15 Great Poetry Books for Kids

Let’s kick this list off with a classic. Shel Silverstein is one of America’s most well-known and prolific children’s poets, and Where the Sidewalk Ends is not only his best-known work, but the bestselling children’s poetry book of all time.

This timeless book contains 130 poems with Silverstein’s perfect blend of clever wordplay, memorable rhyme, laugh-out-loud absurdity, and charmingly silly sketches. A perfect introduction to the world of poetry for kids, this book will have them begging to read aloud together.

Also recommended from this author: A Light in the Attic and Falling Up

In National Geographic Book of Animal Poetry, U.S. Children’s Poet Laureate J. Patrick Lewis has compiled 200 poems about animals from writers across time period and place. The poems vary in style and tone. Some are funny; some are serious. Some were written hundreds of years ago; others are modern. All of them create an engaging experience for animal lovers.

The poems are accompanied by gorgeous National Geographic photographs of the animals featured in the text. The animals in the book are divided into chapters by broad categories (such as “The Big Ones”), and the book contains multiple indexes to make finding the right poem easy. This beautiful book is a must-have for any animal-loving kid (or grown-up!).

Also recommended in this series: National Geographic Book of Nature Poetry

Experience the four seasons in verse with Firefly July: A Year of Very Short Poems. In this poetry book for kids, illustrated by Melissa Sweet, Janeczko has compiled 36 poems, divided into sections marked “Spring,” “Summer,” “Fall,” and “Winter.”

These poems take us on a journey through a year, from the hope of a sunrise on a fresh spring morning, to summer nights illuminated by fireflies, to the crisp chill in the air as fall arrives, to the magic of a dusting of winter snow. The collection includes poems from Robert Frost, Lillian Morrison, William Carlos Williams, Langston Hughes, and many more.

There are two sides to every story in Marilyn Singer’s Mirror Mirror: A Book of Reverso Poems. In this collection of poems, Singer retells classic fairy tales with a unique twist.

A reverso is a poem with two halves, where the second half contains the exact same lines as the first half but in reverse order (as if re-reading the poem from bottom to top). The clever reverso poems in this collection reveal the fairy tales’ plot twists in a fresh and surprising way.

Also recommended from this author: Follow Follow and Echo Echo

Many of the books on this list are poetry collections, but in Dogku, Andrew Clements has created a book that is one single story told in a series of poems. Dogku tells the heart-warming story of a stray pooch who shows up on a family’s doorstep one morning. What’s unique about this tale is that it is told entirely in haiku.

A haiku is a three-line poem in which the first and third lines each contain five syllables, and the middle line contains seven. As reader turn each page of this book, they will read a new haiku that tells the next part of the pup’s adventure.

The Poetry Foundation named Jack Prelutsky a Children’s Poet Laureate for a reason, and his unique brand of clever, silly wordplay is on full display in the poetry collection It’s Raining Pigs and Poodles!

In this funny book of poems for kids, Prelutsky teams up with his frequent illustrator James Stevenson to pair words with simple line drawings in hilarious combinations. Over 100 poems fill the pages of this collection of non-stop nonsense. Grab an umbrella for this storm of silliness!

Also recommended from this author: The New Kid on the Block and Something Big Has Been Here 

For older students, Nikki Grimes has created something truly special with Legacy: Women Poets of the Harlem Renaissance. In it, she seeks to bring attention to the oft-overlooked female poets of the Harlem Renaissance, the early 20th-century intellectual and cultural revival among Black communities centered in the Harlem neighborhood of New York City. Grimes has compiled poems from artists of the period and interspersed them with her own “golden shovel” poems that the older works having inspired.

The “golden shovel” poetry technique involves taking one or more lines from a source poem and using each of its words as the final word in each line of a brand new poem. For instance, if you are using an eight-word line from a poem as your source, your new golden shovel poem would have eight lines, each one ending with one of the eight words from the original.

In this book, Grimes’ golden shovel poems richly complement the original Harlem Renaissance works. These, along with the gorgeous illustrations (all done by Black artists) create a powerful connection between the past and present, showing the continuation of a rich history of Black artistic expression.

Also recommended from this author: One Last Word

Bob Rackza doesn’t need illustrations to paint a picture. In Wet Cement: A Mix of Concrete Poems, the author creates engaging visuals with the creative placement of the words on the page.

