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Top Ten Novels in Verse by Lauren Strohecker
For many kids, “poetry” is a dirty word. Plenty of my own students tune out, glaze over, roll their eyes, or outwardly groan at its mere mention—but that’s a Nerdy Book Club post of it’s own. When getting the right book (sometimes any book!) into the hands of the right reader can be such a challenge, finding a way to invest students in poetry can be an uphill battle. For some readers, the gateway might just be fiction, and verse novels are a fantastic blend of poetic form and fiction narrative. So, in celebration of National Poetry Month, I give you ten of my favorite novels in verse. Happy reading!
May B. by Caroline Starr Rose
Written in free verse, May B. tells the story of Mavis Betterly, a 12-year-old girl living on the Kansas frontier with her family. After a poor harvest, May’s father removes her from school and sends her to a neighbor’s farm to help an unhappy bride settle into her new home. When circumstances leave May stranded at the homestead on her own, she faces her greatest challenge yet: survival. ( Book trailer / Study guide )
Inside Out & Back Again by Thanhha Lai
Winner of the National Book Award as well as a Newbery Honor, Inside Out & Back Again follows Hà and her family as they flee Saigon at the end of the Vietnam War. Forced from the only home she’s ever known and separated even further from her missing father, Hà must now also learn to adjust to life in a strange new place. The book is inspired by the author’s own experiences in the United States after leaving Vietnam with her family in 1975. ( National Book Award Finalists Reading, November 2011 )
Like Pickle Juice on a Cookie by Julie Sternberg
Eight-year-old Eleanor is having a terrible August—so bad, it’s like pickle juice on a cookie! Her longtime babysitter has moved away, and Eleanor is left with a hole in her life. With a little bit of help from her friends and family, can she find a way to fill it? ( The story behind the story. )
Love That Dog by Sharon Creech
Like many kids, Jake hates poetry. When his teacher, Miss Stretchberry, shares some of her favorite poems with his class, Jack is resistant. But then, something unexpected happens… Jack finds himself connecting to some of the poems, unlocking a side of himself he never knew was there. Also recommended: Hate that Cat. ( Scholastic’s literature circle guide )
October Mourning by Lesléa Newman
Haunting and powerful, October Mourning is Lesléa Newman’s fictionalized account of the 1998 murder of Matthew Shepard. Told from a variety of perspectives, both human and not (including the stars and the fence to which Shepard was tied), the book chronicles the events of that harrowing night and explores the lasting impact of Shepard’s death. ( Book trailer / Discussion guide / SLJ author interview )
The Girl in the Mirror by Meg Kearney
In this follow-up to The Secret of Me, high school senior Lizzie thinks she is ready, with the help of her adoptive parents, to learn more about her birth mother. When a tragedy strikes her family, Lizzie’s world is upended, and she must figure out for herself how to find her way again. Beautifully done, and teachers take note: Kearney includes a guide to the poetic forms she uses in a helpful appendix, complete with explanations of why she used certain forms throughout the narrative. ( Teacher’s guide )
Sold by Patricia McCormick
Thirteen-year-old Lakshmi lives in a poor farming community in Nepal, and yet she is able to find a quiet beauty in her world—until the day her stepfather sells her into slavery in India. In the blink of an eye, Lakshmi is ripped from her home and forced into a life no child should ever have to face. Heartbreaking, often difficult to read, but ultimately hopeful, Lakshmi’s story is an important one, and she is a heroine worth rooting, hoping, and fighting for. ( Discussion guide / Author FAQ )
The Realm of Possibility by David Levithan
This collection of interconnected poems gives us a glimpse into the overlapping lives, loves, and stories of twenty teenagers at the same New Jersey high school. From the gay couple experiencing their first romance, to the popular mean girl, to the surprisingly insecure jock, Levithan gives each narrator a distinct voice. And as their stories emerge, we see the many ways, both obvious and subtle, that these teens and their lives are connected. ( Excerpt )
Pieces of Georgia by Jennifer Bryant
Georgia McCoy is an artist, just like her mother, but things aren’t the same since her mom died. It’s hard to connect to her father, and she’s starting to forget what it’s like to be a family. But a surprise gift a few days after her thirteenth birthday starts to change things. Who sent this wonderful present? And will it be just what Georgia and her father need to start to heal? Also recommended: Kaleidoscope Eyes. ( Teacher’s guide )
Diamond Willow by Helen Frost
After reading Frost’s Crossing Stones, I saw this book featured on Anita Silvey’s Children’s Book Almanac. It tells the story of twelve-year-old Diamond Willow, who lives in Alaska with her family and their sled dogs. The family’s prize dog, Roxy, is also Diamond’s favorite, and with a little cajoling, Diamond convinces her parents to let her take the dogs on a solo run to visit her grandparents. When an accident threatens Roxy, Diamond must take responsibility for her actions and find a way to set things right. Beyond the remarkable story, this book is also a unique study in form; each poem is crafted in the shape of a diamond, with a smaller bold-print message nestled inside. Also recommended: Crossing Stones. ( Teaching ideas )
Lauren Strohecker is a K-6 librarian just outside of Philadelphia. Because there’s no such thing as enough books, she also works as a bookseller at an independent bookstore. Visit her on Twitter at @lkstrohecker.
Nerdy Book Club 
Poetic narrative is a beautiful and powerful genre. Helen Frost’s Diamond Willow is a new title to me, I will be adding it to my classroom library thanks to you! Her novel in verse, Hidden, made our state book award list last year. One of my favorites from 2012: Little Dog Lost, geared towards grades 3-5. Thanks for the post and the title recommendations!
