I fell head over heels in love with verse novels a few years ago after reading Elizabeth Acevedo’s YA novel in verse, The Poet X. Since then, I’ve been introduced to more poetry novels. Similar to my list of the best short story collections for children, this post covers fifteen of the best novels in verse for kids. In many of these novels in verse explore themes you’d expect in verse novels for middle school readers: fitting in, diversity, making friends, moving to new towns and schools, and getting along with family, to name a few. Middle grade novels in verse are also great ways to connect reluctant readers to a new format. Whether in rhyme or not, the poetic narrators on this list of children’s fiction in verse have captivating voices and engrossing stories to tell.
All of Me by Chris Baron
This story follows Ari, a seventh grader who has recently moved across the country with his family. Ari struggles to make new friends—and struggles to love and accept himself; Ari’s always battled with body issues, but it becomes impossible to ignore when his mother gives him a book on diets. Can Ari accept and love who he is? All of Me is a poignant novel in verse debut from Chris Baron.
How to read it: Purchase All of Me on Amazon and add it on Goodreads
Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson
In Brown Girl Dreaming, acclaimed author Jacqueline Woodson (Harbor Me), tells the story of her childhood growing up Black in the 1960s and 1970s at the dawn of the Civil Rights Movement. Featuring Woodson’s lyrical poems and storytelling skills, Brown Girl Dreaming is a deeply personal journey that also feels fresh and relevant to young readers. This memoir in verse won the National Book Award for Young People’s Literature in 2014 and was also a Newbery Medal Nominee in 2015.
How to read it: Purchase Brown Girl Dreaming on Amazon and add it on Goodreads
Catching a Storyfish by Janice N. Harrington
A Kirkus Reviews best book of the year, Catching a Story Fish belongs on any TBR list for middle grade novels in verse. This powerful story is a tribute to storytelling as Keet moves from the south to be closer to her grandfather. Both share a love of telling stories as Keet gradually opens up and makes friends. When her grandfather has a stroke, Keet has to step up and tell the stories herself.
How to read it: Purchase Catching a Story Fish on Amazon and add it on Goodreads
The Crossover by Kwame Alexander
One of my personal favorite novels in verse is the Newbery Medal Award winner The Crossover by Kwame Alexander, an author who has done more than maybe any other contemporary children’s writer to popularize middle grade novels in verse. In The Crossover, twelve-year-old Josh Bell dreams of basketball glory along with his twin brother and navigates life at school and at home. Alexander is a notable poet who takes full advantage of wordplay and formatting to make his writing pop, which is especially engaging for young readers.
How to read it: Purchase The Crossover on Amazon and add it on Goodreads
By the way, you might also want to check out the graphic novel adaptation of the book on Amazon and Goodreads:
I haven’t read it yet, but I can only imagine it’s great!
Emmy in the Key of Code by Aimee Lucido
Looking for a great friendship story? Try Emmy in the Key of Code. This STEM friendly book is about two coding students who bond over music. Lucido’s novel deals with themes like communication and notably blends the language of song to the language of code as Emmy struggles to fit into her new school.
How to read it: Purchase Emmy in the Key of Code on Amazon and add it on Goodreads
Forget Me Not by Ellie Terry
Poetry becomes the perfect medium for the heroine of Ellie Terry’s Forget Me Not. Calliope June has her heart set on space as a budding astronomer. But moving to a new school means Calliope feels she has to hide her Tourette’s syndrome, which unfortunately backfires. Over the course of this novel in verse, Calliope tries to balance staying true to herself and conforming to her peers.
How to read it: Purchase Forget Me Not on Amazon and add it on Goodreads
Full Cicada Moon by Marilyn Hilton
For anyone who has ever felt like an outsider, Marilyn Hilton’s Full Cicada Moon is a perfect fit. Set in 1969, Full Cicada Moon follows half-Black, half-Japanese Mimi as she and her family move to a predominately white Vermont town. Mimi struggles to fit in but also turns her eyes to the sky, hoping to be an astronaut one day. This lyrical historical fiction novel is told in poems that Mimi writes over the course of a year.
