20 Books Written in Verse That Need to Be in Your Classroom Library
This past school year we have all faced many challenges. One of the largest challenges, and one that leaves us worried for this year, is the complete and utter lack of interest in reading that many of our students felt this year. Our students generally fell into two categories: they either read veraciously as an escape, or they did everything but read to escape.
So, this up and coming school year we are really going to have to pull out all the stops to get our students who currently show very little interest in reading… to give reading a try. One thing that we have found a lot of success with is having a huge selection of novels written in verse. Students will gravitate towards these novels because they seem “easier to read,” and they can feel a great sense of accomplishment when they finish the book. Here’s a little secret, while the books may seem “easier to read” they are extremely complex and often times they delve into very deep material. This deeper material may relate to some of the problems and hardships some students may be going through. Therefore students can connect with these novels on a deeper level.
Another great advantage of providing an abundance of books in verse in your class libraries is that these novels are so well written! Students will read one and then they will tend to grab another novel written in verse, and then another…and from there some students will even move on to novels written in prose. If that moment doesn’t make a teacher heart burst with pride…I don’t know what will.
Our Favorites So Far:
The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo - A young girl in Harlem discovers slam poetry as a way to understand her mother’s religion and her own relationship to the world.
Clap When You Land by Elizabeth Acevedo - Two girls are forever changed when they learn of the death of their father…and the existence of each other.
Alone by Megan E. Freeman - When twelve-year-old Maddie hatches a scheme for a secret sleepover with her two best friends, she ends up waking up to a nightmare. She’s alone—left behind in a town that has been mysteriously evacuated and abandoned.
Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson - Raised in South Carolina and New York, Woodson always felt halfway home in each place. In vivid poems, she shares what it was like to grow up as an African American in the 1960s and 1970s, living with the remnants of Jim Crow and her growing awareness of the Civil Rights movement.
Before the Ever After by Jacqueline Woodson - ZJ’s dad has always been a hero. As a beloved pro football star, he has been a source of pride and inspiration to his neighborhood and adoring fans — but now he is having trouble remembering it all. As old head injuries start to change the man and father he has always known, ZJ grapples to hold on to the past and what it means for the future
The Crossover by Kwame Alexander - Josh and Jordan must come to grips with growing up on and off the court to realize breaking the rules comes at a terrible price as their story's heart-stopping climax proves a game-changer for the entire family.
Booked by Kwame Alexander - Twelve-year-old Nick learns the power of words as he wrestles with problems at home, stands up to a bully, and tries to impress the girl of his dreams. Helping him along are his best friend and sometimes teammate Coby, and The Mac, a rapping librarian who gives Nick inspiring books to read.
Rebound by Kwame Alexander - Rebound goes back in time to visit the childhood of Chuck "Da Man" Bell during one pivotal summer when young Charlie is sent to stay with his grandparents where he discovers basketball and learns more about his family's past.
Love That Dog by Sharon Creech - Love That Dog shows how one boy named Jack finds his voice with the help of a teacher, a pencil, some yellow paper, and of course, a dog.
Inside Out and Back Again by Thanhha Lai - When Hà and her family flee Saigon and immigrate to Alabama, their lives are irrevocably changed. Hà’s story is a moving depiction of immigration as seen through the eyes of a young girl
Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds - An ode to Put the Damn Guns Down, this fiercely stunning novel takes place in sixty potent seconds—the time it takes a kid to decide whether or not he’s going to murder the guy who killed his brother.
Other Words For Home by Jasmine Warga - Other Words for Home is a sweet and hopeful story about a young girl named Jude who is separated from her father and brother when she moves from Syria to the U.S. with her pregnant mother.
Words With Wings by Nikki Grimes - Gabby's world is filled with daydreams. However, what began as an escape from her parents' arguments has now taken over her life. But with the help of a new teacher, Gabby the dreamer might just become Gabby the writer, and words that carried her away might allow her to soar.
Full Cicada Moon by Marilyn Hilton - It's 1969, and the Apollo 11 mission is getting ready to go to the moon. But for half-black, half-Japanese Mimi, moving to a predominantly white Vermont town is enough to make her feel alien. Suddenly, Mimi's appearance is all anyone notices.
Punching The Air by Ibi Zoboi and Yusef Salaam - This is the story about how one boy is able to maintain his humanity and fight for the truth in the prison system which is designed to strip him of both.
Paper Hearts by Meg Wiviott - This novel is based on the true story of Fania and Zlatka, the story of the bond that helped them both to hope for the best in the face of the worst. Their heart is one of the few objects created in Auschwitz, and can be seen today in the Montreal Holocaust Memorial Centre.
House Arrest by K.A. Holt - Timothy is a good kid who did a bad thing. Now he's under house arrest for a whole year. He has to check in weekly with a probation officer and a therapist, keep a journal, and stay out of trouble. But when he must take drastic measures to help his struggling family, staying out of trouble proves more difficult than Timothy ever thought it would be.
Stafish by Lisa Fipps - Ellie, a Texas girl, has been bullied relentlessly for her weight, even by her own mother. With the help of a therapist, a new friend, and her loving father, Ellie learns to stand up for herself and be unapologetically her.
Serafina’s Promise by Ann E. Burg - Serafina made a secret promise to go to school and learn to read so she can become a doctor with her best friend, Julie Marie. But following her dream isn't easy-endless chores, little money and stomach-rumbling hunger all test her resolve.When an earthquake hits and separates Serafina from friends and family, she encounters her biggest test of all.