A concrete poem is one in which the words are arranged into a shape that reflects the subject of the poem. Part verse, part visual art, part brainteaser, these unusual poems will get kids thinking outside the box.

Also recommended from this author: Lemonade and Other Poems Squeezed from a Single Word

Calling all nature lovers: Paul Fleischman’s delightful Joyful Noise: Poems for Two Voices is gives poetic voice to the insect world. Each of the 14 poems in this collection is told from the perspective of an insect and is accompanied by vivid ink illustrations by Eric Beddows.

Made to be read aloud, the lines of these poems are arranged to be spoken by two readers, sometimes speaking in turns and sometimes in unison. This give readers a chance to experience the rhythms of the poetry together as they lend words to the sounds of nature.

Got a young sports-lover in your life? Soccerverse: Poems About Soccer is sure to score big! Elizabeth Steinglass has written 22 fun, kid-friendly poems about life on the soccer field. Some are touching tales of friendship and teamwork, while others are sheer silliness (like one written from the point of view of a smelly shinguard).

The poems use 13 different poetic forms, which Steinglass describes in the author’s note. This is a great book to introduce kids to different forms of poetry and inspire them to write their own!

Make learning science even more fun with Jon Scieszka’s Science Verse, illustrated by Lane Smith. The book contains a series of lighthearted poems covering a wide range of science topics, including the water cycle, the digestive system, parasites, black holes, and much more.

The poems are also parodies, spoofing songs, nursery rhymes, and well-known poems from writers such as Robert Frost and Edgar Allen Poe. While some of these references may go over the heads of younger readers, the parody element adds an extra layer of fun for the grown-ups reading along, while the kids enjoy being silly with science.

What determines a person’s worth? Ashley Bryan tackles this question through the unique and powerful book Freedom Over Me: Eleven Slaves, Their Lives and Dreams Brought to Life. The basis for the book is a real historical document—an 1858 estate appraisal for the Fairchild family that lists the names of eleven slaves, along with the dollar amount these lives were supposedly worth. The names and prices of these humans are listed right along with the prices for cattle, hogs, and cotton.

Against this backdrop of dehumanization, Bryan brings these eleven real people to life through creative verse. The narrative poems tell not only of their daily lives as slaves, but also of their birth families, histories, and the dreams they have for themselves. This beautifully illustrated book gives a powerful look into the lives of slaves and can be a great entry point for discussions with students about history, race relations, and the importance of treating everyone with equal dignity.

The past couple of years have taken a toll on many people’s mental health—and that includes kids! This book of poetry for kids from Georgia Heard steps into the chaos and anxiety and offers a breath of fresh air. My Thoughts are Clouds: Poems for Mindfulness uses poetry to teach kids techniques that can improve their mental health.

The poems and simple, airy illustrations guide kids through meditation, breathing techniques, environmental awareness exercises, and ways to stay grounded in their bodies when their minds may be spinning. Some kids may find it helpful to memorize some of these poems and keep them in their mental toolbox when they need to calm down, refocus, or find a positive outlet for their emotions.

Irene Latham begins This Poem is a Nest with a 37-line poem titled “Nest,” a beautifully sweet poem that follows a robin family through the seasons. What follows is 160 more poems that Latham calls “nestlings.” Each nestling is a short poem composed entirely of words and phrases from the original “Nest.”

While these shorter pieces have phrases in common with the original poem, their subjects vary wildly. Latham is able to deftly turn the words from a poem about robins into verses on sports, alpacas, emotions, constellations, and more. By the end of the book, every single word from “Nest” has been repurposed into a new poem. This book can make a great teaching tool for found poetry and blackout poetry as it inspires readers to look at words in new ways.

We close out this list with poetry that has captured young imaginations for decades. A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood: The Poetry of Mister Rogers brings fresh life to the beloved words of Fred Rogers. Luke Flowers has paired the lyrics with delightful illustrations that are reminiscent of scenes from Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood. Nostalgic parents and young Daniel Tiger fans alike will enjoy the timeless words and charming artwork depicting both Mister Rogers and other characters from the “neighborhood.”

Rogers’ poetry brings powerful messages that still resonate for children and grown-ups alike today. Through simple, sincere verse, Rogers teaches us to have love, compassion, and kindness for ourselves and everyone around us.