How to read it: Purchase Full Cicada Moon on Amazon and add it on Goodreads
Garvey’s Choice by Nikki Grimes
From master poet Nikki Grimes comes a heartfelt novel about being true to yourself. Garvey’s father hoped for an athletic son, something he continually reminds Garvey about. But Garvey isn’t interested in sports: he’s interested in science. Garvey’s Choice depicts the tension between Garvey and his dad alongside the bullying that overweight Garvey faces at school. Garvey is definitely a character you root for in this Kirkus and School Library Journal Best Book of the Year.
How to read it: Purchase Garvey’s Choice on Amazon and add it on Goodreads
Home of the Brave by Katherine Applegate
Katherine Applegate is well known for The One and Only Ivan, but she’s also a talented poet as this novel in verse shows. In Home of the Brave, Applegate tells the story of Kek, a refugee immigrant from Africa who lands in the snowy rural Midwest. Readers will quickly fall for Kek, a complex and endearing character trying to make it in a new world.
How to read it: Purchase Home of the Brave on Amazon and add it on Goodreads
House Arrest by K.A. Holt
K.A. Holt’s House Arrest is a rollercoaster ride of a middle grade novel in verse. After committing a crime, twelve-year-old Timothy is sentenced to one year of house arrest. He can only go to school and to appointments with his therapist and meetings with his probation officer. Worse, he has to write a journal about the experience. House Arrest is a funny novel that hits you with the feels.
How to read it: Purchase House Arrest on Amazon and add it on Goodreads
Inside Out and Back Again by Thanhha Lai
One of the best known middle grade novels in verse is Thanhha Lai’s National Book Award-winning Inside Out and Back Again. Based heavily on the author’s life, Inside Out and Back Again tells the story of Hà, whose Vietnamese family leaves home and comes to America as war refugees. Hà is a force to be reckoned with: super smart and brave as she adapts to a new country and culture.
How to read it: Purchase Inside Out and Back Again on Amazon and add it on Goodreads
The Last Fifth Grade of Emerson Elementary by Laura Shovan
As Emerson Elementary comes under threat of closing, the eighteen fifth grade students chronicle the year in poems. Laura Shovan’s debut, The Last Fifth Grade of Emerson Elementary shows off her creativity as each student has a different voice and style and Shovan experiments with poetic forms. This novel in verse is as whimsical as it is original.
How to read it: Purchase The Last Fifth Grade of Emerson Elementary on Amazon and add it on Goodreads.
Love That Dog by Sharon Creech
Sharon Creech is one of my favorite children’s writers. A prolific writer, Creech is well known for Love That Dog in particular. This middle grade novel in verse is perfect for reluctant readers. Our hero, Jack, loathes poetry, seeing it as a girly thing and something he has not talent for. But Jack’s teacher, Miss Stretchberry, keeps giving the class poetry assignments. Eventually, Jack finds he has talent as the exercises give him the voice he never knew he had.
How to read it: Purchase Love That Dog on Amazon and add it on Goodreads
Other Words for Home by Jasmine Warga
Jasmine Warga’s Newbery Honor Book Other Words for Home is told in the lyrical verse of Jude, a Syrian refugee who flees home and moves to Cincinnati with her mother to live with relatives. Jude struggles with fitting in and letting go of what she left behind. As readers see, Jude’s feels urgent, timely, and emotional.
How to read it: Purchase Other Words for Home on Amazon and add it on Goodreads
Root Beer Candy and Other Miracles by Shari Green
Our final book in this roundup of the best middle grade verse novels for kids is Shari Green’s Root Beer Candy and Other Miracles. Shari Green’s humorous novel follows eleven-year-old Bailey, who believes miracles can happen. And if there’s one miracle she wants to see come true, it’s getting her parents back from the brink of separation. Staying the summer at her grandmother in a coastal beach town, Bailey gets swept up in the magic of the ocean and boardwalk and her quest to save her parents’s marriage
