NCTE's 2025 Notable Poetry And Verse Novels

April is National Poetry Month. The NCTE 2025 Notable Poetry and Verse Novels for readers ages 3–13 offer options to celebrate poetry all year round. These titles, all published in 2024, emphasize inclusiveness and diversity, showcasing a wide range of experiences and perspectives.

Poetry

I Heard: An American Journey by Jaha Nailah Avery. illus. by Steffi Walthall. Charlesbridge. ISBN 9781623543822.

Jam, Too? by JaNay Brown-Wood. illus. by Jacqueline Alcántara. Penguin/Nancy Paulsen. ISBN 9780593323762.

Great Gusts: Winds of the World and the Science Behind Them by Melanie Crowder & Megan Benedict. illus. by Khoa Le. MIT Kids. ISBN 9781536224511.

When I Wrap My Hair by Shauntay Grant. illus. by Jenin Mohammed. HarperCollins/Quill Tree. ISBN 9780063093911.

The Mistakes That Made Us: Confessions from Twenty Poets by Irene Latham & Charles Waters. illus. by Mercè López. Lerner/Carolrhoda. ISBN 9781728492100.

A Planet Is a Poem by Amanda West Lewis. illus. by Oliver Averill. Kids Can. ISBN 9781525304422.

Queer and Fearless: Poems Celebrating the Lives of LGBTQ+ Heroes by Rob Sanders. illus. by Harry Woodgate. Penguin Workshop. ISBN 9780593523698.

Leafy Landmarks: Travels with Trees by Michelle Schaub. illus. by Anne Lambelet. Sleeping Bear. ISBN 9781534112872.

Wind Is a Dance by Debra Kempf Shumaker. illus. by Josée Bisaillon. Kids Can. ISBN 9781525308758.

This Land Is a Lullaby by Tonya Simpson. illus. by Delreé Dumont. Orca. ISBN 9781459836099.

Hoop Queens 2 by Charles R. Smith Jr. photos by author. Candlewick. ISBN 9781536225341.

It's Time to Hush and Say Good Night by Chitra Soundar. illus. by Sandhya Prabhat. Candlewick. ISBN 9781536235531.

Verse Novels

Black Star by Kwame Alexander. Little, Brown. ISBN 9780316442596.

And Then, Boom! by Lisa Fipps. Penguin/Nancy Paulsen. ISBN 9780593406328.

Onyx & Beyond by Amber McBride. Feiwel & Friends. ISBN 9781250908780.

Ultraviolet by Aida Salazar. Scholastic. ISBN 9781338775655.

Kareem Between by Shifa Saltagi Safadi. Putnam. ISBN 9780593699263.

Louder Than Hunger by John Schu. Candlewick. ISBN 9781536229097.

Unsinkable Cayenne by Jessica Vitalis. Greenwillow. ISBN 9780063314450.

Black Girl You Are Atlas by Renée Watson. illus. by Ekua Holmes. Penguin/Kokila. ISBN 9780593461709.

Mid-Air by Alicia D. Williams. illus. by Danica Novgorodoff. Atheneum/Caitlyn Dlouhy. ISBN 9781481465830.