Poetry Month reads

List of JFIC books in verse and poetry collections for youth and middle school readers.

Showing 1 - 20 of 26  There are a total of 65 valid entries on the list.
Book cover for "Becoming Muhammad Ali"
Star rating for Becoming Muhammad Ali
Average Rating:
5 stars
Description:
Before he was a household name, Cassius Clay was a kid with struggles like any other. Kwame Alexander and James Patterson join forces to ... [imagine] his life up to age seventeen in both prose and verse, including his childhood friends, struggles in school, the racism he faced, and his discovery of boxing.
Book cover for "Before the ever after"
Star rating for Before the ever after
Average Rating:
5 stars
Description:
ZJ's friends Ollie, Darry and Daniel help him cope when his father, a beloved professional football player, suffers severe headaches and memory loss that spell the end of his career.
Book cover for "Beyond me"
Star rating for Beyond me
Average Rating:
4 stars
Description:
In the aftermath of a major earthquake, eleven-year-old Maya overcomes her own fear to help others at home and in northeast Japan, where a tsunami caused great damage. Includes author's note about the facts behind the story.

4. Booked

Book cover for "Booked"
Star rating for Booked
Average Rating:
4.3 stars
Description:
Twelve-year-old Nick loves soccer and hates books, but soon learns the power of words as he wrestles with problems at home, stands up to a bully, and tries to impress the girl of his dreams.
Book cover for "Brown girl dreaming"
Star rating for Brown girl dreaming
Average Rating:
4.1 stars
Description:
In vivid poems that reflect the joy of finding her voice through writing stories, an award-winning author shares what it was like to grow up in the 1960s and 1970s in both the North and the South. Writer Jacqueline Woodson tells the story of her childhood in free verse.
Book cover for "The door of no return"
Star rating for The door of no return
Series:
Average Rating:
5 stars
Description:
"A novel in verse about an Asante boy who is captured and taken from his village during the nineteenth century."--
Book cover for "Emmy in the key of code"
Star rating for Emmy in the key of code
Average Rating:
5 stars
Description:
Sixth-grader Emmy tries to find her place in a new school and to figure out how she can create her own kind of music using a computer.
Book cover for "Finding wonders"
Star rating for Finding wonders
Average Rating:
4 stars
Description:
A biographical novel in verse of three different girls in three different time periods who grew up to become groundbreaking scientists.
Book cover for "Full cicada moon"
Star rating for Full cicada moon
Average Rating:
5 stars
Description:
In 1969 twelve-year-old Mimi and her family move to an all-white town in Vermont, where Mimi's mixed-race background and interest in "boyish" topics like astronomy make her feel like an outsider.
Book cover for "Garvey's choice"
Star rating for Garvey's choice
Average Rating:
5 stars
Description:
Preferring science and reading to the sports his father wants him to play, Garvey comforts himself with food and endures bullying before joining the school chorus, where he learns how to accept himself and bond with his father.
Book cover for "Home of the brave"
Star rating for Home of the brave
Average Rating:
5 stars
Description:
Kek, an African refugee, is confronted by many strange things at the Minneapolis home of his aunt and cousin, as well as in his fifth grade classroom, and longs for his missing mother, but finds comfort in the company of a cow and her owner.
Book cover for "Legacy"
Star rating for Legacy
Average Rating:
4 stars
Description:
"From Children's Literature Legacy Award-winning author Nikki Grimes comes a feminist-forward new collection of poetry celebrating the little-known women poets of the Harlem Renaissance--paired with full-color, original art from today's most talented female African-American illustrators."--
Book cover for "Locomotion"
Star rating for Locomotion
Average Rating:
4 stars
Description:
In a series of poems, eleven-year-old Lonnie writes about his life, after the death of his parents, separated from his younger sister, living in a foster home, and finding his poetic voice at school.
Book cover for "Love that dog"
Star rating for Love that dog
Average Rating:
4.8 stars
Description:
A young student, who comes to love poetry through a personal understanding of what different famous poems mean to him, surprises himself by writing his own inspired poem.

15. Moo

Book cover for "Moo"
Star rating for Moo
Average Rating:
4.1 stars
Description:
Follows the efforts of twelve-year-old Reena, who has recently moved to rural Maine, to adjust to a new environment while unexpectedly bonding with an ornery cow.
Book cover for "My head has a bellyache"
Star rating for My head has a bellyache
Average Rating:
4 stars
Description:
"A witty, illustrated collection of humorous (and sometimes even heartwarming) poems and nonsense inspired by the absurdities of everyday life"--
Book cover for "No more poems!"
Star rating for No more poems!
Average Rating:
4 stars
Description:
In the tradition of Shel Silverstein, 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.

18. Odder

Book cover for "Odder"
Star rating for Odder
Average Rating:
5 stars
Description:
"Odder spends her days playing underwater and learning life lessons from her mother. But when Odder's life takes a dramatic turn, she is rescued by humans. The people are kind, and introduce Odder to other rescues. Soon, it's clear that Odder has a talent for teaching other pups how to otter. Adapted from Katherine Applegate's bestselling novel of the same name (with over 80 weeks on the New York Times Bestseller list!), and inspired by the true story...
Book cover for "The one thing you'd save"
Star rating for The one thing you'd save
Average Rating:
4 stars
Description:
"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"--Publisher marketing.
Book cover for "Reckless, glorious, girl"
Star rating for Reckless, glorious, girl
Author:
Average Rating:
4.5 stars
Description:
Twelve-year-old Beatrice Miller copes with the ups and downs of friendships, puberty, and identity, guided by the wisdom and love of her beloved Mamaw and mom, the summer before seventh grade..