MOWMT: Metaphors and Similes with Ana Siqueira

March 13, 2025

Note: Click on the Titles / Links to Buy the Books

Hola. I am Ana Siqueira, and I write mostly picture books. But soon my chapter book series will come out from Charlesbridge Move. I can’t wait. But today I am here to talk about similes and metaphors and how to unify your story through them.

In most of my books, I like to use lots of similes and metaphors to add visualization, exaggeration, and humor. Check out some children’s books filled with similes.

Funny...

My Dog is as Smelly as Dirty Socks by Hanoch Piven

Crazy As a Fox: A Simile Story by Loreen Leedy

Lyrical:

Magnificent Homespun Brown

When adding this language device, you can unify your manuscript by using similes and metaphors related to your story. For example, in Vera La Valiente is scared, by me and Teresa Martinez, I could say Vera’s heart thumps as a drum. But drumming is not related to the story's main idea: Vera is scared of roller coasters. 

So here is how I show Vera’s fears through art and text.

Then, when she is about to go on the Super Loopy Green Monster Coaster, her tears fall like a water ride and words click and clack up her throat. 

In the book Sticky Hermana by me and Olivia de Castro, Monica, the little sister, wants to go to Claudia’s soccer tournament. So, when she gets scared that Claudia can be gobbled up by the Bubblegum monster, she opens her mouth as big as a …

Soccer goal, of course. 

In Bella’s Recipe for Success, by me and Geraldine Rodriguez, I add humor by creating exaggerated similes. For example, Bella’s somersaults are horrible. They look like “jirafas rolling downhill.”

So, here are my tips:

1. For each feeling or action, think about similes or metaphors. 

2. You might have basic and cliché ones at first, such as: They are a perfect match, like peanut butter and jelly.

3. Rethink them by adding:

   • Exaggeration or humor as previously mentioned. 

   • Heart – “Ava wished she didn’t feel as small as a mouse.”- Feliz New Year, Ava Gabriela - by Alexandra Alessandri and Addy Rivera Sonda. 

   • Lyricism- “Their blends show me the beauty inside them, like saffron-colored sand mixed with a fringe of green from the sea.” - Into the Mighty Sea - Arlene Abundis and Cynthia Alonso

   • A pun - “Toti,” Carlita says, “You’re turning into a real egghead.” - Crack Goes the Cascarón by Sara Fajardo and Rocío Arreola Mendoza

   • Or beauty- “Cesaria prances like a peacock.” Cesaria Feels the Beat by Denise Rosario Adusei and Priscila Soares. 

And as much as possible, try to relate your metaphors and similes to your story theme or topic.

Now, go write as beautifully as a peacock with rainbow feathers or as funny as a monkey with a banana head. Or something in between. 

Ana's Prize: Author's Choice - Author will notify me with the prize at the conclusion of the event.

Ana Siqueira is a Spanish-language teacher and an award-winning children's book author based in Tampa, Florida. Her books include Bella's Recipe for Success (Beaming Books 2021), If Your Babysitter is a Bruja (S&S 2022), Abuela’s Super Capa/ La Supercapa de Abuela (HarperCollins 2023), Our World Brazil (Barefoot Books 2023), La Mala Suerte is Following Me (Charlesbridge 2024), Vera la Valiente is Scared (Beaming Books 2025), Sticky Hermana (Charlesbridge 2025), Mami’s Heart (HarperCollins 2026), If Your Abuelo is an Astronaut (Simon&Schuster 2026) among others. She also has a chapter book series coming out titled The Creepy Creature Catchers. Ana co-founded Latinxpitch, a pitch event to promote Latin authors and illustrators. She is a global educator and PBS Media innovator. She lives in Tampa Bay with her husband and loves to play with her Cuban Brazilian American grandkids.

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