List

Two poets, one white and one black, explore race and childhood in this must-have collection tailored to provoke thought and conversation.

How can Irene and Charles work together on their fifth grade poetry project? They don't know each other . . . and they're not sure they want to.

Irene Latham, who is white, and Charles Waters, who is Black, use this fictional setup to delve into different experiences of race in a relatable way, exploring such topics as hair, hobbies, and family dinners. Accompanied by artwork from acclaimed illustrators Sean Qualls and Selina Alko (of The Case for Loving: The Fight for Interracial Marriage), this remarkable collaboration invites readers of all ages to join the dialogue by putting their own words to their experiences.

Playful poems and facts celebrate the colors of the rainbow in this beautiful nonfiction picture book.

Orange you sweet? Orange you plump and juicy? Orange you my favorite fruit?
Hey - you’re a tangerine!
B-lime-y.

With information about the science of sight and perception, pigment origins in art and textiles, colloquial expressions and word associations, there's so much to see in each vivid spread—a wonderfully sensory read.

- GODWIN BOOKS -

Hang on tight for a raucous bounce through the solar system and back — propelled by funny, fanciful, factually sound poems and exuberant illustrations.

The universe poured into me.
My brain was overloaded.
It smoked and glowed red-hot.
And then
it actually exploded.

Ever wonder what the sun has to say about being the closest star to Earth? Or what Pluto has gotten up to since being demoted to a dwarf planet? Or where rocket ships go when they retire? Listen closely, because maybe, just maybe, your head will explode, too. With poetry that is equal parts accurate and entertaining — and illustrations that are positively out of this world — this book will enthrall amateur stargazers and budding astrophysicists as it reveals many of the wonders our universe holds. Space travelers in search of more information will find notes about the poems, a glossary, and a list of resources at the end.

Learn more about the variety of fascinating ways animals sleep: from upside down and holding hands, to sleeping while swimming or flying!
Did you know otters sleep while holding hands; zebra finches rehearse their songs while dreaming; ducks and dolphins sleep with one half of their brains at a time; and, frigate birds sleep while flying? A Songbird Dreams of Singing: Poems about Sleeping Animals is a book of poetry with a scientific-and child-friendly-underpinning. With a poem for every animal, followed by a paragraph explaining the fascinating science behind how that animal sleeps, this artfully compiled book captures the wonder of our ecosystem. Designed with the look of a classic storybook/collection, with special effects on the cover, the book makes the perfect gift for young children!

Unearth the glorious mysteries that lie beneath our feet with 15 fun and fact-filled poems about soil--what it is, how it's made, and who lives in it!

A New York Public Library Best Book of the Year
Named to the Texas Bluebonnet Master List

Spectacular vertical panoramas illustrating life underground accompany 15 funny, fascinating poems that explore dirt and the many creatures that make their homes underground. Spiders, earthworms, ants, chipmunks and more crawl across the pages, between stretching roots and buried stones.

Chipmunk, for such a little squirt
you sure do move a lot of dirt,
you sure do dig your tunnels deep,
you sure do find some nuts to keep,
you sure do know your underground.
Chipmunk, you sure do get around.

This unique celebration of dirt-- what makes it, what lives in it, and the many wonderful things the soil does to support life on our planet-- is a whimsical, cleverly-illustrated pick for kids who love animals... or who just love playing in the mud.

From the creators of And the Bullfrogs Sing, a Bank Street Best Book of the Year, this intriguing, uniquely charming nature book has been vetted by experts and includes an author's note with more information about all the featured creatures, as well as a bibliography.

An NSTA Outstanding Science Trade Book for Students
An NCTE Notable Poetry Book

Fans of No Voice Too Small will be inspired by young climate activists who made an impact around climate change in their communities, countries, and beyond.

