National Poetry Month 2025 - Books for Children

Updated March 26, 2025
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Black star
Alexander, Kwame
Paper Book
A Coretta Scott King Honor Book The thrilling second book in the #1 New York Times bestselling Door of No Return trilogy stars Kofi's granddaughter, Charley, who's set on becoming the first female pitcher to play professional ball but who...
The city sings green : & other poems about welcoming wildlife
Silverman, Erica
Paper Book
A unique and artful blend of poetry, science, and activism, this picture book shows how city dwellers can intervene so that nature can work her magic. Perfect for fans of The Curious Garden and Harlem Grown.  In Oslo, Norway: citizens create a honeybee highway that...
Fast cheetah, slow tortoise : poems of animal opposites
Westera, Bette
Paper Book
A whimsical portrait of animals--and antonyms--in action. ​How do you contrast creatures as different as cheetahs and tortoises, or as similar as butterflies and moths? In this lively book of poetry, antonym pairs introduce thirty-two members of the animal kingdom. Each...
How to write a poem
Alexander, Kwame
Paper Book
In this evocative and playful companion to their New York Times bestselling picture book How to Read a Book, Newbery Medalist Kwame Alexander teams up with poet Deanna Nikaido and Caldecott Honoree Melissa Sweet to celebrate the magic of discovering your very own poetry in the world...
In praise of mystery
Limón, Ada
Paper Book
U.S. poet laureate, Ada Limón was invited by NASA to write a poem to be engraved on the Europa Clipper spacecraft. That poem, "In Praise of Mystery: A Poem for Europa" launched to Jupiter and its moons on October 14, 2024. Reimagined as In Praise of Mystery, Limón's debut picture book, this...
Louder than hunger
Schu, John
Paper Book
A New York Times bestseller! A Schneider Family Book Award Honor Book "Every so often a book comes along that is so brave and necessary, it extends a lifeline when it's needed most. This is one of those books." --Katherine Applegate, author of the Newbery Medal-winning,...
Moonwalking
Elliott, Zetta
Paper Book
"This novel in verse, alternately narrated by two boys in 1980s Greenpoint, Brooklyn, one channeled by Elliott and one by Miller-Lachmann, eloquently tackles race, culture and life on the spectrum." -- The New York Times For fans of Jason Reynolds and Jacqueline Woodson,...
Murray out of water
Tracy, Taylor
Paper Book
Perfect for fans of Rebecca Stead, Natalie Lloyd, and Jasmine Warga, this beautiful novel in verse explores one girl's struggle to regain her magic after a hurricane forces her to move away from her beloved ocean that, she believes, has given her special powers. Bighearted...
One big open sky
Cline-Ransome, Lesa
Paper Book
A Newbery Honor Book Three women narrate a perilous wagon journey westward that could set them free--or cost them everything they have--in this intergenerational verse novel that explores the history of the Black homesteader movement. 1879, Mississippi. Young dreamer...
The other side of tomorrow
Cho, Tina
Paper Book
A Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection Perfect for fans of Illegal and When Stars Are Scattered, this poignant and moving graphic novel in verse captures the dangers and hope that come with fleeing North Korea and reaching for a brighter future through the lives of...
Poetry Comics
Snider, Grant
Paper Book
"A poetry-filled graphic novel that is powerful in its simplicity." ―Publishers Weekly, Starred Review   "Personal but personable, too, with glints of quiet humor." ―Kirkus Reviews, Starred Review   ...
Reasons to look at the night sky
Daniel, Danielle
Paper Book
Luna has always loved the night sky. She's an eleven-year-old who knows everything there is to know about space, and dreams of one day becoming an astronaut. The first step in her plan to get there is to ace the space unit in her science class and secure a spot in NASA's summer space camp. But when...
Remember
Harjo, Joy
Paper Book
THE NATIONAL BESTSELLER .AN AMERICAN INDIAN LIBRARY ASSOCIATION HONOR BOOK.A BOSTON GLOBE-HORN BOOK HONOR AWARD . NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY School Library Journal . Publishers Weekly . The Horn Book .NPR . The Bulletin . Kirkus Reviews
The scraps book : notes from a colorful life
Ehlert, Lois
Paper Book
The renowned Caldecott Honoree and illustrator of Chicka Chicka Boom Boom provides a moving, intimate, and inspiring inside look at her colorful picture book career. Lois Ehlert always knew she was an artist. Her parents encouraged her from a young age by teaching her how...
Something, someday
Gorman, Amanda
Paper Book
The stunning new picture book by presidential inaugural poet Amanda Gorman and Caldecott Honor-winning illustrator Christian Robinson You're told that This won't work, But how will you know If you never try? Presidential...
When I wrap my hair
Grant, Shauntay
Paper Book
In the vein of I Am Enough and Hold Them Close, this inspiring and beautiful picture book celebrates how hair wrapping ties together past and present. When I wrap, my roots run deep. As deep as an African marketplace or a city sidewalk or the...
Windsongs: Poems about Weather
Florian, Douglas
Paper Book
A Kirkus Reviews Best Picture Book 2024 Discover the fascinating world of weather through clever and entertaining poetry in this "delightfully sunny" (Kirkus Reviews, starred review) picture book from celebrated poet Douglas Florian, creator of Dinothesaurus<...
Zin! zin! zin! : a violin
Moss, Lloyd.
Paper Book
A Caldecott Honor book that is the perfect introduction to musical instruments and a counting book that redefines the genre. When this book begins, the trombone is playing all by itself. But soon a trumpet makes a duet, a french horn a trio, and so on until the entire orchestra...

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