Poetry Books for Kids!
Title: Life doesn't frighten me
By: Angelou, Maya
Published: 1993
Together, Angelou's words and (Jean-Michel) Basquiat's paintings create a place where every child--indeed every person--may experience his or her own fearlessness.
You can hear the poet read it herself here: https://tinyurl.com/lifedoesnt
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Ages 4 - up.
Title: Odder
By: Katherine Applegate
Published: 2022
A touching and lyrical tale about a remarkable sea otter, from Newbery Medalist Katherine Applegate, author of Wishtree.
J Apple.K
Ages 8 - 10.
Title: They Call Me Güero : A Border Kid's Poems
By: David Bowles
Published: 2018
Twelve-year-old Güero, a red-headed, freckled Mexican American border kid, discovers the joy of writing poetry, thanks to his seventh grade English teacher.
J Bowle.D
Ages 8-12
Title: Bronzeville Boys and Girls
By: Brooks, Gwendolyn
Published: 1956
This classic picture book from Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Gwendolyn Brooks, paired with full-color illustrations by Caldecott Honor artist Faith Ringgold, explores the lives and dreams of the children who live together in an urban neighborhood.
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Ages 4 - 8.
Title: If It Rains Pancakes: Haiku and Lantern Poems
By: Cleary, Brian P.
Published: 2014
What is a haiku? It sounds like a sneeze. And isn't a lantern a light source? Actually, they are two types of ancient Japanese poetry. Award-winning author Brian P. Cleary explains how each form works--and shows how these little poems can contain big surprises!
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Ages 7-11.
Title: Under The Mambo Moon
By: Durango, Julia
Published: 2011
Poems about the different people who stop by Marisol's father's music store on a hot summer night, looking for just the right songs to make their hearts fly home.
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Ages 8 - 12.
Title: Alone
By: Freeman, Megan E.
Published: 2021
When twelve-year-old Maddie hatches a scheme for a secret sleepover with her two best friends, she ends up waking up to a nightmare. She's alone--left behind in a town that has been mysteriously evacuated and abandoned. This novel in verse tells the story of a young girl's survival against the crushing loneliness she faces every day. Can Maddie's stubborn will to survive carry her through the most frightening experience of her life?
J Freem.M
Ages 10 - 12.
Title: Legacy: Women Poets of the Harlem Renaissance
By: Grimes, Nikki
Published: 2021
In this poetry collection, bestselling author Nikki Grimes uses "The Golden Shovel" poetic method to create wholly original poems based on the works of these groundbreaking women--and to introduce readers to their work. Each poem is paired with one-of-a-kind art from today's most exciting female African-American illustrators to create an emotional and thought-provoking book with timely themes for today's readers.
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Ages 10 - 14
Title: A Songbird Dreams of Singing : Poems About Sleeping Animals
By: Hosford, Kate
Published: 2019
With a poem for every animal, followed by a paragraph explaining the fascinating science behind how that animal sleeps, this artfully compiled book captures the wonder of our ecosystem.
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Ages 5 - 8.
Title: The Proper Way to Meet a Hedgehog and Other How-To Poems
By: Janeczko, Paul B.
Published: 2019
Toast a marshmallow, be a tree in winter, read braille -- Paul B. Janeczko and Richard Jones invite you to enjoy an assortment of poems that inform and inspire.
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Ages 6 - 9.
Title: Marshmallow Clouds
By: Kooser, Ted
Published: 2022
Celebrated poet Ted Kooser along with Connie Wanek, and illustrator Richard Jones, explore figures of speech in a spirited and magical way--and invite our imaginations out to play.
Ages 6 - 9.
Title: This Poem Is A Nest
By: Latham, Irene
Published: 2020
This beautiful poetry collection introduces readers to the art of found poetry as the poet writes a 37-line poem, "Nest," then finds 160 smaller poems within it. What can you find in a poem about a robin's nest?
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Ages 7 - 11.
Title: No More Poems! : A Book in Verse That Just Gets Worse
By: Miller, Rhett
Published: 2019
Shares humorous poems about such subjects as disco baths, sneaky sisters, nose hairs, and wanting a dog.
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Ages 4 - 8.
Title: Cast Away : Poems For Our Time
By: Nye, Naomi Shihab
Published: 2020
Acclaimed poet and Young People's Poet Laureate Naomi Shihab Nye shines a spotlight on the things we cast away, from plastic water bottles to those less fortunate, in this collection of more than eighty original and never-before-published poems.
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Ages 8 - 12.
Title: The One Thing You’d Save
By: Park, Linda Sue
Published: 2021
If your house were on fire, what one thing would you save? Newbery Medalist Linda Sue Park explores different answers to this provocative question in linked poems that capture the diverse voices of a middle school class. Illustrated with black-and-white art.
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Ages 8 -12.