Climate change impacts everyone, but the future belongs to young people. No World Too Big celebrates twelve young activists and three activist groups on front lines of the climate crisis who have planted trees in Uganda, protected water in Canada, reduced school-bus climate footprint in Indonesia, invented alternate power sources in Ohio, and more. Fourteen poems by Vanessa Brantley-Newton, David Bowles, Rajani LaRocca, Renée LaTulippe, Heidi E. Y. Stemple, and others honor activists from all over the world and the United States. Additional text goes into detail about each activist's life and how readers can get involved.

Join this class for a wild, wonderful day at school as they cavort with their giant supplies. From the wide-awake morning school bus to the toothy paper clips to the homework that rustles and whispers for attention, each supply possesses its own quirky personality. Together with the chilcren, they merrily dance, fly and laugh their way through an unforgettable day of classroom adventures. Full color.

When words in verse are paired with the awesomeness of nature, something magical happens! Beloved former U.S. Poet Laureate J. Patrick Lewis curates an exuberant poetic celebration of the natural world in this stellar collection of nature poems. From trickling streams to deafening thrunderstorms to soaring mountains, discover majestic photography perfectly paired with contemporary (such as Billy Collins), classics (such as Robert Frost), and never-before-published works.

She's all that and so much more! All kinds of girls -- tomboys and divas, workers and dreamers, sisters and soul mates -- appear in this collection. Eighty poems from writers such as Maya Angelou, Aileen Fisher, Eloise Greenfield, Jack Prelutsky, and Janet S. Wong tackle the themes that really matter to girls, from family and best friends to boys, body image, having fun, and dreaming about the future. Lively illustrations by Susan Hellard dance across the pages, complementing the diverse poetic moods and styles.

Hard-Boiled Bugs for Breakfast is guaranteed to make readers laugh, imagine, write, and dream.

A collection from the celebrated inaugural Young People's Poet Laureate and bestselling poet Jack Prelutsky, featuring more than one hundred original poems!

From a lizard playing a mandolin (although not very well) to the surprised guest of honor (at a birthday party he threw for himself), there's something for everyone in Jack Prelutsky's Hard-Boiled Bugs for Breakfast. Illustrator Ruth Chan's lively and hilarious black-and-white art jumps off the page and illuminates a wide array of poetic forms, from haiku to concrete poems and everything in between.

This collection is full of the wit, humor, and imagination that has made Jack Prelutsky a household name and one of the most beloved poets for children. His poetry books for kids include such favorites as A Pizza the Size of the Sun and The New Kid on the Block.

My name is Sadie
and I live in Harlem
with my mother
and my little sister, Julie.
Sadie likes living in her grandmother’s brownstone, where she has her own bedroom and a backyard to play in. She’s full of thoughts and has lots to say about her family and friends, her home, her hair, and her laughing feet that can’t keep still. And when she grows up she plans on being a poet.
This collection of sixteen exuberant poems in the voice of a young Dominican American girl and energetic, bright paintings celebrates Sadie’s family and the city around her.

My Feet Are Laughing is a 2007 Bank Street - Best Children's Book of the Year.

A remarkable celebration of Richard Wright, poetry, and contemporary black boys at play.
From walking a dog to watching a sunset to finding a beetle, Richard Wright's haiku puts everyday moments into focus. Now, more than fifty years after they were written, these poems continue to reflect our everyday experiences. Paired with the photo-collage artwork of Nina Crews, Seeing into Tomorrow celebrates the lives of contemporary African American boys and offers an accessible introduction to one of the most important African American writers of the twentieth century.

Come down to the shore with this rich and vivid celebration of the ocean! With watercolors gorgeous enough to wade in by award-winning artist Meilo So and playful, moving poems by Kate Coombs, Water Sings Blue evokes the beauty and power, the depth and mystery, and the endless resonance of the sea.

In a watery mirror
the rugged raccoon
admires his face
by the light of the moon:
the mysterious mask,
the whiskers beneath,
the sliver of cricket
still stuck in his teeth.

Take a lighthearted romp through four seasons in the forest with these whimsical poems. Marvel at the overachieving beaver, applaud the race-winning snail and its perfect trail of slime, or head off to be pampered at a squirrel spa.

