Recommended Poetry Books for Kids

Updated August 5, 2020 | Infoplease Staff

Odes and ditties for children (adults too!)

I'm the Dragon of Grindly Grun, I breathe fire as hot as the sun. When a knight comes to fight I just toast him on sight, Like a hot crispy cinnamon bun. —from "The Dragon of Grindly Grun" by Shel Silverstein

• The Adventures of Isabel by Ogden Nash
• A Book of Nonsense by Edward Lear
• Brats by X. J. Kennedy
• The Dream Keeper and Other Poems by Langston Hughes
• Insectlopedia by Douglas Florian
• Joyful Noise by Paul Fleischman
• Love That Dog by Sharon Creech
• My Life, My Love, My Lasagne by Steven Herrick
• Neighborhood Odes by Gary Soto
• The Paper Doorway by Dean Koontz
• Polkabats and Octopus Slacks by Calef Brown
• Roald Dahl's Revolting Rhymes by Roald Dahl
• Something Big Has Been Here by Jack Prelutsky
• Street Rhymes Around the World by Jane Yolen
• Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein