Words to Share: A Bibliography of Poetry
for Children and Teens
Compiled by Megan Schliesman© 2003 Cooperative Children's Book Center
The books on this bibliography have been selected from editions of CCBC Choices, the annual best-of-the-year list produced by the staff of the Cooperative Children's Book Center. The books have been arranged into two broad age categories based on the lower age recommendation listed at the end of each citation. Please note that the upper age recommendation for some books suggest their use at an older level as well. A third category lists outstanding examples of the novels-in-verse trend.
Click on underlined book titles to see the CCBC review of the book, and/or the cover image.
Books for Elementary Age
Adedjouma, Davida. The Palm of My Heart: Poetry by African American Children. Illustrated by Gregory Christie. Lee & Low, 1996. Ages 7 - 12
Adoff, Arnold. Black is Brown is Tan. Illustrated by Emily Arnold McCully. Amistad/HarperCollins, 2002. Ages 3 - 7
Alarcon, Francisco X. Iguanas in the Snow and Other Winter Poems/Iguanas en la nieve y otros poemas de invierno. Illustrated by Maya Christinia Gonzalez. Children's Book Press, 2001. Ages 5 - 9
Esbensen, Barbara Juster. Swing Around the Sun: Poems. Illustrated by Cheng-Khee Chee, Janice Lee Porter, Mary GrandPrJ, and Stephen Gammell. Carolrhoda, 2003. Ages 5 - 10
Florian, Douglas. Bow Wow Meow Meow: It's Rhyming Cats and Dogs. Harcourt, 2003. Ages 4 - 11
Florian, Douglas. Autumblings. Greenwillow Books/HarperCollins, 2003. Ages 4 - 8
George, Kristine O'Connell. Little Dog Poems. Illustrated by June Otani. Clarion, 1999. Ages 3 - 7
Gollub, Matthew. Cool Melons -- Turn to Frogs! The Life and Poems of Issa. Illustrated by Kazuko G. Stone. Lee & Low, 1998. Ages 8 - 12
Graham, Joan Bransfield. Flicker Flash. Illustrated by Nancy Davis. Houghton Mifflin, 1999. Ages 4 - 8
Grimes, Nikki. It's Raining Laughter. Photographed by Myles C. Pinkney. Dial, 1997. Ages 4 - 8
Grimes, Nikki. A Pocketful of Poems. Illustrated by Javaka Steptoe. Clarion, 2001. Ages 8 - 14
Hopkins, Lee Bennett, selector. A Pet for Me: Poems. Illustrated by Jane Manning. HarperCollins, 2003. Ages 6 - 8
Hopkins, Lee Bennett, editor. Hoofbeats, Claws & Rippled Fins: Creature Poems. Illustrated by Stephen Alcorn. HarperCollins, 2002. Ages 8 - 12
James, Simon. Days Like This: A Collection of Small Poems. U.S. edition: Candlewick Press, 2000. Ages 4 - 7
Janeczko, selector, Paul B.. Stone Bench in an Empty Park. Photographed by Henri Silberman. Orchard, 2000. Age 9 and older
Kuskin, Karla. Moon, Have You Met My Mother? The Collected Poems of Karla Kuskin. Illustrated by Sergio Ruzzier. Laura Geringer Books/HarperCollins, 2003. Ages 6 - 10
Livingston, Myra Cohn, editor. I Am Writing a Poem About...: A Game of Poetry. Margaret K. McElderry Books, 1997. Age 10 and older
Medina, Tony. DeShawn Days. Illustrated by R. Gregory Christie. Lee & Low, 2001. Ages 6 - 11
Mora, Pat, editor. Love to Mama. Illustrated by Paula S. Barragan M.. Lee & Low, 2001. Age 10 and older
Myers, Walter Dean. Blues Journey. Illustrated by Christopher Myers. Holiday House, 2003. Ages 9 - 14
Nye, Naomi Shihab, editor. Salting the Ocean: 100 Poems by Young Poets. Illustrated by Ashley Bryan. Greenwillow Books/HarperCollins, 2000. Age 8 and older
