15+ Books Told in Verse for All Ages

This endearing book contains a Thai lullaby which asks animals such as a lizard, monkey, and water buffalo to be quiet and not disturb the sleeping baby.

Listen to the swaying grass,and listen to the trees.

To me, the sweetest music,is the branches in the breeze.

The familiar song gets a new twist in these silly energetic books.

Willbee the bumblebee is so embarrassed when he realizes that his black-and-yellow jacket has caught on a rose thorn and completely unraveled, showing his bare bum! With help from Monica the butterfly and Steve the spider, Willbee recovers his jacket and is back to buzzing around the garden in no time.

Bill Withers's "Lovely Day" is famous for bringing listeners joy. This beautiful picture book adapted from the song's timeless lyrics follows the story of a brother and sister who always find a way to make each other smile, no matter the challenges the day may bring.

Tami Charles shares the beauty and excellence in the history of the Black community, assuring Black and brown children of the extraordinary legacy from which they come. Charles's powerful and empowering text is accompanied with illustrations by renowned artist Bryan Collier, a four-time Caldecott Honor recipient and a nine-time Coretta Scott King Award winner or honoree. 

A lone trombone playing solo is joined by a trumpet in a duet until a French horn makes it a trio, and so on, as ten instruments, one by one, gather together for a joyous musical performance.

Chris Raschka's Caldecott Honor classic is a simple yet dramatic story about friendship.

Father and son celebrate a rich and vibrant neighborhood that has been a historic center of African-American culture in New York City. Walter Dean Myers gives poetry a jazz backbeat to tell Harlem's story.

In this reflective poetic tribute, the author remembers growing up when many of the great figures in African American history gathered in her family home to talk and share ideas and even sing.

Juan Quezada, one of Mexico's most famous potters, used his creative gifts to transform his impoverished village of laborers into a thriving artists community. Children will learn about his life and work through glowing artwork and poetic language.

In a dazzling array of poetry, each customer tells of a favorite form of Latin dance or music-from salsa to tango to the cha-cha-cha. 

Serafina has a secret dream. She wants to go to school and become a doctor with her best friend, Julie Marie. But in their rural village outside Port-au-Prince, Haiti, many obstacles stand in Serafina's way—little money, never-ending chores, and Manman's worries.

Celi Rivera's life swirls with questions. About her changing body. Her first attraction to a boy. And her best friend's exploration of what it means to be genderfluid.

Combining elements of magical realism with biography, poetry, and literary fiction, Pam Muñoz Ryan weaves sound poems and thought-provoking questions into her exquisitely crafted prose to create a narrative tapestry of color, rhythm, and emotion, while Peter Sis's delicate, mesmerizing drawings transport readers to the lushness of the rainforest, the vastness of the sea, and the whimsy of Neftali's imagination.

Jacqueline Woodson, one of today's finest writers, tells the moving story of her childhood in mesmerizing verse. Touching and powerful, each poem is both accessible and emotionally charged, each line a glimpse into a child's soul as she searches for her place in the world.

Kek comes from Africa. In America, he sees the snow for the first time, and feels its sting. He's never walked on ice, and he falls. He wonders if the people in this new place will be like the winter—cold and unkind.

Josh and his twin brother Jordan are awesome on the court. But Josh has more than basketball in his blood. He's got mad beats too, beats that tell his family's story in verse.