I have a love-hate relationship with poetry and am rather intimidated by poetry quite often. I want to my daughter to experience and learn to love poetry early on unlike me. Lot of children’s book have great rhyming words and serve as great starting point for exposing kids to the world of poems.

Here are my favorite poetry books for kids aged 4-9.

All links lead to Goodreads. Follow my reading journey there.

Wriggle and Roar! by Julia Donaldson

This was the first book that introduced rhymes and poems to my daughter. Ideal for kids aged 3+. It has fun verses to make kids howl with laughter. It is also a great book to act and move around. I have spend many rainy days cooped up indoors with this great book. Illustrations by Nick Sherratt deserve a mention.

National Geographic Book of Animal Poetry complied by Patrick Lewis

Animals in books is always a win-win situation with kids. This compilation is a great addition to the library. While the book is bulky and not ideal for young readers, it has some gems. We spent months reading these poems. The great photographs in the book deserve a mention. This is the book you read with a child cuddled on your lap on a dark night imagining rhinos and hippos in your backyard.

Echo Echo: Reverso Poems About Greek Myths by Marilyn Singer

My daughter has been in a myths phase recently. She wants to know more about the Greeks and Romans and Vikings and Indians. She sees similarities and draws comparisons. Reverso poems are ones that can be read in 2 directions. It is an interesting idea and definitely worth exploring with young readers and writers. Ideal for kids aged 7+

Poems to Perform compiled by Julia Donaldson

This was the first poetry book we purchased. Julia Donaldson complied a great collection of poems that kids can perform. My daughter and her kindergarten friends performed a few poems from this compilation. My favorite poem in this collection is Hands. It is a book we go back to often and enjoy the simplicity of the poems in this book.

Behold the Bold Umbrellaphant by Jack Prelutsky

This might just be my favorite poetry book ever. It is creative and fun. A clock crossed with an octopus, a hat with a chicken and such. The illustrator Carin Berger has done a wonderful job giving life to the poems. Ideal for kids aged 6+

Vile Verses by Roald Dahl

We are big Roald Dahl fans at Poohsden. In fact in 2017, my 7-year old and I plan to read/re-read lot of Dahl books. I am currently enjoying The Witches (my favorite Dahl book to date).  I happened upon this book at my local library and had to get it. It is a compilation of poems from various books by Dahl and also has some previously unpublished works. My favourites are definitely the “fairy tales”. Definitely a wonderful treat for Dahl lovers. Ideal for kids aged 8+

Other poetry books for kids: Red Sings from Treetops, The Bill Martin Jr Big Book of Poetry, Green Eggs and Ham, Hi, Koo!