Poetry Month Children’s Booklist

No More Poems!: A Book in Verse That Just Gets Worse

By: Rhett Miller

These poems bring a fresh new twist to the classic dilemmas of childhood as well as a perceptive eye to the foibles of modern family life. Full of clever wordplay and bright visual gags–and toilet humor to spare–these twenty-three rhyming poems make for an ideal read-aloud experience. Taking on the subjects of a bullying baseball coach and annoying little brothers with equally sly humor, renowned lyricist Rhett Miller’s clever verses will have the whole family cackling.

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Pizza, Pigs, and Poetry: How to Write a Poem

By: Jack Prelutsky

Jack Prelutsky has written more than one thousand poems about all of these things—and many others. In this book he gives you the inside scoop on writing poetry and shows you how you can turn your own experiences and stories about your family, your pets, and your friends into poems. He offers tips, advice, and secrets about writing and provides some fun exercises to help you get started (or unstuck). You’ll also get a behind-the-scenes look at the ingredients of some of his most popular poems. If you are a poet, want to be a poet, or if you have to write a poem for homework and you just need some help, then this is the book for you!

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Wet Cement: A Mix of Concrete Poems

By: Bob Raczka

Who says words need to be concrete? This collection shapes poems in surprising and delightful ways. Concrete poetry is a perennially popular poetic form because they are fun to look at. But by using the arrangement of the words on the page to convey the meaning of the poem, concrete or shape poems are also easy to write! From the author of the incredibly inventive Lemonade: And Other Poems Squeezed from a Single Word comes another clever collection that shows kids how to look at words and poetry in a whole new way.

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Everything Comes Next: Collected & New Poems

By: Naomi Shihab Nye

Featuring new, never-before-published poems, an introduction by bestselling poet and author Edward Hirsch, as well as a foreword and writing tips by the poet, and stunning artwork by bestselling artist Rafael López, It is a treasure chest of Naomi Shihab Nye’s most beloved poems. From favorites such as “Famous” and “A Valentine for Ernest Mann,” to the widely shared “Kindness” and “Gate A-4.” The book is an introduction to the poet’s work for new readers as well as a comprehensive edition for family sharing. Writing prompts and tips by the poet will bring out the poet in you.

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A Kick in the Head: An Everyday Guide to Poetic Forms

By: Paul B. Janecko

In this splendid and playful volume — second of a trilogy — an acclaimed creative team presents examples of twenty-nine poetic forms, demonstrating not only the (sometimes bendable) rules of poetry, but also the spirit that brings these forms to life. Featuring poems from the likes of Eleanor Farjeon (aubade), X. J. Kennedy (elegy), Ogden Nash (couplet), Liz Rosenberg (pantoum), and William Shakespeare, the sonnet king himself, A Kick in the Head perfectly illustrates Robert Frost’s maxim that poetry without rules is like a tennis match without a net. Back matter includes notes on poetic forms.

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Something Sure Smells Around Here: Limericks

By: Brian Cleary

What do you get when you combine a poem and a joke? A limerick! These five-line rhyming poems are funny, silly, and sly. Award-winning author Brian P. Cleary explains how limericks work―and shows how these little poems can trigger big laughs. Something Sure Smells Around Here is packed with hilarious poems to make you chuckle and chortle. And when you’ve finished reading, you can try your hand at writing your own limericks!

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The Proper Way to Meet a Hedgehog and Other How-To Poems

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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Meow Ruff: A Story in Concrete Poetry

By: Joyce Sidman

On a clear, sunny day, a small adventure begins. First, a dog slips joyfully out of his house. Next a car pulls up to the curb, leaving a white cat alone. Then, slowly, a storm begins to brew over the park. Watch as an unlikely friendship takes shape in this one-of-a-kind book that combines story, art, and delightful concrete poetry.

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Lion of the Sky: Haiku for All Seasons

By: Laura Purdie Salas

Haiku meet riddles in this wonderful collection from Laura Purdie Salas. The poems celebrate the seasons and describe everything from an earthworm to a baseball to an apple to snow angels, alongside full-color illustrations.

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The Bill Martin Jr Big Book of Poetry

By: Bill Martin Jr.

Years in the making, this full-color treasury contains nearly two hundred poems, all of them handpicked by Bill Martin Jr. Traditional children’s poems are presented alongside contemporary pieces.

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National Geographic Book of Nature Poetry

By: Patrick J. Lewis

When words in verse are paired with the awesomeness of nature, something magical happens! From trickling streams to deafening thunderstorms to soaring mountains, discover majestic photography perfectly paired with contemporary, classics, and never-before-published works.

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