April 13, 2020
National Poetry Month

Do you read poetry?
In recognition of National Poetry Month, I’m pleased to highlight fiction and nonfiction selections written in free verse. What I love about poetry is the figurative language, sparse words to convey the most beautiful reflections, and exquisite and unique turns of phrases. I need to expand my reading experiences with poetry, and I would love to hear about your favorite poets and poetry collections in the comments, please!
Here are seven of my favorite MG and YA free verse titles:
*Titles are Amazon affiliate links.
Paper Hearts by Meg Wiviott
WW11 story of survival and friendship. My review here. (5 Stars)
Inside Out and Back Again by Thanhha Lai
Vietnamese refugee story; Goodreads review here. (5 Stars)
Out of the Dust by Karen Hesse
A story of a young girl’s experience surviving the Oklahoma Dust Bowl; Goodreads review here. (5 Stars)
Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson
A memoir of childhood; My review here. (5 Stars)
For Everyone by Jason Reynolds
Encouraging words for courageous dreamers (not yet reviewed); a perfect small gift for spring graduates. (4 Stars)
Love That Dog by Sharon Creech
A boy discovers he can write poetry when he writes about his beloved dog. Not reviewed. (5 Stars)
Finding Wonders by Jeannine Atkins
A fictionalized biography of three women who changed science; Goodreads review here. (4 Stars)
QOTD:
What poetry do you love? Do you have a favorite poet?
Please share the title of your favorite poetry collection with me in the comments.
Do you have a recommendation for another fiction or nonfiction selection in verse?
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You’d think I’d read more poetry seeing as I started out writing poetry, but I don’t… Oh well…
That’s why I love novels in free verse….I forget I’m even reading poetry!
I find poetry daunting, probably because I had to study some and was never happy with what the teachers did with the texts!
That’s why I love novels in free verse! Nothing daunting about it! Try one!
Will do!
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I do not read a lot of poetry, but a couple of these free verse books look interesting. Specifically Brown Girl Dreaming and Inside Out and Back Again.
Oh yes! Two of my favorites! Enjoy! Then…come back for more! 😍📚
Okay, our library is open for pick ups now, so I will see if they have either of them.
[…] Have you ever read a story in free verse?This post has additional recommendations for free verse titles. […]