Warning: Deborah Ruddell's quirky cast of animal characters and Joan Rankin's deliciously daffy pictures will cause giggles. The woods have never been so much fun!

Collection of stories told in verse. The most exciting and enjoyable stories ever told in verse, illustrated throughout in full color and beautifully presented. Sumptuously illustrated by four different artists, each selection begins with a quote from one of today's favorite authors-including J.K. Rowling, Avi, David Almond, Philip Pullman, Cornelia Funke, and so many others who were each eager to share their own personal enthusiasm for these special stories. From the subversive wit of Roald Dahl's wicked retelling of Goldilocks to the magical wordplay of Lewis Carroll's Jabberwocky, Once Upon a Poem is both broad in scope and delightful in tone. Read along to the exhilarating rhythm of Longfellow's Paul Revere's Ride, Tony Mitton's rip-roaring rap version of Prince Theseus, Clement Moore's A Visit From St. Nicholas, and many, many more. With a foreword by award-winning author Kevin Crossley-Holland, this stunning collection offers fifteen of the most exciting and enjoyable stories ever told in verse. The perfect gift for any child enchanted by storytelling.

Exhilarating, all-new, kid-friendly rhymes capture the range of emotions, from winning to losing to the sheer joy of participating, that children experience as they discover the games of their choice. Jack Prelutsky, a virtuoso at making poetry fun for the elementary school crowd, includes in this inspired collection poems about baseball, soccer, football, skating, swimming, gymnastics, basketball, karate, and more. His signature lighthearted humor in verse that trips off the tongue is coupled here with the 2006 Caldecott Medal winner Chris Raschka's lickety-split, stylized (and stylish) watercolors. Every page is a blaze of color and motion. Whether Good Sports will create good sports remains to be seen, but it will prove to young boys (and girls) that reading poetry can be fun.

A poetic book highlighting everyday nature

The perfect blend of science and poetry, Hidden City demonstrates that nature can thrive anywhere, even in highly populated areas. In this graceful collection of poems, skyscrapers serve as perches for falcons, streetlights attract an insect buffet for hungry bats, and an overgrown urban lot offers shelter to both flora and fauna. Hidden City also includes engageing supplementary materials, which provide scientific information about the animals and plants featured in the book.

Coupled with beautiful collage illustrations, the poems in Hidden City offer readers the perfect reminder to notice and care about their environment.

Clever poems tell the story of one inquisitive child's quest to start just the right collection to share at school.

While everyone else is excited about presenting their treasures, one creative elementary schooler is stressed about her class's show-and-tell assignment. How is she supposed to share her collection if she doesn't collect anything? Polling her parents, visiting with Granny and Grandpa, and searching for the secret behind her siblings' obsession with baseball cards, she discovers she does, in fact, have something to share: a collection of stories and poems!

Clever poems tell the story of one inquisitive child's quest to start just the right collection to share at school.

While everyone else is excited about presenting their treasures, one creative elementary schooler is stressed about her class's show-and-tell assignment. How is she supposed to share her collection if she doesn't collect anything? Polling her parents, visiting with Granny and Grandpa, and searching for the secret behind her siblings' obsession with baseball cards, she discovers she does, in fact, have something to share: a collection of stories and poems!

Renowned author Daniel Pinkwater and best-selling poet and artist Calef Brown team up to champion the ridiculous! These endlessly fascinating and imaginative poems are as fresh and delightful today as they were when Edward Lear wrote them more than a hundred years ago—from "The Owl and the Pussycat" to "The Pobble Who Has No Toes." This charming book proves that, sometimes, there's nothing children need more than a healthy dose of nonsense!

Let's count the raindrops as they pour: one million, two million, three million, four. Alan Benjamin Brimming with fun-to-read, easy-on-the-ears poems, Let's Count the Raindrops is just right for very young listeners. The poems range from silly to evocative, but all have one thing in common-kid appeal! Fumi Kosaka's whimsical illustrations capture the wonder and excitement weather can bring to a small child's world.

