Recommended Reads for Youth

Recommended Reads are a monthly series of books that can be found in our collection.

Recommended Reads for April 2025 - Celebrating National Poetry Month with Song, Rhyme, and Novels in Verse

Early Learners 

BR025663; DB118256 Something, Someday by Amanda Gorman. Sometimes the world feels broken. And problems seem too big to fix. But somehow, we all have the power to make a difference. For preschool-grade 2. PRINT/BRAILLE and Audiobook.

DB113879 How to Write a Poem by Kwame Alexander. "Begin with a question, like an acorn, waiting for spring." From this first stanza, readers are invited to pay attention - and to see that paying attention itself is poetry. For preschool - grade 2. Audiobook.

DB109045 Serengeti: Plains of Grass by Leslie Bulion. Award-winning science poetry master presents a lyrical salute to Africa's Serengeti Plain, one of the most spectacular and productive ecosystems on Earth. For grades K-3. 2022. Audiobook.

DB122884 Bridges Instead of Walls: the Story of Mavis Staples by Mavis Staples. A memoir in poems of award-winning singer and Civil Rights activist Mavis Staples. For grades 2-4. Audiobook.

DB104293 Spi-ku: a Clutter of Short Verse on Eight Legs by Leslie Bulion. A collection of short poems and scientific facts that celebrate the fantastic attributes of spiders that spit silk, roll like wheels, scuba dive, hide under trap doors, strum tunes, and more. For grades 2-4. 2021. Audiobook.

DBC16134 A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood: the Poetry of Mister Rogers by Fred Rogers. 75 beloved songs from Mister Rogers' Neighborhood and The Children's Corner are collected in this charmingly illustrated treasury. For grade 2 and up. 2022. Audiobook.

Children

DB101297; DB105539 (Spanish) Land of the Cranes (La tierra de las grullas) by Aida Salazar. A novel in verse. Betita and her parents flee Mexico and settle in Los Angeles seeking asylum in what her father calls Aztlán, the land of the cranes. But they are sent to a family detention camp that threatens to tear her family apart. For grades 3-6. 2020. English and Spanish Audiobook.

DB101427 BenBee and the Teacher Griefer: the Kids Under the Stairs by K. A. Holt. A novel in verse. Four summer school classmates band together to save their teacher and their academic futures after Ms. J.'s unorthodox teaching methods are questioned. For grades 3-6. 2020. Audiobook.

DB103860; LP026323 Rez Dogs by Joseph Bruchac. A novel in verse. Malian, a Wabanaki girl, was visiting her grandparents on the reservation when the COVID-19 pandemic started and all travel shut down. Away from her parents and her school in Boston, Malian befriends a local dog. For grades 3-6. 2021. Audiobook and Large Print.

DB089291 Forest World by Margarita Engle. Novel in verse. Sent to Cuba to visit the father he barely knows, eleven-year-old Edver is surprised to meet his sister, Luza. The two try to lure their cryptozoologist mother into coming to Cuba, but their plan turns dangerous. For grades 4-7. 2017. Audiobook.

DB084472; LP026010 Booked by Kwame Alexander. Eighth-grader Nick Hall loves soccer and hates books, but he soon learns the power of words as he wrestles with problems at home, stands up to a bully, and tries to impress the girl of his dreams. For grades 5-8. 2016. Large Print and Audiobook.

DB105732; LP026381. Red, White, and Whole by Rajani LaRocca. A novel in verse. As her school's only Indian American student, Reha feels torn between worlds. Then Reha finds out that her mother is sick. She'll even try to be the perfect daughter if it means saving her mom's life. For grades 5-8. 2021. Large Print and Audiobook.

Tweens & Teens

LP026428 Me (Moth) by Amber McBride. A novel in verse. Moth has lost her family in an accident. Though she lives with her aunt, she feels alone and uprooted until she meets Sani, a boy who is also searching for his roots. If he knows more about where he comes from, maybe he’ll be able to understand his ongoing depression. And if Moth can help him feel grounded, then perhaps she too will discover the history she carries in her bones. Moth and Sani take a road trip that has them chasing ghosts and searching for ancestors. The way each moves forward is surprising, powerful, and unforgettable. For middle and high school. 2021. Large Print.

DB107490 With a Star in My Hand: Rubén Darío, Poetry Hero by Margarita Engle. A novel in verse about the life and work of Rubén Darío, a Nicaraguan poet who started life as an abandoned child and grew to become the father of a new literary movement. Includes historical notes. For junior and senior high readers. 2020. Audiobook.

DB100557 The Black Flamingo by Dean Atta. A novel in verse. As a mixed-race gay teen, Michael's never felt like he fit in with one racial identity. But when he discovers London's drag society, he finally finds where he belongs--and the Black Flamingo is born. Stonewall Book Award. For senior high and older readers. 2019. Audiobook.

BR024106; DB102671 Home is Not a Country by Safia Elhillo. A novel in verse. When the ground is pulled out from under her, Nima grapples with the phantom of a life not chosen.For senior high and older readers. 2021. Braille and Audiobook.

DB102041 Chlorine Sky by Mahogany Browne. A novel in verse. Picked on at home, criticized for talking trash while beating boys at basketball, and always seen as less than her best friend, a Black teen struggles to like and accept herself. Strong language. For senior high and older readers. 2021. Audiobook.

DB099884; LP026332 Kent State by Deborah Wiles. A novel in verse. Chaos erupts when a student protest at Kent State University turns into a bloody battlefield on May 4, 1970. Violence and strong language. For senior high and older readers. 2020. Large Print and Audiobook.