelly was absolutely right about the title! So perfect! Ok, let’s talk about craft for a minute. You masterfully created a whole story within each poem that leads perfectly into a “punch line” pun at the end. It’s SO great. HOW did you go about deciding which jokes to use and how did you approach creating the mini-stories to lead into the punchlines? Did you start with the punchline and work backwards? And once you had all the poems written, how did you decide which ones to keep into the collection? (Did you have to cut any darlings? Feel free to share one here if you’d like!)

TT: For most (if not all) of the poems, I wrote them backwards. Whenever I heard or thought of a joke I liked, I would immediately try to find a word that rhymed with the end of the punchline. If I could find a suitable rhyme, it was game on! Next, I would use the natural rhythm of the punchline to guide the meter of the poem. For example, if the punchline had an iambic structure, the poem itself would typically follow suit. Once I had these parameters in place, I began imagining the stories. This was my favorite part! Sometimes, the stories would instantly come to me, and I’d work hard to find words to convey the scenes in my head. Other times, it was the available rhyming words that practically wrote the stories for me. For example, in “Farm Alarm”, every line ends with a word that rhymes with “squeal”. I didn’t really know what the story was going to be about until after I narrowed down the list of rhyming words. With my word list in hand, I began piecing the puzzle together, and the story of a pig potentially squealing about a fox’s mischievous plan was born.

As for deciding which poems to include in the collection, it was clear from the beginning that all of my poems wouldn’t make the final cut. I believe I originally submitted 54 poems, which was too many to effectively fit into a 40 page picture book. We had to cut darlings. So. Many. Darlings. In the end, 37 poems made the collection. My publisher/editor led most of the charge when it came to deciding which ones made it in, which, honestly, I was thankful for. She always kept me informed and welcomed feedback, and her fresh eyes to the poems helped create a collection that was balanced, visually appealing, and smooth flowing.

Of course, with so many “leftover” poems, what’s a writer to do? Write more! I’m glad to say that my punny writing has not stopped. Each new poem I write reignites my love of this genre and keeps me moving forward. That “what if” feeling remains, and I hope to find a future home for all of my beloved punny poems, both new and old.

RGL: I know from personal experience how difficult it is to find a home for poetry collections. Can you share a bit about the submissions journey for this one?

TT: It was a doozy, for sure. Thankfully, I expected it to be difficult, so I was able to brace myself for the rejections I knew would come. Being unagented, I had to navigate the query trenches myself. I believe I started querying back in 2020 when I had about 30 poems. The best part about querying a poetry collection is that you can continuously add to it to keep yourself engaged and motivated. Receive another rejection? Write another poem! By the time I sold my collection to Gnome Road, I had almost doubled the amount of poems I had when I originally started submitting. All in all, it was about a two and a half year process from idea to contract, but it never felt stagnant, since I continued to create.

RGL: I love how in the back of the book you explain every pun and idiom used in each poem for those kids who may not immediately get the joke. I think this is awesome, especially for younger kids or non-native-English speakers who may not be as familiar with idioms. What a great way to introduce wordplay! I wonder, however, if this has caused any challenges when you’ve done read-alouds? Do you find you have to explain the jokes to a lot of kids? I imagine this could lead to some really great discussions!

TT: As I prepared for my very first author visit back in March, I definitely started to wonder how my book would work as a read-aloud. Would the kids “get” the jokes? Would I be faced with the sound of crickets as I stood in front of a gymnasium of kids, desperately trying to convince them that my poems were funny? My first read-aloud was in front of about 130 second graders, and to my relief, it was a hit. The laughter was music to my ears. To make sure that everyone got to join in on the fun, I quickly learned that I could explain each joke in just a few words. For example, for Tea For Teddy, I would say something like, “Get it? He’s a stuffed bear, AND he ate too much, so he’s stuffed!” Even better, I learned that I could engage the audience by asking the kids to explain the jokes. As you imagined, this has led to great discussions. I’ve now had the privilege to visit many schools, and have read Torrible Puns to kids in kindergarten all the way through sixth grade. While the older grades may “get” the jokes faster, the younger grades seem to enjoy them just as much (if not more!) once everyone is “let in on” the jokes. My favorite moments are when I see the wheels turning in kids’ heads and then the lightbulbs go off!

RGL: And now, my favorite question to ask my guests: What is one question no one has yet to ask you about the making of this book that you would love to answer? (And what’s the answer?!)

“Did writing Torrible Puns ever leave you feeling cold?” Of course, there were too many drafts!

Sorry, I couldn’t help myself. As for a real question, maybe, “During the long querying process and countless rejections, did you ever feel like you were wasting your time?”

At the risk of sounding too idealistic, I am happy to say that the answer is no. As I often tell students, when you find what you love, much of the reward is in the process. I never felt that I was wasting my time, simply because I gained so much by writing these poems. As I mentioned, I started writing this collection in 2020, a.k.a. “the thick of Covid”. During this time, the days were long, stress was building, and feelings of heaviness were all around. I needed something that brought simple joy. Writing Torrible Puns helped reignite feelings of happiness and allowed me to share that happiness with others. I was able to bond with my kids as we giggled over silly wordplay, connect with other writers during a time when isolation was rising, and focus on something positive when my mind was prone to worry. The process of writing Torrible Puns was a gift to me, and I worked to have it published so it could be a gift to others.

Thank you so much for joining us today, Tricia!

RGL: And yes, dear readers, Tricia has generously agreed to send a copy of TORRIBLE PUNS to one lucky reader (US-mainland addresses only)! To enter the giveaway, simply comment on this post and I will announce the winner at the end of my next post!

And the winner of last month’s giveaway, a copy of Renée LaTulippe’s fabulous poetry collection, LIMELIGHT, is….

****JUDY BRYAN!!!****

Congrats Judy! Please email me at RebeccaWrites4Kids@gmail.com to claim your prize!

Tricia’s bio:

Tricia Torrible enjoys writing books and poetry for children. She lives in North Carolina with her husband and three kids, or as she likes to call them, her “Adorable Torribles.” Tricia strongly believes that kids need laughter and attempts to fill this need, one pun at a time. When she’s not busy causing giggles or eyerolls, you might find her hiking, watching science documentaries, or searching for four-leaf clovers. You can learn more about her debut picture book, Torrible Puns: A Collection of Punny Poems, at https://torriblepuns.com/