Caldecott Honor Book
Today Show Best Book for the Holidays
ALA Notable Book for All Ages
ALSC Notable Children's Book
NCTE Notable Poetry Book
Evanston Public Library's Top 100 Great Book for Kids
Nerdy Award Winner for Single Poem Picture Book
Bank Street Best Books of the Year


In this powerful, affirming poem by award-winning author Zetta Elliott, a Black child explores his shifting emotions throughout the year.

There is a place inside of me
a space deep down inside of me
where all my feelings hide.

Summertime is filled with joy—skateboarding and playing basketball—until his community is deeply wounded by a police shooting. As fall turns to winter and then spring, fear grows into anger, then pride and peace.

In her stunning debut, illustrator Noa Denmon articulates the depth and nuances of a child’s experiences following a police shooting—through grief and protests, healing and community—with washes of color as vibrant as his words.

Here is a groundbreaking narrative that can help all readers—children and adults alike—talk about the feelings hiding deep inside each of us.

In a basketball game, the mind flows. Later, memory serves up moments -- short takes. Here are twelve poems delivered in short, quick lines that press and twist and streak their way downcourt toward their goal with practiced, impressive dexterity. The feeling is of the inner eye and ear, alert and awake, storing up memories. Competition is everywhere. Voices taunt, swagger, defend. Bodies dare and challenge. And yet, amid the heart-pounding action, the athletic stop-starts, come moments of quiet, even odd reflection -- the sound of sneakers on a wood floor, for instance.

Small photographs capture suspended moments and pattern their way across colorful backgrounds in accompaniment to the energetic images of the poetry. Once again drawing on the rhythms of jazz and hip-hop, Charles Smith offers a fitting companion to his previous two books about The Game: Rimshots, an ALA Notable Book, and the highly praised Tall Tales.

From the beloved and internationally bestselling author of Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day, Judith Viorst comes a brand-new collection of clever, hilarious, and poignant poems that touch on every aspect of the roller-coaster ride that is childhood.

Did you wake up this morning all smiley inside?
Does life taste like ice cream and cake?
Or does it seem more like your goldfish just died
And your insides are one great big ache?

From school to family to friends, from Grrrr to Hooray!, Judith Viorst takes us on a tour of feelings of all kinds in this thoughtful, funny, and charming collection of poetry that’s perfect for young readers just learning to sort out their own emotions.

This celebratory book collects in one volume award-winning and beloved poet Naomi Shihab Nye's most popular and accessible poems.

Featuring new, never-before-published poems; an introduction by bestselling poet and author Edward Hirsch, as well as a foreword and writing tips by the poet; and stunning artwork by bestselling artist Rafael López, Everything Comes Next is essential for poetry readers, classroom teachers, and library collections.

Everything Comes Next is a treasure chest of Naomi Shihab Nye's most beloved poems, and features favorites such as "Famous" and "A Valentine for Ernest Mann," as well as widely shared pieces such as "Kindness" and "Gate A-4." The book is an introduction to the poet's work for new readers, as well as a comprehensive edition for classroom and family sharing. Writing prompts and tips by the award-winning poet make this an outstanding choice for aspiring poets of all ages.

Bilingual English/Spanish. Young Jorgito has come to live in the Mission District of San Francisco, but he hasn't forgotten the unique beauty of El Salvador.

Young Jorgito has come to live in the Mission District of San Francisco, but he hasn't forgotten the unique beauty of El Salvador.

In his first collection of poems for children, poet Jorge Argueta evokes the wonder of his childhood in rural El Salvador, a touching relationship with a caring father, and his confusion and delight in his new urban home. We glimpse the richness of Jorgito's inner world and dreams-the movie in his pillow.

Artist Elizabeth Gómez perfectly captures the indigenous beauty of El Salvador, the sadness of the war, and the joy of family reunion in San Francisco. Her paintings, with their brilliant colors and striking details, fill every page with authenticity and charm.