MOWMT 23: The Value of Strong Verbs with Alayne Kay Christian
- rateyourstoryweb
- 4 days ago
- 5 min read
Simply stated, the value of strong verbs is movement. They define action that serves to move the story forward and give it spark. Strong verbs paint pictures that give the illustrator more to work with. Most importantly, it keeps readers engaged and eager to turn pages.
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Following is a list of strong verbs from my forthcoming book Turkey on the Run! (9/29/26 Flamingo Books and illustrated by the fabulous Neha Rawat).
Trotted, zoomed, jogged, sprinted, scurried, dashed, bolted, darted, zig-zagged, barged, shivered, quivered, wobbled, bobbled.
Let’s take one example from the above verbs. I could have said, “Turkey was frightened (or scared).” That conveys something, but does it answer the question, how scared was he?
His body shivered. His legs wobbled. His wings quivered. All those verbs show that he was terrified!
There is movement on every page of my book, The Weed That Woke Christmas: The Mostly True Tale of the Toledo Christmas Weed (illustrated by Polina Gortman). Using excerpts from the book, I will first show the way it could have been written and then how it was written. See how you feel about each as a reader. I’ll leave it to you to figure out which has stronger verbs and what makes them the better choice.
When Weed was a seed, it blew on a breeze and stopped in a crack.
When Weed was a seed, it tumbled on a breeze and snuggled in a crack.
Spring rains came and Weed grew.
Spring rains showered and Weed sprouted.
Cars passed. People walked by.
Cars zoomed. People zipped and scurried—always in a hurry.
Autumn arrived, leaves fell, and Weed grew some more.
Autumn air chilled. Falling leaves danced. And Weed flourished.
Winter came and Weed was cold.
Winter winds whipped. Jack Frost nipped. Weed shook and shivered.
Weed was happy.
Weed wiggled and jiggled with glee . . . or Weed’s branches bobbed with delight.
One night, a storm came.
One night, a howling chill ROARED through the city. A storm raged. Cold winds whipped. Icy pellets pounded Weed’s branches.
And Weed broke.
Cars crawled. People slipped. Weed sagged, bowed, and bent until . . .
SNAP!
“Cold water sinks,
and warm water rises,
up and down,
back and forth,
the ocean swirls around the globe.”
How is that for movement? Up, down, forth, and around are all adVERBS, which further show “how” the water moves.
Following are some other lines from Tina’s book. Notice how just the right verb makes a difference. She could have used words like swim, eat, shine, float, sit. But they wouldn’t have provided nearly the same information or feeling to the reader.
Seaweed sways.
Otters munch.
Sailfish speed.
Jellyfish drift.
Seahorses bob.
Sea cucumbers feast.
Anglerfish and lantern fish glow.
Dragonfish chomp.
In Vivian Kirkfield’s One Girl’s Voice: How Ludy Stone Helped Change the Law of the Land (illustrated by Rebecca Gibbon) strong verbs speak loudly.
“At home, Lucy simmered when her mother submitted to her husband’s rule. At school, Lucy stewed . . . at church, Lucy steamed . . .
Perched on the edge of her seat . . .
. . . sharpened their speeches, polished their arguments, and countered each challenge.
. . . swallowed her words . . .
. . . her heart raced and her hands shook . . .
. . . Lucy’s voice rang . . . and echoed . . .
. . . hurled books . . .
. . . doused her . . . ”
You don’t even need to read the full sentences to see the impact these verbs have in the above lines.
Marcie Colleen’s Survivor Tree (illustrated by Aaron Becker) offers lines like, “In wintertime, the tree’s bare bones stretched tall, reaching for the freezing bright blue above.” She could have simply said, “In wintertime the tree was cold and bare.” But where is the movement?
When the flowers blossom in spring, she could have left it at that, but instead she offers movement with, “Piles of petals scattered as people rushed by.”
In the fall, she could have said, “The tree’s colorful leaves fell.” But instead, she offers, “. . . the tree blazed red with a million hearts before each took off in an elegant dance. Big difference, right?
I will leave you with this very effective line . . . “One September day, the perfect blue sky exploded.” Marcie could have said, “One September day, something bad happened.” And readers would still want to turn the page. But a perfectly blue sky exploding? Now that’s a page-turner!
You may think it would take too many words to write like this. I say, with skill, it can be done. For example, Survivor Tree is only around 407 words.
In all these mentor texts, pay attention to all verbs. All verbs are important. You will likely find verbs on every spread, each serving to move these stories forward. But when you study any mentor texts, see how the strong verbs make a difference in what the sentences mean to you.
PRIZE: Author's Choice Prize from Alayne Kay Christian.
Alayne Kay Christian is a former acquisitions editor, an award-winning children’s book author, and a picture book writing mentor/teacher. Alayne’s latest picture book, Turkey on the Run! with Flamingo Books will make its way into the world in September 2026. Some other published picture books are An Old Man and His Penguin: How Dindim Made João Pereira de Souza an Honorary Penguin and The Weed That Woke Christmas: The Mostly True Story of the Toledo Christmas Weed and Butterfly Kisses for Grandma and Grandpa. Born in the Rockies, raised in Chicago, and now a true-blue Texan, Alayne’s writing shares her creative spirit, the kinship to nature and humanity that reside within her heart, and a bit of her funny bone.
To learn more about Alayne visit her websites and blog at . . https://alaynekaychristianauthor.com/
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