Poetry

Amber was brave, Essie was smart : the story of Amber and Essie told here in poems and pictures, by Vera B. Williams Greenwillow, 2001 A series of poems tells how two sisters help each other deal with life while their mother is working and their father has been sent to jail. Reading Level: 5.4 Accelerated Reader: 4.2
Ashley Bryan's ABC of African American Poetry, Ashley Bryan Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 1997 "A Jean Karl book." A poem for each letter of the alphabet describes an aspect of the African-American experience. Reading Level: 2.5
Dirty Laundry Pile: Poems in Different Voices, selected by Paul B. Janeczko. HarperCollins, 2001 A scarecrow, washing machine, cow and other objects and animals express themselves in this collection of poems. Reading Level 3.3
Dragons are singing tonight by Prelutsky, Jack. A collection of poems about dragons, including "I'm an Amiable Dragon," "If You Don't Believe in Dragons," and "A Dragon is in My Computer." Reading Level: 5.3 Accelerated Reader: 5.8
Earthshake : poems from the ground up, by Lisa Westberg Peters Greenwillow Books, 2003. Presents twenty-two poems about geology. End notes provide information about the earth's surface and interior, types of rocks, and how volcanoes, glaciers, and erosion modify the landscape. Reading Level: 3.2; Accelerated Reader: 3.7
If Not for the Cat, by Jack Prelutsky Greenwillow, 2004 Presents an illustrated collection of haiku-style poems about different animals. Reading Level: 3.3
In Daddy's Arms I am Tall: African Americans Celebrating Fathers, edited and illustrated by Javaka Steptoe Lee & Low Books, 1997 A collection of poems celebrating African-American fathers by Angela Johnson, E. Ethelbert Miller, Carole Boston Weatherford, and others.
Jazmin's Notebook, by Nikki Grimes Dial Books, 1998 Jazmin, an African-American teenager who lives with her older sister in a small Harlem apartment in the 1960's finds strength in writing poetry and keeping a record of the events in her sometimes difficult life. Accelerated Reader: 5.8
Locomotion, by Jacqueline Woodson Putnam's, 2003 Inspired by his teacher, eleven-year-old Lonnie begins to write about his life in a series of poems in which he discusses his feelings about his friends, his foster mom, his little sister Lili, and the death of his parents. Reading Level: 6.8; Accelerated Reader: 4.7
Love that dog, by Sharon Creech Joanna Cotler Books, 2001 A young student, who comes to love poetry through a personal understanding of what different famous poems mean to him, surprises himself by writing his own inspired poem. Reading Level: 4.1; Accelerated Reader: 4.5
Love to Langston, by Tony Medina Lee & Low Books, 2002 A series of poems written from the point of view of the poet Langston Hughes, offering an overview of key events and themes in his life. Reading Level: 3.7;
Mississippi, by Diane Siebert HarperCollins, 2001 Maps on endpapers. A poem about the history of the Mississippi River, from its glacial beginnings to the present time of ships and riverboats. Reading Level: 5.1; Accelerated Reader: 5.1
Peacock and Other Poems, by Valerie Worth Farrar, Strauss and Giroux, 2002 A collection of poems by Valerie Worth. Reading Level: 3.6
Poke in the I: a collection of concrete poems Candlewick, 2001 Thirty poems which have their text arranged to startle the reader.
Kick in the Head: an everyday guide to poetic forms Candlewick, 2005 Presents an illustrated collection of poems which showcases 29 different poetic forms, each with a brief definition.
Rumpus of rhymes : a book of noisy poems, A, by Bobbi Katz Dutton Children's Books, 2001 Presents nearly thirty color-illustrated poems featuring a variety of sounds, from burps and hiccups to the clatter of buses and breakfasts. Reading Level: 4.5 "Onomotopoea has never been this much fun" (Kirkus)
Scranimals: Poems, by Jack Prelutsky Greenwillow, 2002 An illustrated collection of poems about the mysterious creatures--jumbles of birds, beasts, vegetables, and flowers--that populate Scranimal Island. Reading Level: 4.3; Accelerated Reader: 5.9
Science Verse, by Jon Scieszka Viking, 2004 Presents a story about a teacher who tells his class that they can hear the poetry of science in everything and a student is struck with a curse where he hears nothing but science verses that sound very much like some well-known poems. Reading Level: 3.7
Sing a Song of Popcorn: Every Child's Book of Poems, selected by Beatrice Schenk de Regniers ... Scholastic Inc, 1988 A collection of 115 poems by a variety of well-known authors with illustrations by nine Caldecott medalists. Reading Level: 5.3
Sweet Corn: Poems, by James Stevenson Beech Tree, 1995 A collection of short poems with titles such as "Screen Door," "Bike Rental," and "Photo Album." Reading Level: 4.5;
Swing around the sun: poems, by Barbara Juster Esbensen Carolrhoda Books, 2003 A collection of poems that celebrates the seasons, with illustrations for each season by a different Minnesota artist. Reading Level: 4.4
Truth & Lies, edited by Patrice Vecchione. Henry Holt, 2001 A collection of poems which reveals the many shades of being true and telling lies. Accelerated Reader: 5.9
Visiting Langston, by Willie Perdomo Henry Holt, 2002 A poem to celebrate the African American, Langston Hughes, born February 1, 1902. Reading Level:2.6; Accelerated Reader: 1.6
Wake Up House! : Rooms Full of Poems, by Dee Lillegard Knopf, 2000 Presents thirty-four poems which personify household objects from the bedroom window that greets the sun's morning rays to the night light that watches over sleeping dreamers Wake up house! : rooms full of poems. Reading Level: 2.0