Children's, Teenage & Young Adult Poetry

Reading to or with children is really important for their intellectual well-being. Children sometimes struggle with longer stories so introducing them to poems and nursery rhymes is a great way to encourage their love of reading early on. Poetry is also said to create pathways in children's brains that listening to other types of languages simply does not. With teens, poetry helps them process and express their conflicting emotions in a more controlled and creative way. 

In fact, exposing them to poems and rhymes can help children develop three really critical pre-reading and communication skills—phonological awareness, rich vocabulary and background knowledge. Not only can poems and rhyming words help a child develop a good vocabulary, it can also help your child develop phonological awareness. Phonological awareness is the ability to consciously tune in to the sounds of spoken language, to understand them and to talk about them. For example, a three-year-old whose phonological awareness is developing might say something like: "Hey, cat-bat: they sound the same!"

Background knowledge on the other hand is considered a strong predictor of how easily your child will learn to read and write. Several studies have confirmed that a child’s awareness and knowledge of their background will strongly impact their social and academic success. Teachers, speech-language therapists and linguists; unanimously agree that it is vital for babies and young children to hear the kind of language used in poems and rhymes. This is because the sometimes unusual words, repetitions and speech patterns contained in poems written for children help enrich your child's intellect.

Here are some poetry books that we think will move your child, stir something within them and whilst at it; also inculcate the love of poetry in their hearts. What Are Little Girls Made of? If you are a parent raising a feminist little girl, then this poetry book by Award-winning author, Jeanne Willis is just what she needs. Think you know your favourite classic nursery rhymes? Read this picture book and think again! In this witty reworking of popular nursery rhymes, Georgie Porgie doesn't dare to make the girls cry, Little Bo-Peep's sheep are all present and correct, thank you, and it's the queen, of course, who fixes Humpty Dumpty. With the combination of Jeanne Willis's brilliantly funny poems and Isabelle Follath’s charming, witty illustrations; these nursery rhymes prove that girls can be the heroes of any story. This remixed nursery rhyme collection is the perfect gift book for any child (or adult!), to read aloud or enjoy alone.

Hot Like Fire Bind-up by Valerie Bloom is a book of beautifully crafted poetry that covers a wide range of subjects from global pollution, maths homework problems to dealing with the death of a beloved pet. Full of sunshine and fire; Bloom’s poetry is fun and energetic with the mixed use of standard English and other dialects; that come together to make delightful poetry for kids.