Recommended children's booklists sorted by age or topic

Format: Poetry

A brilliant, funny and inspiring collection of poems about sport by Brian Moses and Roger Stevens!

These are poems about winning and about taking part; poems about having all the right kit, but no talent; poems that show that coming first in the egg and spoon race really is as important to your mum and dad as being an Olympic athlete; poems about being a team player and poems about being an individual hero. In fact, this book is packed with sporting gems of all kinds.

Olympic Poems is perfect for any young poet or aspiring Olympian.

A funny collection of football poems by Brian Bilston, the unofficial Poet Laureate of Twitter. Perfect for football fans of all ages – from the young footie fanatic to a been-to-every-game-grandma, and every ‘I could’ve been a pro’ in between.

Full of poems that will make you giggle about all things football, including being left out of the World Cup squad, mum’s opinion on Messi vs Ronaldo, or those unmissable fixtures:

I’d love nothing more than to go outside
and spend time with Mother Nature.
But what can I do? It’s out of my hands:
Nigeria are playing Croatia

50 Ways to Score a Goal and Other Football Poems includes witty chants, a haiku or two, and fun shape poems about the beautiful game. Laugh together through the Euros or Premier League games, and swap the half-time pundits for puns!

One of the first books I remember reading and laughing my head off about was Silly Verse for Kids by Spike Milligan. To this day, Spike remains one of my comedy heroes because he was silly. I love laughing at silly things and I suppose I always will. So, poems like Granny, were (and are) a treat to read out loud.

Through every nook and every cranny

The wind blew in on poor old granny

Around her knees, into each ear

(Up her nose as well, I fear)

A collection of sixteen energetic poems and rhymes to ignite the senses, with topics including fireworks, food, dragons and splashy puddles. Colourful illustrations make the book a delight to look at as well as to listen to being read aloud.

This collection contains 22 nursery rhymes from different countries around the globe, with each poem appearing in its own language next to an English translation. Examples include ‘Song of Kites’ from Japan, ‘Spotty Spider’ from Tonga and ‘Snowman Frost’ from Denmark. For some children, this will provide a first taste of seeing printed words in other languages, while other children will delight to see their own languages featured. The selected poems are short, playful and set on full-colour illustrated spreads.

A brightly-illustrated collection of catchy poems about the different sorts of dinosaurs, from the author of the popular Commotion in the Ocean. These rhymes are ideal for reading aloud and learning by heart.

We love this whacky A-Z of weird and wonderful pets. With a different pet poem for each letter of the alphabet (from armadillos to zebras via kookaburras to umbrella birds!), the poems are quirky and energetic, making them perfect to read aloud. Children will enjoy finding the poem that matches their name’s initial or just dipping in and out of the rhythmical menagerie of verses.

Poet Brian Moses selects an appealing variety of poems about different festivals in this illustrated anthology suitable for Key Stage 1. Different styles of poetry capture the spirit of a range of festivals, from Pancake Day and Holi to Eid-ul-Fitr and Chinese New Year.

A collection of Julia Donaldson’s amusing poems and rhymes that are perfect for reading aloud and sharing. The laugh-out-loud poems about everyday topics are brimming with word-play and rhyme, making this collection an excellent choice for helping children to engage with poetry in an entertaining way.

A collection of poems for children who love solving brainteasers and cracking codes. The illustrated anthology includes riddles, acrostics, kennings and paradiddles (you’ll have to read the book if – like me- you didn’t already know what a paradiddle poem is…). There is also a section of the book designated to how to write different types of puzzle poems. A brilliantly fun introduction to poetry designed to get puzzle-loving children engaged with a variety of poetic forms.

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