This fall, to help bring more poetry into the classroom or home, we encourage you to check out these poetry titles for children, YA novels in verse, and books by poets for young readers from our sponsors and advertisers.
2023 Featured Fall Books for Young Readers
The Red Ear Blows Its Nose: Poems for Children and Others by Robert Schechter, illustrated by S. Federico
Able Muse Press, April 2023
Starred reviews in Booklist, Kirkus Reviews, and School Library Journal, which wrote: “Playful poems that delight....For reading out loud, to laugh at, to muse on, and to grow up with.” An instant classic!
Age range: 7–12
Forwards Always: Poems to Be Read Aloud by Matthew Hodson
Cicada Books, September 2023
Forwards Always is a collection of poems to be read aloud with friends and loved ones.
Age range: 4–11
Themes: poetry, imagination and play, humor
What If One Day... by Bruce Handy illustrated by Ashleigh Corrin
Enchanted Lion, September 2023
How would the world change without birds, night, or color? Stretch your imagination and celebrate the abundance of what is in this picture book from a NYT Best Children's Book author and EJK Award winning illustrator.
Age range: 5 years and up
Themes: joy, wonder, and gratitude; imagination, play, and out-of-the-box thinking; prose poetry; the beauty, diversity, and interconnectedness of our world
A Walk in the Woods by Nikki Grimes, illustrated by Jerry Pinkney and Brian Pinkney
Holiday House, September 2023
In this moving account of loss, a boy takes a walk in the woods and makes a discovery that changes his understanding of his father.
Age range: 4–8
Themes: death and grief, family and relationships, science and nature
The Prince & the Coyote by David Bowles illustrated by Amanda Mijangos
Levine Querido, October 2023
After his city falls in 1418 and his family is slaughtered, the 16-year-old crown prince of Tetzcoco goes on the run from a tyrant. This action-packed tale blends prose and poetry – including translations of surviving poems by the real-life prince Nezahualcoytl.
Age range: 12–18
Poetry Prompts: All sorts of ways to start a poem from Joseph Coelho by Joseph Coelho, illustrated by Georgie Birkett, Amanda Quartey, Grasya Oliyko, and Viola Wang
Quarto Books, October 2023
Discover 40 ways to write a poem with award-winning poet Joseph Coelho. Poetry Prompts helps children write poems and read them out loud by building confidence and literacy skills. Essential for budding writers and performers.
Age range: 7–9
Themes: poetry, composition and creative writing, humor
Red, White, and Whole by Rajani LaRocca
Quill Tree Books, October 2023
This Newbery Honor-winning book is a heartbreakingly hopeful novel in verse about an Indian American girl whose life is turned upside down when her mother is diagnosed with leukemia.
Ages: 8-12
Themes: family, mother-daughter relationships, Indian American culture
Blood Brothers by Rob Sanders
Reycraft Books, July 2022
Calvin Johnston’s secret is out. He and his brothers are tainted. Untouchable. The bad blood flowing through their veins is threatening to kill them. Calvin and his brothers are in the fight of their lives.
Ages: 8–12
Themes: social issues, prejudice, family
The Sniger & the Floose by Ashley Fayth illustrated by Katie Brosnan
Running the Goat, October 2023
Ashley Fayth’s delightful nonsense poem introduces readers to a range of “wild and wondrous” beasts—like the sniger, the squffin, and the butterflabbit. With its playful rhymes and rollicking rhythm, this book is a perfect read-aloud.
Age range: 3–7
Themes: nonsense poetry, imagination, play, environment, hybrid animals