The Book That Almost Rhymed

Ages 3 to 7, Grades P to 2

Every great adventure needs a hero—or two! This playful take on storytelling and equity proves that two tellers can make a rhyming tale twice as nice.

What do you do with an interrupting sibling? Especially when she's stepping all over your story with wild ideas that don’t. Even. Rhyme. Knights riding rockets? Dancing pirates? Who’s ever heard of a fire-breathing armadillo?! But when this big brother realizes his sister just might be improving his yarn—and doing it with an impressive surprise of her own—it's clear what you do with an interrupting sibling. You share the narrative! Turns out adventure is way more fun when you build it together, rhyme by daring rhyme.

About the Author

Omar Abed is a Palestinian-American author and software engineer who thinks in rhyme. When tasked to "write without rhyming," he couldn't quite figure it out, so he wrote The Book That Almost Rhymed instead. This is Omar's debut picture book with a major publisher. He lives with his family in Philadelphia, where he enjoys watching movies with his wife and building blanket forts with his son.

Hatem Aly is an Egyptian-born illustrator whose work has been featured on television and in multiple publications worldwide. Among other books, he illustrated the Newbery Honor winning novel The Inquisitor’s Tale by Adam Gidwitz and co-created the Yasmin series with Saadia Faruqi. Hatem currently lives in New Brunswick, Canada, with his wife, son, and more pets than people.

Illustrator Residence:New Brunswick, Canada