It's time again for my "sneak peek" list of the poetry collections, poetry picture books, poetry anthologies, and novels in verse that are set to be published in 2024. This is my initial list, but I will be adding to it all year, so if I have missed a book due to be published this year, please let me know. I hope this continues to be a useful resource for poets, critics, educators, and all who seek out new poetry for young people. So many wonderful new books to look forward to!  Sneak Peek List of Poetry for Young People 2024 Akhbari, Parisa. 2024. Just Another Epic Love Poem. Pengui ..read more

Please indulge a bit of self-promotion-- I'm so happy to "toot the horn" for a new poetry anthology for middle grades that features new and established poets writing about the theme of HOPE. Janet (Wong) and I created a summer workshop called "Think Poetry" especially for educators who wanted to learn more about writing and teaching poetry. We created 10 instructional videos, provided individualized feedback on poem drafts, and collaborated with 40 poets on creating this new book, What Is Hope? You can learn a bit more about "Think Poetry" here. Our 10 instructional videos focused on: Rh ..read more

I'm so pleased to invite friend and poet Jacqueline Jules to share her guest post about a new book commemorating the attacks on the Pentagon on September 11.  Jacqueline writes: On the first anniversary of 9/11, the elementary school where I was teaching in Northern Virginia marked the day with a moment of silence on our in-house television news show. A representative from the Student Council read a brief tribute to the fallen.  In the following years, September 11th came and went without school-wide recognition. As the school librarian, I purchased two picture books recallin ..read more

Happy National Poetry Month! It's always fun to see the whole world (or much of it anyway) pausing to celebrate poetry all month long. I'm happy to toot the horn for some new poetry books out this year, starting with one of my own, a collaborative anthology entitled WHAT IS A FAMILY? co-edited with Janet Wong and featuring original poems by 40 poets. Poets include: Alma Flor Ada, Gail Aldous, Alexia M. Andoni, Chris Baron, Willeena Booker, Sandy Brehl, Judy Bryan, Elenore Byrne, F. Isabel Campoy, Kate Coombs, Cynthia Cotten, Mar ..read more

I am so honored to reveal the cover of Laura Shovan's new book of poems,  WELCOME TO MONSTERVILLE with illustrations by Michael Rothenberg (published by Loyola College/Apprentice House)  Meet 16 weird and quirky monsters in art and poems! Monster neighbors, monster houses, monster moos, bubblegum monsters, hungry monsters, monster birthdays, chicken monsters, shy monsters, angry monsters, root monsters, sad monsters, micro monsters, monster bugs, and more. Hey, maybe monsters are just like us! Author and poet Laura Shovan writes:  I am a doodler. Robots are my favorite thing ..read more

I may be retired and blogging a lot less, but I still love keeping track of poetry for young people and I'm looking forward to all the new poetry for young readers that is due to be published in the year ahead. Here's my "sneak peek" list of poetry collections, anthologies, and novels in verse that are set to be published in 2023. If I am missing any new poetry books, please let me know. Or if I have mis-categorized a book, just let me know. (I don't include rhyming picture books. There are other places where those are featured.)  I'll keep updating this list all year long as I learn abou ..read more

Here is the poem movie for "All Tied, Bases Loaded" by Michelle Heidenrich Barnes.  [Created by Crystal M ..read more

 Here is the poem movie for “The Artist" by Mariahadessa Ekere Tallie. [Created by Irene M ..read more

 Here is the poem movie for "Soul Magic" by Alice Faye Duncan.  [Created by Beatrice H ..read more

Here is the poem movie for “Stand Up" by Christy Mihaly [Created by Lisa V ..read more