Title: A Beautiful Day In The Neighborhood : The Poetry of Mister Rogers
By: Rogers, Fred
Published: 2019
For the first time ever, 75 beloved songs from Mister Rogers' Neighborhood and The Children's Corner are collected in this charmingly illustrated treasury, sure to be cherished by generations of children as well as the millions of adults who grew up with Mister Rogers.
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Ages 2 - 5.
Title: H Is For Haiku : A Treasury of Haiku from A to Z
By: Rosenberg, Sydell
Published: 2018
In this award-winning collection of ABC haiku, readers will witness a boy sitting on a mailbox, drops of rain clanking on a watering can, waiting in line for ice cream, and so much more--all in haiku form and vibrant, playful illustrations.
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Ages 5 - 11.
Title: Dear Treefrog!
By: Sidman, Joyce
Published: 2021
With magical, concise and perceptive poems, Newbery-Honor winning author Joyce Sidman captures the life of a tree frog in an intimate and moving way.
JPicture Sidma.J
Ages 4 - 7.
Title: Mirror Mirror : A Book of Reversible Verse
By: Singer, Marilyn
Published: 2010
A collection of short poems which, when reversed, provide new perspectives on the fairy tale characters they feature.
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Ages 6 - 9.
Title: You Are Home: An Ode To National Parks
By: Turk, Evan
Published: 2019
Offers an ode to the United States national parks, and reminds readers that every animal, plant, and person in these parks are an integral part of what makes the land beautiful.
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Ages 4 - 8.
Title: A hatful of dragons : and more than 13.8 billion other funny poems
By: Madan, Vikram
Published: 2020
Warning: this book has dragons, robot uncles, aliens, a combative mosquito and, most dangerous of all, more than 13.8 billion poems, conveniently fit into 64 pages of pure silliness. You may never stop reading!
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Ages 7 - 10.
Title: The Crossover
By: Alexander, Kwame
Published: 2014
Novel in verse. Fourteen-year-old twin basketball stars Josh and Jordan wrestle with highs and lows on and off the court as their father ignores his declining health.
J Alexa.K
Ages 9 - up.
Title: Unsettled
By: Faruqi, Reem
Published: 2021
When her family moves from Pakistan to Peachtree City, all Nurah wants is to blend in, yet she stands out for all the wrong reasons. But in the water, Nurah doesn't want to blend in. She wants to win medals like her star athlete brother. Yet when sibling rivalry gets in the way, she makes a split-second decision of betrayal that changes their fates.
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Ages 8 - 12.
Title: Closer To Nowhere
By: Hopkins, Ellen
Published: 2020
Novel in verse. Told in two voices, sixth-grade cousins Hannah and Cal learn a lot about family when circumstances throw them together under one roof and Hannah's love of order clashes with Cal's chaotic behavior.
J Hopki.E
Ages 10 - up.
Title: Inside Out and Back Again
By: Lai, Thanhha
Published: 2013
Novel in verse. Through a series of poems, a young girl chronicles the life-changing year of 1975, when she, her mother, and her brothers leave Vietnam and resettle in Alabama.
J Lai.T
Ages 8 - 12.
Title: Red White & Whole
By: LaRocca, Rajani
Published: 2021
Novel in verse. Reha feels torn between two worlds: school, where she's the only Indian American student, and home, with her family's traditions and holidays. But Reha's parents don't understand why she's conflicted-they only notice when Reha doesn't meet their strict expectations.
J Laroc.R
Ages 8 - 12.
Title: The Bird In Me Flies
By: Lundberg, Sara
Published: 2020
This beautifully illustrated novel in verse, inspired by the paintings, letters and diaries of Swedish artist Berta Hansson (1910-1994), is a universal story of grief, longing and following your dreams.
J Lundb.S
Ages 9 - 12.
Title: Land of the Cranes
By: Salazar, Aida
Published: 2020
The heart-wrenchingly beautiful story in verse of a young Latinx girl who learns to hold on to hope and love even in the darkest of places: a family detention center for migrants and refugees.
J Salaz.A
Ages 8 - 12.
Title: Birdie
By: Spinelli, Eileen
Published: 2019
Novel in verse. Still grieving for her father, twelve-year-old Birdie struggles to adjust to many changes, including when her grandmother, her mother, and her best friends all begin dating.
J Spine.E
Ages 10 - 14.
Title: Other Words For Home
By: Warga , Jasmine
Published: 2019
Novel in verse. Jude never thought she'd be leaving her beloved older brother and father behind, all the way across the ocean in Syria. But when things in her hometown start becoming volatile, Jude and her mother are sent to live in Cincinnati with relatives.
J Warga.J
Ages 8 - 12.
Title: Star Child
By: Zoboi, Ibi
Published: 2022
From the New York Times bestselling author and National Book Award finalist, a biography in verse and prose of science fiction visionary Octavia Butler. Acclaimed novelist Ibi Zoboi illuminates the young life of the visionary storyteller Octavia E. Butler in poems and prose.
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Ages 10 -13