Extract from Johnny McSneed Writes a Book at Top Speed

The summer vacation was finally here,
The one time of year when my diary is clear.  
I was sitting at home, looking out of a window,
Just eating an apple, and watching the wind blow,  
While giving some thought to what things I should do.  

You may have had days when you wonder that too.  

Then I noticed some books, which were stacked on a high shelf.
There were dozens of them, and I thought to myself,
“I’ve got nothing to lose by perusing a few”.  

So I read one or two, without further ado.

Then I read a few more.  Some were slim, some were thick,  
Some were verse, some were prose, and I read them quite quick.

While sometimes I read what I already knew,    
The facts I encountered were mostly brand new.  
And the number of things I could understand grew.
Like how to write haiku, or to make a ragout ...  

Then right out of the blue, I thought that I ought,
Write a book of my own. Not something high-flown,
But simply a sensible down-to-earth tome,  
With a start and an end, and a part in between,
And maybe a moral about what it might mean ...