Before summer slips away, check out these poetry titles for children, YA novels in verse, and books by poets for young readers from our partners and advertisers. Enjoy your end-of-summer reading!
2024 End-of-Summer Books for Young Readers
Sunrise Nights by Jeff Zentner and Brittany Cavallaro
Atheneum Books for Young Readers, July 2024
Two young artists have a chance meeting on the last night of summer arts camp in this romantic novel-in-verse from acclaimed authors Jeff Zentner and Brittany Cavallaro!
Age Range: 13+
Themes: contemporary romance, romance, first love, summer romance, sleepaway camp
Wings to Soar by Tina Athaide
Charlesbridge Moves, July 2024
A historically relevant middle-grade novel-in-verse about a girl's resiliency when faced with hatred towards refugees. "These rich, vivacious lines combine an insistence on self with undaunted hope. A supreme heart-changer." —Rita Williams-Garcia, Newbery Honor recipient
Age Range: 10+
Themes: immigration, family, friendship
Bless Our Pets edited by Lee Bennett Hopkins
illustrated by Lita Judge
Eerdmans Books for Young Readers, April 2024
From puppies to mice to turtles to ponies, this endearing anthology edited by children’s poet Lee Bennett Hopkins expresses children’s gratitude for creatures big and small.
Age range: 4-8
Themes: animals/pets, gratitude, blessings
Seeking Draven by Michael F Stewart
Fitzhenry, June 2024
When Teagan’s brother disappears after a fight with their father, she's lost without him. A gift of her father's old phone means a chance to turn detective; with the phone's possibilities, she traces the clues and hunts for her missing brother.
Age Range: 9-12
Mid-Air by Alicia D. Williams
illustrated by Danica Novgorodoff
Simon & Schuster Children’s, April 2024
A tender-souled boy reeling from the death of his best friend struggles to fit into a world that wants him to grow up tough and unfeeling. From the Newbery Honor-winning author Alicia D. Williams.
Age Range: 10+
Themes: self-acceptance, friendship, grief, family, authenticity
Colossal Words for Kids by Colette Hiller
illustrated by Tor Freeman
The Quarto Group, May 2024
Delight readers with the joy and silliness of the English language! Colossal Words for Kids features 75 hilarious poems to boost vocabulary and reading comprehension—each poem teaches an important word, its meaning, and spelling.
Age Range: 7-12
Themes: concepts, language arts, vocabulary & spelling
Hardcover, $19.99 USD/$23.99 CAD