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.
Big, Bad, and a Little Bit Scary by 
Edgar Allan Poe's Pie by 
It's Raining Pigs and Noodles by 
A Light in the Attic by 
Love to Mama by 
Read-Aloud Rhymes for the Very Young by 
Switching on the Moon by 
Hi, Koo! by 
Lemonade by 
Ode to a Commode by 
Orangutan Tongs by 
Paul Revere's Ride by 
Rebus Riot by 
The Song of Hiawatha by 
Brains for Lunch by 
Gone Fishing by 
Locomotion by 
May B. by 
Rhyme Schemer by 
Serafina's Promise by 
T4 by Latricia Batchelor Markle
Children's Librarian, Tenafly Public Library