This summer, we encourage you to check out these poetry titles for children, YA novels in verse, and books by poets for young readers from our partners and advertisers. Poems can spark a lifelong love of reading, and buying poetry books is one of the best ways to directly support poets and poetry. Happy reading!
2022 Summer 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
Little Parsley by Inger Hagerup, illustrated by Paul René Gauguin, translated by Becky L. Crook
Enchanted Lion, October 2019
Alive with sound, shape, color, and play, this illustrated poetry collection—featuring scrumptious, gumptious gooseberries, a cantankerous crab, and more—comes from Norway's greatest poet, whose rhymes are recited by Norwegian children to this day!
Age range: 5–10
Themes: humor, imagination, play, animals, fruit and vegetables, people, nature
That Summer by Inger Hagerup, illustrated by Paul René Ganguin, translated by Becky L. Crook
Enchanted Lion, December 2019
Mosquitoes awaking as elephants, mountains taking millennia to move an inch—these illustrated poems burst with imagination, humor, and delight! Now a classic of Norwegian children's poetry, at publication this collection scandalized critics for offering children free verse.
Age range: 5–10
Themes: humor, imagination, play, animals, plants, nature, numbers
These Are Not Our Words by Amanda West Lewis
Groundwood Books, April 2022
New York City in the 1960s is the humming backdrop for this poignant, gritty story about a girl who sees her parents as flawed human beings for the first time, and finds the courage to make a fresh start.
Age range: 9–12
Themes: mental health, stories of resilience / dealing with loss
The World Belonged to Us by Jacqueline Woodson, illustrated by Leo Espinosa
Nancy Paulsen Books, May 2022
Two children’s book superstars join forces to celebrate the joy and freedom of summer in the city, which is gloriously captured in Jacqueline Woodson’s rhythmic text and Leo Espinosa’s lively art.
Age range: 5–8 years
Things We Eat by Sylvia Vardell and Janet Wong
Pomelo Books, March 2022
Things We Eat features poems that make kids hungry for avocado, dumplings, kimchi, tacos, yogurt, and more! As with Things We Do and Things We Feel, 100% of profits are donated to the IBBY Children in Crisis Fund.
Grade range: Preschool–2
Themes: diversity, inclusion, healthy foods
If This Bird Had Pockets by Amy Ludwig VanDerwater, illustrated by Emma J. Virján
Wordsong, March 2022
An ideal gift for children who love animals, this picture book is a celebration of Poem in Your Pocket Day and a charmingly illustrated collection of playful poems about 19 different creatures.
Grade range: Pre-k–3
Ordinary Hazards: a Memoir by Nikki Grimes
Wordsong, March 2022
In her own voice, acclaimed author and poet Nikki Grimes explores the truth of a harrowing childhood in this compelling and moving memoir in verse.