December
29
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The 2017 Nerdies: Poetry and Novels in Verse Announced by Mary Lee Hahn
Family, no matter how we define it, is the place where the “Who am I?” begins. As we grow and search for heroes, no matter how we define them, we begin the lifelong exploration of “Who will I be?”
The 2017 Nerdy Poetry and Novels in Verse will enrich the lives of readers with FAMILY and HEROES, expanding the ways we define both.
What matters most
are those we hold close —
our family makes us who we are.
Family Poems For Every Day of the Week/Poemas Familiares Para Cada Dia de la Semana
By Francisco X. Alarcón
Illustrated by Maya Christina González
Lee & Low Books
Bilingual poems explore family activities every day of the week, and explain the origins of the names of the seven days.
When My Sister Started Kissing
By Helen Frost
Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Set during summer vacation at a cabin on a lake, two sisters navigate growing up, plus the changing landscape of a family with a stepmom and a new little brother.
Gone Camping: A Novel in Verse
by Tamera Will Wissinger
illustrated by Matthew Cordell
HMH Books for Young Readers
In this companion to Gone Fishing, Lucy and Sam go camping with Grandpa. Family ties are strengthened through common experiences.
Forget Me Not
By Ellie Terry
Feiwel & Friends
Navigating the world with Tourette’s syndrome is much easier with the support of family and friends.
Bull
By David Elliott
HMH Books for Young Readers
The story of the mythological family of Minos and Pasiphae, their daughter Ariadne and Pasiphae’s son Asterion (aka the Minotaur) is retold in multiple voices, including that of the wise-cracking Poseidon.
Solo
By Kwame Alexander, with Mary Rand Hess
Blink
Blade is conflicted about his place in his family. He shares his father’s love of music, but not the rich-and-famous-rockstar lifestyle.
Long Way Down
By Jason Reynolds
Atheneum/Caitlyn Dlouhy Books
Will’s brother was murdered and he’s out to get revenge, but on the elevator ride down he is visited by “family” members who help him see the larger picture.
Hey Black Child
By Useni Eugene Perkins
Illustrated by Bryan Collier
Little, Brown
This empowering poem lifts up every black child with the words of the poet, the pictures of the illustrator, and the voice of the person (family or “family”) who reads it aloud.
Those we venerate
guide us to become great —
our heroes show us who we might become.
Bravo!: Poems About Amazing Hispanics
By Margarita Engle
Illustrated by Rafael López
Henry Holt and Co.
Well-known and need-to-be known Hispanics are featured in these biographical poems, providing inspiration for all who seek a hero.
Stone Mirrors: The Sculpture and SIlence of Edmonia Lewis
By Jeannine Atkins
Atheneum Books for Young Readers
Edmonia Lewis overcame the obstacles of race and gender to become a sculptor in the years following the Civil War. Heroes show us how to hold fast to dreams.
Loving vs Virginia: A Documentary Novel of the Landmark Civil Rights Case
By Patricia Hruby Powell
Illustrated by Shadra Strickland
Chronicle Books
Richard and Mildred Loving were teenagers who fell in love. Their marriage broke the laws of the time, but their civil rights case paved the way for the legal biracial marriages of today. Heroes lead the way to a better future..
One Last Word: Wisdom from the Harlem Renaissance
By Nikki Grimes
Bloomsbury USA Childrens
In this collection of Golden Shovel poems, Nikki Grimes pays tribute to the poet-heroes of the Harlem Renaissance — heroes whose words continue to resonate today.
Out of Wonder: Poems Celebrating Poets
By Kwame Alexander with Chris Colderley and Marjory Wentworth
Illustrated by Ekua Holmes
Candlewick Press
Twenty acclaimed poets are celebrated with poems that acknowledge their impact on the work of the authors. Heroes change our lives.
I’m Just No Good At Rhyming: And Other Nonsense for Mischievous Kids and Immature Grown-Ups
By Chris Harris
Illustrated by Lane Smith
Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Can a hero be the person who makes us laugh? Perhaps that’s what we need now more than ever. Put this book in kids’ hands. Be a hero.
Read! Read! Read!
By Amy Ludwig VanDerwater
Illustrated by Ryan O’Rourke
Wordsong
Reading is the magic that binds all Nerdy teachers, librarians, and readers. The poems in this book celebrate all we hold dear: books are heroes, poems are heroes, and most of all, readers are the heroes of today and tomorrow.
Mary Lee Hahn is a 5th grade teacher in Dublin, Ohio. Her poetry has been published in the Poetry Friday anthologies, Dear Tomato: An International Crop of Food and Agriculture Poems, and The National Geographic Book of Nature Poetry. Her poetry website is maryleehahn.com, she blogs with Franki Sibberson at A Year of Reading, and she can be found on Twitter @MaryLeeHahn.
Nerdy Book Club 
Congratulations to all the winners!
So exciting to see poetry and verse novels get this lovely recognition! Congratulations, poets!
Some of my favorites are on this list.
What a great group of winners! Congratulations to all.
Great roundup Mary Lee. Thank you for lending your writing talents to this post every year. Congratulations to all of the winners!
Love these recommendations, most of which are among the outstanding titles we’ll considering for the CYBILS poetry/verse novel, too. Stay tuned for our announcement on January 1! You can’t go wring with any of these, and kids of many ages will adore them, launching major conversations.
Lovely list! Congratulations to everyone!
I’ve only read four from the list. Time to get busy. I did give I’m Just No Good at Rhyming to a family of four boys, but haven’t read it myself yet. Now to decide which ones to request first!
Thank you so much for this honor! I am very grateful and excited to read the couple of books I have not yet read on the list. Happy 2018 and happy poetry! xx
Wonderful collection here, thanks for assembling it–it’s filled with familiar titles but still many to read!
Best of the best list–thank you, reader-voters, and thank you, Mary Lee!
Hey all–there are serious problems with LOVING VS VIRGINIA. Dr. Arica L. Coleman’s review is up today at American Indians in Children’s Literature. https://americanindiansinchildrensliterature.blogspot.com/2018/01/arica-l-colemans-review-of-patricia.html