A heart-felt thank you for all those who took time out of your busy lives to share your preference regarding the V.G. and Me line construction. Option #1 (with its longer lines) crushed Option #2 by a ratio of about 2.5 to 1. It looks as though I should have kept it the way I originally wrote it.
Despite the vote, I was still torn because I agree with some of the comments that children might find shorter lines less intimidating and easier to read, and they can form fun shapes on the page, but those attributes were off-set by the fact that the shorter lines would probably make for a longer book (which can create-attention-span challenges for the youngest children) and that adults tend to make most book buying decisions and most of the adults surveyed preferred the longer lines.
As you’ve probably guessed by now, I plan to use the option #1 format for both V.G. and Me and for The Grumpadinkles.
With Love,
Russ