Poetry is an imaginative awareness of experience expressed through meaning, sound, and rhythmic language choices so as to evoke an emotional response. Poetry has been known to employ meter and rhyme, but this is by no means necessary. Poetry is an ancient form that has gone through numerous and drastic reinvention over time. The very nature of poetry as an authentic and individual mode of expression makes it nearly impossible to define. (www.about.com)
Books for Kindergarten - Grade 2
Written by: Liz Garton Scanlon
Illustrated by: Marla Frazee
Publisher: Beach Lane Books, p2009.
ISBN13:978-1-41698-580-8
Non-fiction
Interest Level:K-3/Reading Level: 1.8
Description: This book follows a group of family members and friends through the course of a day as they learn the importance of all things great and small.
Written by: Jon Scieszka
Illustrators: David Shannon, Loren Long, David Gordon
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, p2009
ISBN-13: 978-1-41694-135-4
Non-Fiction
Interest Level: K-3/Reader Level: 2.5
Description: Collection of illustrated rhymes about the trucks that reside in Trucktown. This collection of lively truck-themed "Mother Goose" rhymes is filled with humor.
Comets, Stars, the Moon, and Mars: Space poems and paintings*
Written and Illustrated by: Douglas Florian
Publisher: Harcourt, p2007.
ISBN-13: 978-0-15-205372-7
Non-fiction
Interest Level: K-3/Reading Level:3.1
Description: A collection of twenty whimsical poems about comets, the stars, moon, and the planets. Includes bibliographical references.
A Fuzzy-Fast Blur Poems about Pets *
Written by: Laura Purdie Salas
Publisher: Capstone Press, p2009.
ISBN13:978-1-42961-704-8
Non-Fiction
Interest Level: K-3/Reading Level:4.1
Description: A collection of pet-themed poetry for children that includes full-color photographs of dogs, cats, birds, snakes, fish, hamsters, and others. Includes biographical references.
Written by: Deborah Ruddell
Illustrated by: Joan Rankin
Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books, p2009.
ISBN-13: 978-1-41694-211-5
Non-Fiction
Interest Level: K-3/Reading Level: 4.8
Description: An illustrated collection of whimsical poems about life in the forest through the seasons.
Books for Grade 3 - Grade 5
Written and Illstrated by: Jon Agee
Publisher: Disney/Hyperion Books, p2009.
ISBN13: 978-1-42310-315-8
Non-fiction
Interest Level: 3-6/Reading Level: 3.4
Description: A humorous collection of poems and tricky tongue twisters.
Selected by: Paul B. Janeczko
Illustrated by: Chris Raschka
Publisher: Candlewick Press, p2009.
ISBN13: 978-0-7636-0663-3
Non-Fiction
Interest Level: 3-6/Reading Level: 4.0
Description: Collects over three dozen illustrated rhyming poems, with tongue twisters and bilingual pieces, drawn from contemporary and classic literary sources and anonymous authors. Text mainly in English, with some Spanish and French.
Selected by: Lee Bennett Hopkins
Illustrated by: Stephen Alcorn
Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books, p2008.
ISBN13: 978-1-41691-832-5
Non-fiction
Interest Level: 3-6/Reading Level: 4.2
Description: A collection of more than fifty poems and paintings that reflect Americans' views on and response to warfare from the American Revolution through the Iraq War.
Written by: Sara Holbrook
Illustrations by: Karen Sandstrom
Publisher: Wordsong, p2010.
ISBN13:978-1-59078-820-2
Non-fiction
Interest Level:3-6/Reading Level: 4.7
Description:An illustrated collection of over forty poems by Sara Holbrook about familiar school experiences.
Written by: Jack Prelutsky
Illustrated by: Jimmy Pickering
Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf, p2009.
ISBN13:978-0-375-94674-5
Non-Fiction
Interest level: 3-6 /Reading Level: 5.0
Description: A collection of humorous poems for young readers about life beyond the solar system.
Selected by: Paul B. Janeczko
Illustrated by: Christopher Raschka
Publisher: Candlewick Press, p2005.
ISBN13: 978-0-7636-0662-6
Non-fiction
Interest Level: 3-6/Reading Level: 6.0
Description: An illustrated collection of poems which showcases twenty-nine different poetic forms, each with a brief definition.
Books for Grade 6 - Grade 9
Written by: Ntozake Shange
Illustrated by: Rod Brown
Publisher: Collins, p2009.
ISBN13:978-0-06-133735-2
Non-fiction
Interest Level: 5-8/Reading Level: 5.1
Description: A collection of illustrated poetry from African-American playwright and poet Ntozake Shange, in which she explores racism and racial discrimination in the United States.
Written by: Bob Raczka
Illustrated by: Nancy Doniger
Publisher:Roaring Brook Press, p2011.
ISBN13: 978-1-59643-541-4
Non-fiction
Interest Level: 3-6/Reading Level: 6.1
Description: A collection of poems based on a child's day-to-day experiences that includes a puzzle at the end of each poem.
The Fastest Game on Two Feet and other poems about how Sports began*
Illustrated by: John O'Brien
Publisher: Holiday House, p2009.
ISBN13: 978-0-8234-1905-0
Non-fiction
Interest Level: 3-6/Reading Level: 6.5
Description: A collection of twenty illustrated poems for children on the origins of various sports.
Twelve Rounds to Glory: The Story of Muhamed Ali
Illustrated by: Bryan Collier
Publisher:Candlewick Press, p2007.
ISBN13: 978-0-7636-1692-2
Non-fiction/biography
Interest Level:5-8/Reading Level: 7.1
Description: Rap-inspired verse and illustrations describe the life of Muhammed Ali, discussing his bouts, struggles with societal prejudice, Islamic faith, Olympic glory, and more.
The Firefly Letters: A Suffragette's Journey to Cuba*
Publisher: Henry Holt, p2010.
ISBN13: 978-0-8050-9082-6
Non-fiction
Interest Level: 6-8
Lexile Level: 1230
Description: Collection of poems from Cuban-American poet Margarita Engle in which she explores women rights with various historical viewpoints. Includes biographical references.
