It's time for me to head back to school! My semester starts today and it's a perfect moment to pause and gather a list of recent collections of poetry and novels in verse all about life in school. Here are 20 poetry books about school published in the last few years-- and there are even more if you want to go further back. It shouldn't be a surprise that school is a popular topic in books for young people since it's an important subject for kids who spend most of their daytime in school. I have found it to be a good topic for starting with poetry in the classroom-- very timely and relevant as a new school year begins-- whether in person or virtually!
Here's a bibliography of these titles too:
Poetry about School
- Apel, Kathryn. 2019. Bully on the Bus. Tulsa, OK: Kane Miller.
- Beck-Jacobson, Darlene. 2020. Wishes, Dares and How to Stand Up to a Bully. Berkeley, CA: Creston.
- Bowles, David. 2018. They Call Me Güero: A Border Kid's Poems. El Paso, TX: Cinco Puntos Press.
- Boyce, Jo Ann Allen and Levy, Debbie. 2018. This Promise of Change: One Girl's Story in the Fight for School Equality. New York: Harper.
- Cannon, Nick. 2015. Neon Aliens Ate My Homework and Other Poems. New York: Scholastic.
- Coombs, Kate. 2018. Monster School. San Francisco, CA: Chronicle.
- del Rosario, Juleah. 2018. 500 Words or Less. New York: Simon Pulse.
- Derby, Sally. 2017. A New School Year. Charlesbridge.
- Farrey-Latz, Benjamin. 2018. I Can Learn Social Skills! Poems About Getting Along, Being a Good Friend, and Growing Up. Minneapolis: Free Spirit.
- Groban, Betsy. (Ed.) 2018. Totally Middle School. New York: Delacorte Press.
- Harrison, David L. 2018. Crawly School for Bugs. Honesdale, PA: Boyds Mills Press.
- Holt, K. A. 2020. Ben Bee and theTeacher Griefer. San Francisco: Chronicle Books.
- Rooney, Rachel. 2018. A Kid in My Class. New York: Feiwel & Friends.
- Shields, Carol Diggory. 2015. After the Bell Rings: Poems about After-School Time. Ill. by Paul Meisel. New York: Dial.
- Shovan, Laura. 2016. The Last Fifth Grade of Emerson Elementary. Random House.
- Steinberg, D. J. (reprint edition) 2019. Preschool, Here I Come! New York: Penguin/Grosset & Dunlap.
- Steinberg, D. J. 2021. How to Be Kind in Kindergarten. Ill. by Ruth Hammond. New York: Penguin/Grosset & Dunlap.
- Trillin, Calvin. 2016. No Fair! No Fair! And Other Jolly Poems of Childhood. Ill. by Roz Chast. Scholastic/Orchard.
- Vardell, Sylvia and Wong, Janet (Eds.). 2018. Great Morning!: Poems for School Leaders to Read Aloud. Princeton, NJ: Pomelo Books.
- Winters, Kay. 2018. Did You Hear What I Heard? Poems About School. Ill. by Patrice Barton. New York.
Here's hoping that we can create a meaningful year of school experiences for young people despite all the challenges we face. Hang in there and share school poetry!
