Rhythms and rhymes, words that sing, humorous thoughts, inventive imagery, surprises and delights: these are the qualities that bring pleasure to the lucky child who experiences poetry at its best.  As member and poet Esther Cohen aptly put it in her recent guest blog post, “Good poets give us their poems as gifts.”

During National Poetry Month, we encourage you to spend as much time as you can exploring these gifts with a young reader—and future poetry lover—in your life. Look no further than the Children’s Library collection to find the perfect poems to read aloud. Browse the great books on the shelves and on display in the Children’s Library, or see below for some our personal favorites.

Thursday, April 24 is Poem in Your Pocket Day, and we urge you to stop by the Children’s Library to choose some poems to take home. We will be giving out a variety of pocket-sized lines to keep your pockets and mind filled with poetry.

And don’t forget to join us at our Poetry Party on Friday, April 25, in the Children’s Library. At this special celebration of poetry for children ages 5-9 (and their grownups!), we will share great poems and play with words to create our own poetry. Feel free to bring in your own favorite poem to share with everyone.

As promised, here are some personal poetry favorites of the Children’s Library staff.

Randi Levy

Lee Bennett Hopkins’ City I Love  is an ode to and tour of intriguing urban destinations across the globe. Take a rhythmic trip around the world to cities large and small, from New York to Paris, to Cairo, to New Orleans.

Share Read Aloud Rhymes for the Very Young with all the toddlers and preschoolers in your reading life. With hundreds of short poems selected by poet Jack Prelutsky and enchanting illustrations, this charming volume encourages dipping in often. Let your young reader guide you through the book by encouraging her to pick an interesting illustration and reading the poems that go with it.

A Kick in the Head: An Everyday Guide to Poetic Forms is the perfect book for the budding poet.  Poet Paul Janeczko clearly describes the rules of twenty-nine poetic forms, alongside excellent examples of each, culled from the work of great poets.  The inventive illustrations  by award-winning illustrator and Library member Chris Raschka bring visual joy to the book and to anyone lucky enough to read it.

Susan Vincent Molinaro

Shel Silverstein’s Where the Sidewalk Ends, including “Sick,” which made the whole school laugh out loud when my elementary school principal read it aloud each year over the intercom.

A.A. Milne’s When We Were Very Young, with the reverse parenting treasure “Disobedience” that I memorized for recitation at Girl Scouts, at my own mother’s suggestion.

Edward Lear’s Nonsense!, in which zany limericks and wacky illustrations can be found, and Arnold Lobel’s equally amusing The Book of Pigericks, where the modern limericist manages to pull off a unique rhyme with Schenectady!

Paul Fleischman’s Joyful Noise: Poems for Two Voices, celebrating through poetry a variety of less-appreciated creeping and crawling creatures, including an amusing couple of book lice.

Carrie Silberman

Award-winning poet Arnold Adoff creates a delightful picture book of poems about the senses in Touch the Poem. From the joy of stomping through thick mud, to the luxury of soaking in a bathtub full of bubbles, Adolf's poetry captures the simple joys of childhood.  

The Bill Martin Jr. Big Book of Poetry is a treasury of nearly two hundred poems edited by Bill Martin Jr. and Michael Sampson. Traditional children's poems are presented alongside contemporary pieces, and the collection includes tributes by Eric Carle and Steven Kellogg. This wonderful compilation also features original illustrations by award-winning artists, including Ashley Bryan, Lois Ehlert, and Library members Chris Raschka and Robert Quackenbush. 

Meet Isabel, a spirited girl who encounters four fearsome foes and doesn't worry, scream or scurry. In this newly illustrated edition of the well-known poem The Adventures of Isabel by Ogden Nash, a young girl courageously faces a series of dangers and comes out on top.

19 Varieties of Gazelle: Poems of the Middle East by Naomi Shihab Nye is a small, timely collection joining poems about the Middle East and about being Arab American. Nye is a writer and anthologist whose poetry, fiction, and essays speak to a wide audience.