by David L. Harrison and Timothy V. Rasinski; Routledge Eye on Education, 2025; 40 POEMS FOR 40 WEEKS offers educators a handy resource of poetry suited for middle graders.
Poetry
Leafy Landmarks: Travels with Trees
by Michelle Schaub, illustrated by Anne Lambelet; Sleeping Bear Press, 2024.
Road trip! Enjoy poems written in a variety of poetic forms (cleverly explained on the endpapers) and learn facts about fourteen trees with historical significance as you traverse the United States with this warm and curious family.
Red, White, and Whole
by Rajani LaRocca; Quill Tree, 2021.
Red, White, and Whole by Rajani LaRocca, a novel-in-verse the author calls “the novel of my heart,” is a story sure to touch the hearts of readers. Set in the 1980s, it centers on thirteen year-old Reha, who is endeavoring to manage her two worlds: a warm and loving home, but one that is not fully assimilated to life in America; and school, where possibilities—exciting, inviting, and perplexing—beckon. The story of how Reha comes to realize, cope, and ultimately grow from a devastating personal loss is at once heart wrenching and hopeful.
Resources for Sharing Outstanding Children’s Books by Authors and Illustrators of Color
This month’s Children’s Book Corner blog post is dedicated to shining a light on outstanding children’s books by people of color and offering resources for sharing their books with readers.
Write! Write! Write!
by Amy Ludwig VanDerwater, illustrated by Ryan O’Rourke; WordSong/Boyds Mills & Kane, 2020.
Write! Write! Write! is the satisfying companion to Read! Read! Read!. This brightly illustrated, kid-friendly collection of poems celebrates the empowerment, the wonder–and the work–of writing.
Tag Your Dreams: Poems of Play and Persistence
by Jacqueline Jules, illustrated by Iris Deppe; Albert Whitman, 2020.
If ever there were a time for persistence, it is now. And if ever there were a time for children to play in an effort to ward off stress and shift the focus from our uncertainty, it is now. We have the time, it is the time, to encourage and savor play.