These three attempts invest the reader in your hero’s struggles. (Prior to the fourth successful attempt.) “Children Make Terrible Pets” by Peter Brownīut the most important rule of threes in picture books is three attempts to solve a problem. So in picture books, where do we use this rule? You’ll see the “rule of threes” demonstrated everywhere. “Omne trium perfectum” is a Latin phrase which translates to “everything that comes in threes is perfect”. That’s the hubby’s forte.Įven religion espouses threes-the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost. There’s the “three schema approach” in software engineering. Threes help to balance the focal point in a room.

Three are more aesthetically pleasing than two or four. In interior decorating, objets d’art are often grouped in threes.Īrchitecture adheres to this rule as well.

(Geesh, what a clunker of a sentence.) Hence: In photography, the “rule of thirds” dictates that the most visually striking elements of a photograph should align with the intersection of theoretical lines which break the image into thirds lengthwise and widthwise. From slogans (“Go, fight, win!”) to films, many things are structured in threes.” The reader or audience of this form of text is also more likely to consume information if it is written in groups of threes. (Until the three bears arrive home, that is.)Īccording to Wikipedia (yes, I’m quoting Wiki), “things that come in threes are inherently funnier, more satisfying, or more effective than other numbers of things. Three is as satisfying as a warm, comfy little bed. As Goldi would say, three is “just right”. Thank goodness ’cause those eyebrows are itchy.) Yes, there’s something downright appealing about the number THREE. “Ya ever wonder why so many children’s books feature THREES? Goldilocks and the THREE Bears? The THREE Little Pigs? Snow White and the SEVEN Dwarfs? No wait…I miscounted…I mean The THREE Billy Goat’s Gruff?” (By the way, isn’t “bulbous” a marvelous word? I think we, as writers, should seek its descriptive assistance more often. Imagine me as a white-haired, bulbous, salty old man with a whiny accent.

7 Ate 9 by Tara Lazar