Books by genre
Top 13 poetry books for kids
Poetry for kids does not need to be solemn. This list mixes nonsense verse, nature, two-voice poems and anthologies adults can dip into at bedtime. Look for short books first, and let a child pick poems to read twice.
Titles were chosen from award winners, ALSC notable lists and long-running library favorites, then each title and author was checked against Open Library in Oct 2026. Checked 2026-10-25. Nobody paid to be here. The buy links are plain search links, not affiliate links, so Peabody earns nothing from them.
Where the Sidewalk Ends
Shel Silverstein · Ages 5-12
Funny, strange poems with Silverstein's own line drawings. One of the best-loved poetry books for children.
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A Light in the Attic
Shel Silverstein · Ages 5-12
More Silverstein verse and drawings in the same style as Where the Sidewalk Ends.
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Falling Up
Shel Silverstein · Ages 5-12
A third book of Silverstein verse and drawings.
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A Child's Garden of Verses
Robert Louis Stevenson · Ages 4-10
Classic poems about childhood from 1885. Many are short and musical.
Watch for: Old-fashioned vocabulary.
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The New Kid on the Block
Jack Prelutsky · Ages 5-10
More than a hundred silly poems on school, food and monsters.
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Joyful Noise: Poems for Two Voices
Paul Fleischman · Ages 8-13
Poems about insects meant to be read by two readers at once. Newbery winner.
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Honey, I Love and Other Love Poems
Eloise Greenfield · Ages 4-9
Short poems from a Black child's point of view, warm and rhythmic.
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You Read to Me, I'll Read to You
Mary Ann Hoberman · Ages 5-9
Poems built as dialogues so two people can read them aloud together.
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A Family of Poems
Caroline Kennedy · Ages 5-12
Poems chosen by the author for parents to read with children, with Jon J Muth paintings.
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Hailstones and Halibut Bones
Mary O'Neill · Ages 6-11
Poems about each color, a classic from 1961.
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Out of Wonder
Kwame Alexander, Chris Colderley and Marjory Wentworth · Ages 8-13
Poems that honor famous poets, with Ekua Holmes' collage art.
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Poetry for Young People: Robert Frost
Robert Frost · Ages 8-14
Selected Frost poems with notes and illustrations. Part of a series that includes Dickinson and Whitman.
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Hip Hop Speaks to Children
Nikki Giovanni · Ages 5-12
A collection of poems on rhythm, with a CD in the first edition.
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