There’s also an excellent new free verse novel by Jill MacLean called Nix Minus One that I highly recommend. It’s had great feedback from teenagers.
Hah! I agree with your bio…no such thing indeed! Great list and thank you for sharing it. Got me some reading catch up to do because I am not familiar with all of them. Thanks again.
Great list! My students are enjoying “Yellow Star” by Jennifer Roy, Tropical Secrets: Holocaust Refugees in Cuba by Magarita Engle and “Almost Forever” by Maria Testa
EDDIE’S WAR (namelos, 2011) is another beautiful, but undiscovered, verse novel. It’s the story of a boy, his family, and his small Illinois town in the years leading up to America’s involvement in World War II. It’s almost a bildungsroman, but super lean: Eddie ripens like a summer peach before our eyes, from a preschooler clambering onto a chair in the public library to “read” newspapers, to a sensitive teen who grapples with the complexities of war, intensely personal family problems, and first love. Written in vignettes, the spare lines and plain language evoke small-town 1930s and 1940s middle America. Also, Eddie is inherently an observer, and the verse form mimics the way our minds work when we’re observing events and processing them—bite-sized, vivid, with snatches of all our senses involved.
Kirkus gave EDDIE’S WAR a starred review, and Nikki Grimes brought it up with her committee when she was a judge for the National Book Award, but because namelos is a small venture, very few people have read it.
Karen Hesse’s “Out of the Dust” was a ground breaker and now a classic.
I was just going to mention Out of the Dust:) I’m looking forward to reading the books on this list!
I really like verse novels, as a reader and as a teacher. Surprised that Ellen Hopkins and Sonia Sones didn’t make your list – they’re both huge in verse novels. I also really like SHARK GIRL – I use it often for reluctant readers and for book groups. ALL THE BROKEN PIECES is also a fantastic verse novel. Tricia already brought up OUT OF THE DUST – I often use her chapter about “rabbit drives” during the Dust Bowl (with some original video available in a couple of different documentaries). Hesse has a couple of classic verse novels (I’m thinking of WITNESS).
I did think of Hopkins and Sones, but, surprisingly, I’ve never read their books, and I wanted to stick to titles that I could personally recommend. OUT OF THE DUST is great too! Thanks for the additional recommendations.
I loved seeing this post, especially because I just finished reading May B. The book was very approachable and I am looking for ways to include it in a fifth grade study of westward expansion. It would be good for a survival-themed book club, too. I look forward reading more on the list.
Goodness. Two of my all-time favorites, May B.and Diamond Willow, made this list. Now Several others I’ve been meaning to read are imperative. Thanks very much for this post.
Reblogged this on The Best of It and commented:
This is a wonderful post on always wonderful Nerdy Book Club today. I not only appreciate the fantastic list of books and the commentary about them, but the additional material included (excerpts, teacher resources), is bonus for connecting these books with kids. I’ve read a few. Two are personal favorites. Must read some more of them, obviously.
What a great list, Lauren. I just did booktalks on Novels in Verse for our Pop Contemp Literature class and each student took 3 books and their teacher said they are LOVING this genre. Thank you for the book, October Mourning, our prinicpal, all the reading teachers and students Pop Contemp Lit read this book and were sooo moved.
To Ben above, our high school students love all of Ellen Hopkins’ books!
Great list. Caroline Starr Rose and MAY B. are amazing!
Thanks so much for the additional recommendations, everyone! You’ve all given me some new titles to add to my list too. 🙂
Thank you so much for including Miss May on your list and exposing me to new titles. I have to confess having only read two verse novels before writing May B., and while I’ve since filled in some gaps, I still have a lot of reading to do.
Make Lemonade by Virginia Euwer Wolff should be in there somewhere, surely, and i really liked Out of the Dust – will be exploring a few of your list for sure though. Oh, and the Weight of Water by Sarah Crossan is a belter and on the Carnegie Medal shortlist this year. Great list though. Thanks
I would also add Home of the Brave by Katherine Applegate to that list! It is phenomenal and ELL and immigrant children can really relate to Kek’s struggle to learn English and American customs.
Absolutely, Home of the Brave! It’s in my bucket!
I’ve just started getting into novels in verse, and there are several here that will be added to my list, for sure! The one that first got me interested, “Under the Mesquite” by Guadalupe Garcia McCall, was just gorgeous, and well worth a read. You might also enjoy Neal Shusterman’s “Bruiser.” Each of the four narrators uses a different form for his or her section–Bruiser’s chapters are written in verse.
Three Rivers Rising by Jame Richards is another fantastic novel in verse.
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Thank you so much for including Pieces of Georgia on this list–what an honor to be among these authors and their wonderful books! Much appreciated.
I skimmed the comments here and must agree with those who mention Out of the Dust and Witness (both by K.Hesse) and Make Lemonade by Virginia Euwer Wolff. I’m putting a few others recommended here on my list to read this summer!
I’m so grateful to have my book THE GIRL IN THE MIRROR on this list! My fellow Karen Hesse (OUT OF THE DUST) fans can imagine how thrilled I was when she agreed to blurb the book. Anyway, thanks so much, Lauren. And you if you don’t already, you should all know about Jacqueline Woodson’s LOCOMOTION and its sequel, PEACE, LOCOMOTION. — Meg Kearney
Don’t forget Glyphic, the novella in verse
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