Children's Books in Verse

Check out this list generated by our Youth Services Librarians for the Scotch Plains Public Library's annual summer reading challenge.

Updated April 27, 2023
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The crossover
Alexander, Kwame.
Paper Book
Series streaming now on Disney+, with executive producers including NBA great LeBron James! The Newbery Medal and Coretta Scott King Award-winning middle grade bestseller! Basketball and heartache share the court in this slam-dunk novel in verse. "With a bolt of lightning on my...

Enjoy this book? Check out other novels in verse by the same author: Booked and Rebound.

Odder
Applegate, Katherine
Paper Book
From #1 New York Times bestselling author of Wishtree and The One and Only Ivan, Katherine Applegate, a touching and lyrical tale about a remarkable sea otter, also an instant #1 bestseller! Meet Odder, the Queen of Play: ...
Hidden powers : Lise Meitner's call to science
Atkins, Jeannine
Paper Book
From the acclaimed author of Finding Wonders and Grasping Mysteries comes a gorgeously written biography in "deliberate, delicate verse" (Kirkus Reviews) about the pioneering Jewish woman physicist whose scientific prowess changed the course of World War II. ...
The canyon's edge
Bowling, Dusti
Paper Book
Hatchet meets Long Way Down in this heartfelt and gripping novel in verse about a young girl's struggle for survival after a climbing trip with her father goes terribly wrong. One year after a random shooting changed their family forever, Nora and...
Rez dogs
Bruchac, Joseph
Paper Book
Renowned author Joseph Bruchac tells a powerful story of a girl who learns more about her Penacook heritage while sheltering in place with her grandparents during the coronavirus pandemic. Malian loves spending time with her grandparents at their home on a Wabanaki reservation...
Bird
Elliott, Zetta.
Paper Book
An African-American boy nicknamed Bird uses drawing as a creative outlet as he struggles to make sense of his grandfather's death and his brother's decline into drug addiction. Told with spare grace, Bird is a touching look at how a young boy copes with real-life troubles. Readers will be heartened...
Singing with elephants
Engle, Margarita
Paper Book
A powerful novel in verse from Newbery and Pura Belpre Award-winning author Margarita Engle about the friendship between a young girl and the poet Gabriela Mistral that leads to healing and hope for both of them. Cuban-born eleven-year-old Oriol lives in Santa Barbara, California...
Golden girl
Faruqi, Reem
Paper Book
From the award-winning, ALA Notable author of Unsettled and Lailah's Lunchbox, this is a captivating coming-of-age middle grade novel in verse about seventh grader Aafiyah Qamar, a Pakistani American girl who hatches a special plan to help her family but finds that doing what...

Check out Unsettled, another Novel in Verse by Reem Faruqi.

Dear Mothman
Gow, Robin
Paper Book
Halfway through sixth grade, Noah's best friend and the only other trans boy in his school, Lewis, passed away in a car accident. Lewis was adventurous and curious, always bringing a new paranormal story to share with Noah. Together they daydreamed about cryptids and shared discovering their genders...
Macy McMillan and the rainbow goddess
Green, Shari
Paper Book
Winner of the 2018 ALA Schneider Family Book Award, Middle Grade Books category Sixth grade is coming to an end, and so is life as Macy McMillan knows it. Already a "For Sale" sign mars the front lawn of her beloved house. Soon her mother will upend their perfect little family,...
Garvey in the dark
Grimes, Nikki
Paper Book
Winner, 2023 Lee Bennett Hopkins Poetry Award 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. Garvey's finally happy--he's...

Want to start at the beginning? Check out the first book in this series: Garvey's Choice.


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