The Best Poetry Books for Children

Children’s poetry books are a rich way for kids to enjoy limericks, poetic stanzas, tongue twisters, and rhymes. Through poetry, they learn the joy of play on words, puns, and metaphors all while using their imaginations. Here are some fantastic, highly rated poetry books for children.

Firefly July: A Year of Very Short Poems by Paul B. Janeczko – This book is bright and cheerful. Plus, it offers 36 short poems to coincide with the different seasons of the year.

Wet Cement: A Mix of Concrete Poems by Bob Raczka – Poems in the shape of what the poem is about! This is a playful and imaginative book that will help young readers to understand poetic turn, double meaning, and many other interesting parts of poetry.

The Cuckoo’s Haiku: and Other Birding Poems by Michael J. Rosen – Watercolor illustrations and bird poems by season are fantastic in this popular children’s book.

Read-Aloud Poems for Young People: Readings from the Worlds Best Loved Verses by Glorya Hale – Over 300 poems by the world’s great such as Robert Frost, Maya Angelou, Dr. Seuss, and Emily Bronte.

Mirror Mirror: A Book of Reverso Poems by Marilyn Singer – What happens when you blend poetry and fairy tales together? You get a super clever children’s poetry book! First, you read the book forwards and normally. Then you read the lines reverse for a different take on the tale.

Lemonade: and Other Poems Squeezed from a Single Word by Bob Raczka – Taken from the scene of a child’s daily life, this book offers poems that are also a puzzle to solve. The letters of the word “lemonade” are used to write descriptions on various poetic topics.

Echo Echo: Reverso Poems About Greek Myths by Marilyn Singer – Another gorgeous poetry book that is meant to be read forwards and then in reverse to gain a different perspective on some of the more famous Greek myths.

Where the Sidewalk Ends: Poems and Drawings by Shel Silverstein – A masterful collection of poems that are both funny and profound.

Eric Carle’s Dragons, Dragons by Eric Carle – Celebrate mythology and legends with beautiful illustrations and poetry with this gorgeous picture book. It’s not just for little kids!

The Random House Book of Poetry for Children by Jack Prelutsky – Poems selected by the first Children’s Poet Laureate, this is a beautiful collection of poetry. Featuring 572 unforgettable poems for children.

It’s Raining Pigs & Noodles by Jack Prelutsky – More than 100 hilarious poems from the Children’s Poet Laureate.

Falling Up by Shel Silverstein – Funny poems that most any child will love! Perfect for poetry tea time, bedtime or any time.

Eric Carle’s Animals Animals by Laura Whipple – Awesome animal poems from Shakespeare, Lewis Carroll, Rudyard Kipling, Emily Dickinson and much more in this beautiful book.

Child’s Introduction to Poetry by Michael Driscoll – This wide-ranging book covers everything from poetry, epics, haikus, odes and so much more!

Poetry Speaks to Children by Elise Paschen – More than 90 poems are paired with an accompanying CD. 50 of the poems are brought to life and most read by the poets themselves. This allows the reader to hear the words as the poets intended.

Hailstones and Halibut Bones: Adventures in Poetry and Color by Mary O’Neill – A tribute to beautiful colors with magnificent illustrations.

Laura Ingalls Wilder’s Fairy Poems by Laura Ingalls Wilder – This book is a must for any Laura Ingalls and Little House on the Praire fans! My daughter is a huge fan. Laura shares the fanciful world of fairies in this collection of fairy poems.

The Maine Coon’s Haiku: And Other Poems for Cat Lovers by Michael J. Rosen – A haiku collection for cat lovers with 20 of the most popular breeds and intriguing facts at the end.

A Child’s Garden of Verses by Robert Louis Stevenson – Stevenson recalls the joys of his childhood, from sailing boats down a river, to waiting for the lamplighter, to sailing off to foreign lands in his imagination. Sixty-six poems in all.

Allison Green
Boston Tutoring Services