This fall, we encourage you to check out these poetry titles for children and teens, and YA novels in verse, from our partners, sponsors, and advertisers to help bring more poetry into the classroom or home. Poems can spark a lifelong love of reading, and buying poetry books is one of the best ways to directly support poets and poetry.
2022 Featured Fall Books List for Young Readers
The Illustrated Emily Dickinson edited by Ryan G. Van Cleave
Bushel & Peck Books, August 2022
In this gorgeous collection, twenty-five of Emily Dickinson’s most beloved poems are illustrated with stunning, full-color collage artwork.
Age range: 7–10
Counting in Dog Years and Other Sassy Math Poems by Betsy Franco, illustrated by Priscilla Tey
Candlewick, October 2022
Award-winning author Betsy Franco is back with another pitch-perfect performance that explores a range of math topics—from fractions and time measurements, to geometry and graphs—in a way that relates math to the daily lives of children.
Age range: 8-12
Themes: math concepts, humor, STEAM
Ready for Spaghetti: Funny Poems for Funny Kids by Michael Rosen, illustrated by Polly Dunbar
Candlewick, November 2022
Fizzing with rhythm, energy, and laughter, this perfect gift-book introduction to poetry celebrates the day-to-day routines of early childhood. From the rise-and-shine exuberance of “Up, up, uppity-up!,” to the sweet lull of “Hush and a hush/soft and low,” colorful pages abound with observations of ordinary moments, from brushing your teeth to digging in a sandbox, mirror a childlike day-in-the-life.
Age range: 3-7
Themes: humor, rhyming, everyday scenes
Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening by Robert Frost, illustrated by P.J. Lynch
Candlewick, November 2022
Whether memorized by schoolchildren or used to eulogize a president, “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening,” written in 1922 and published in 1923, has found a place as one of the best-loved and best-known American poems of the last hundred years. Now, six decades after the passing of its author, Robert Frost, celebrated artist P.J. Lynch brings this classic to new life with exquisitely detailed illustrations, evoking its iconic moments and wintry setting on the outskirts of a small village.
Age range: 4-8
Themes: classics, seasons, stories in verse
The Hope of Elephants by Amanda Rawson Hill
Charlesbridge, September 2022
Cass’s family hasn’t let her dad’s cancer stop them from having a good life—full of love, poems, and one annual World Series game. But faced with uncertainty, Cass struggles to hold onto hope.
Age range: 10+
Themes: coming-of-age, illness, family, hope
The Book of Questions by Pablo Neruda, illustrated by Paloma Valdivia
Enchanted Lion Books, April 2022
Where is the center of the sea? Why do the waves never break there? With gorgeous, cosmic full-page illustrations, Pablo Neruda’s unanswerable questions invite us to wonder at nature and the myriad mysteries it contains.
Age range: 7+
Themes: nature, questions, Pablo Neruda, poetry from Chile, poetry in translation, illustrated poetry
Colors Wash Over Me: Poems by Lowcountry Students edited by Marcus Amaker
Free Verse Books, May 2022
Colors Wash Over Me is a compilation of poetry by students in the Charleston, SC area. It is the culmination of a year of poetry workshops led by seven local poets in Charleston.
Age range: 3rd-12th grade
Themes: self-care, music, alliteration, home
Odder by Katherine Applegate
Macmillan Children’s, September 2022
A touching and lyrical friendship story told in free verse from Newbery Medalist Katherine Applegate. Inspired by true events, this poignant and humorous tale examines bravery and healing through the eyes of one of nature’s most beloved and charming animals.
Age range: 8-12
Themes: friendship, kindness, animals, nature
My Zoo: a Book of Feelings by David Griswold, illustrated by Eliza Reisfeld
Magination Press, November 2022
In rhyming verse, kids explore a zoo of feelings—angry lion, happy puppy, calm sloth, and more, sometimes feeling like one and other days more. This book helps readers identify and accept different emotions.
Age range: 4-8
Themes: emotions, feelings, calm
Abuela, Don’t Forget Me by Rex Ogle
Norton Young Readers, September 2022
Abuela, Don’t Forget Me is a lyrical portrait of the transformative and towering woman who believed in Rex even when he didn’t yet know how to believe in himself.
Age range: 8th grade – college freshman
Themes: family/multigenerational, poetry, poverty, domestic abuse, hunger
Union by Sara Cassidy
Orca Books, September 2022
In this novel in verse for teen readers, fifteen-year-old Tuck navigates new love, past trauma, and standing up for what’s right.
Age range: 12+
Themes: mental health, first love, healing, dissociation, dysfunctional families, child sexual abuse.
Like a Hurricane by Jonathan Bécotte, translated by Jonathan Kaplansky
Orca Books, February 2023
A lyrical story for middle readers about a young teen torn up about revealing to his friends and family that he is gay.
Age range: 9–12
Themes: LGBTQ+, coming out, self-esteem, acceptance, fear of rejection, novel in verse
They Call Her Fregona by David Bowles
Penguin Young Readers, September 2022
Honoring multiple poetic traditions, They Call Her Fregona is a bittersweet first-love story in verse and the highly anticipated follow-up to They Call Me Güero.
Age range: 10+
Themes: Hispanic Heritage Month, SEL curriculum
When Winter Robeson Came by Brenda Woods
Penguin Young Readers, January 2022
The whole world seems to transform during the summer of 1965, when Eden’s cousin comes to visit, just as the Watts Riots erupt, in this stirring novel by CSK Honor winner Brenda Woods.
Age range: 10+
Themes: Black History Month, historical fiction, family stories
Black Boy, Black Boy by Ali Kamanda and Jorge Redmond, illustrated by Ken Daley
Sourcebooks, August 2022
An uplifting and gorgeously illustrated picture book, Black Boy, Black Boy highlights inspirational figures who have paved the way for Black boys today, including inventor Elijah McCoy and activist Colin Kaepernick.
Age range: 3-7
Themes: Black Boy Joy, Black History, confidence, family, perseverance
Garvey in the Dark by Nikki Grimes
Wordsong, October 2022
Capturing the shock and impact of the COVID-19 pandemic through the eyes of Garvey, a beloved character, Nikki Grimes’s newest novel in verse shows readers how to find hope in difficult times.
Age range: 8-12
Themes: COVID-19, family, friendships, obesity, poetry