Poetry at Play

April 2015

Did you know that there are over 50 different poetry forms?  From Acrostic (a form for hidden messages) to Villanelle (Five tercets followed by a quatrain) poetry is an infinitely flexible art form that uses not only the written word, but sound and visual layout to share images, feelings, or action. It’s easy to be intimidated by the very formal and strict classical forms or the abstract modern poems. But like a stranger becoming a friend once you start reading poetry and get to know a poem, they can touch you emotionally and stay with you for years. 

In April, we celebrate National Poetry Month and I hope this list of children’s poetry and novels in verse will inspire you to celebrate poetry with the young readers (or readers-to-be) in your life. Helping children become familiar and comfortable with poetry at a young age can inspire creativity, open their minds to different ways of looking at things, or at the very least prevent that feeling of intimidation when they get to that high school English class.

Poetry Collections

Different Styles of Poetry - New & Old

Novels in Verse

Latricia Batchelor Markle

Children's Librarian, Tenafly Public Library