Prelutsky, Jack. Scranimals. Greenwillow Books/HarperCollins, 2002. Ages 6 - 12
Prelutsky, selector, Jack. The Beauty of the Beast: Poems from the Animal Kingdom. Illustrated by Meilo So. Alfred A. Knopf, 1997. Ages 3 - 11
Singer, Marilyn. Footprints on the Roof: Poems about the Earth. Illustrated by Meilo So. Alfred A. Knopf, 2002. Ages 10 - 14
Smith, Charles R., Jr.. Perfect Harmony: A Muscial Journey with the Boys Choir of Harlem. Hyperion, 2002. Ages 7 - 11
Smith, Charles R. , Jr.. Short Takes: Fast-Break Basketball Poetry. Dutton, 2001. Age 10 and older
Updike, John. A Child's Calendar. Illustrated by Trina Schart Hyman. New edition: Holiday House, 1999. Ages 5 - 11Books for Middle and High School Age
Adoff, Arnold. The Basket Counts. Illustrated by Michael Weaver. Simon & Schuster, 2000. Ages 11 - 15
Adoff, Arnold, editor. I Am the Darker Brother: An Anthology of Modern Poems by African Americans. Simon & Schuster, 1997. Age 11 and older
Adoff, Jaime. The Song Shoots Out of My Mouth. Illustrated by Martin French. Dutton, 2002. Ages 11-14
Greenburg, Jan. Heart to Heart: New Poems Inspired by Twentieth-Century Art. Harry N. Abrams, 2001. Age 12 and older
Johnson, Angela. The Other Side: Shorter Poems. Orchard, 1998. Ages 11 - 15
Nelson, Marilyn. Carver: A Life in Poems. Front Street, 2001. Age 12 and older
Nye, Naomi Shihab. 19 Varieties of Gazelle: Poems of the Middle East. Greenwillow Books/HarperCollins, 2002. Age 12 and older
Nye, Naomi Shihab, selector. The Space Between Our Footsteps: Poems and Paintings from the Middle East. Simon & Schuster, 1998. Age 12 and older
Nye, Naomi Shihab, selector. What Have You Lost?. Photographed by Michael Nye. Greenwillow, 1999. Age 12 and older
Okutoro, Lydia Omolola, selector. Quiet Storm: Voices of Young Black Poets. Jump at the Sun/Hyperion, 1999. Age 12 and older
Rochelle, Belinda. Words with Wings: A Treasury of African American Poetry and Art. HarperCollins, 2001. Ages 10 - 16
Rosenberg, Liz, editor. Earth-Shattering Poems. Edge Books/Henry Holt, 1998. Age 12 and older
Rosenberg, Liz, editor. Light-Gathering Poems. Henry Holt, 2000. Age 13 and older
Vecchione, Patrice, editor. The Body Eclectic: An Anthology of Poems. Henry Holt, 2002. Age 15 and older
Vecchione, Patrice, editor. Truth & Lies: An Anthology of Poems. Henry Holt, 2000. Age 15 and olderNovels in Verse
Cormier, Robert. Frenchtown Summer. Delacorte Press, 1999. Age 12 and older
Creech, Sharon. Love That Dog: A Novel. Joanna Cotler Books/HarperCollins, 2001. Ages 8 - 12
Herrera, Juan Felipe. CrashBoomLove: A Novel in Verse. University of New Mexico Press, 1999. Ages 14 - 18
Smith, Hope Anita. The Way a Door Closes. Illustrated by Shane W. Evans. Henry Holt, 2003. Ages 10 - 14
Sones, Sonya. Stop Pretending: What Happened When My Big Sister Went Crazy. HarperCollins, 1999. Ages 14 and older
Sones, Sonya. What My Mother Doesn't Know. Simon & Schuster, 2001. Age 13 and older
Testa, Maria. Becoming Joe Dimaggio. Candlewick Press, 2002. Age 12 and older
Williams, Vera B.. Amber Was Brave, Essie Was Smart. Greenwillow Books/HarperCollins, 2001. Ages 7 - 11
This list may be reproduced and distributed by educational and/or nonprofit organizations so long as credit is given to the Cooperative Children's Book Center, School of Education, University of Wisconsin-Madison.
