Recommended children's booklists sorted by age or topic

Topic: Poetry Upper KS2

Poetry for Year 5 & Year 6

Poetry

Best Poetry Books for Children Aged 9-11 – Upper KS2

Introduce your Year 5 and 6 children to a range of poets with our selection of poetry books for Upper KS2. From classic poems and nature verses to laugh-out-loud rhymes and award-winning collections, we’ve picked out a range of our favourite books that encourage a love of poetry for children aged 9-11.

We recommend introducing youngsters to a range of different types of poems, both for pleasure and for study. Upbeat collections like Matt Goodfellow’s Bright Bursts of Colour of Mandy Coe’s Belonging Street are always a hit for dipping into in the classroom. For more real-life and thought-provoking verses, try Joseph Coelho’s Overheard in a Tower Block or Sharon Creech’s much-loved verse novel Love That Dog. If you want something that’s always popular in the classroom for hooking KS2 children on poetry, try Karl Nova’s award-winning Rhythm and Poetry, which draws on the poet’s Hip Hop roots, or Benjamin Zephaniah’s collection Funky Chickens. For classic poetry, Shakespeare for Every Day of the Year is a handy addition to any teacher’s desk for a burst of verse in those spare few minutes at the end of a lesson.

If you are looking for other Year 5 and Year 6 recommendations, be sure to check out our Reading for Pleasure booklists, and for more poetry ideas try our whole school poetry booklist.

New and Collected Poems for Children

Carol Ann Duffy

Poetry

This stellar edition of her poems brings together work from her four award-winning collections for children, and sprinkles in a generous helping of new poems to match. From her dazzlingly debut Meeting Midnight through to her newest, brightest poems, Carol Ann Duffy’s writing for younger readers has always bubbled with wit and humour, intelligence and affection, and introduced us to many strange and wonderful characters along the way. Among the enchanting voices to be heard are those of the Loch Ness Monster’s husband, the oldest girl in the world and a herd of cows on a shopping trip to Manchester.

Inside Out & Back Again

Thanhha Lai

Chapter book, Poetry

Inspired by the author’s childhood experience as a refugee–fleeing Vietnam after the Fall of Saigon and immigrating to Alabama–this coming-of-age debut novel told in verse has been celebrated for its touching child’s-eye view of family and immigration.

Hà has only ever known Saigon: the thrills of its markets, the joy of its traditions, and the warmth of her friends close by. But now the Vietnam War has reached her home. Hà and her family are forced to flee as Saigon falls, and they board a ship headed toward hope–toward America.

This moving story of one girl’s year of change, dreams, grief, and healing received four starred reviews, including one from Kirkus which proclaimed it enlightening, poignant, and unexpectedly funny.

An author’s note explains how and why Thanhha Lai translated her personal experiences into Hà’s story. This paperback edition also includes an interview with the author, an activity you can do with your family, tips on writing poetry, and discussion questions.

Zombierella

Freya Hartas & Joseph Coelho

Chapter book, Poetry

We love a fairy tale with a twist and so eagerly welcomed the arrival of this new illustrated middle-grade series from Joseph Coelho and Freya Hartas, with this first instalment placing a deviously dark twist on the Cinderella story.

In this version, Cinderella (so called because she wears a locket containing her deceased mother’s ashes), lives with a ‘fake’ family made up of an evil stepmother and three beautiful and fake sisters. After losing both parents and her beloved horse Lumpkin, Cinderella feels very much alone in the world. The town receives a visit from a royal prince with unusually gothic tastes, who brings with him three days of parties and the promise of betrothal to a potential suitor from the town. When Cinderella suffers a slip on the stairs, life as she knows it comes to an end and she returns in a haze of gory glory as Zombierella before proceeding to win the prince’s heart for herself.

Coelho’s treatment of the story is as delightfully amusing as it is deliciously dark. After years of Disneyfication and a ‘softening up’ of this well-known tale for a generation who often find their stories served up with a little more happily-ever-after and a little less goriness, this version takes a direct step in the colder and creepier direction that you might expect from Roald Dahl’s fairy tales or the original Grimm stories. There’s plenty to shock – from the cold and detached reporting of Cinderella’s sudden death to the spooky insertion of pulled-out brains, loosened guts and severed limbs into a star-crossed rags-to-riches love story. There’s an enjoyable streak of dark humour and plenty of wit in both the author’s free verse and Freya Hartas’ stylishly expressive black and white illustrations. The story is framed by the voice of a librarian (fans of Coelho might expect nothing less) and leaves with the promise of more from the ‘Fairy Tales Gone Bad’ series – which I’m really looking forward to seeing unfold.

This Rock That Rock

Dom Conlon & Vivian Schwarz

Poetry

To celebrate 50 years since the first moon landing by Apollo 11 in 1969, here is an original collection of 50 poems. In his poems Dom tells us of two important things – the Moon is incredible: it controls our tides, to give us 24-hour days and it keeps our planet stable enough to have seasons. Dom reminds us that poetry too is incredible because it is the most flexible form of expressing ourselves and has been always how we used to tell stories, particularly about our ways of seeing this incredible Moon. The Moon is an inspiring rock of possibilities. Dom uses lots of poetry forms, short poems and long ones, silly ones and serious ones. There are haiku and sonnets, acrostics and shapes. He uses metaphors and kennings and slang. Dom says read the poems and fly to the moon!

Dear Ugly Sisters and Other Poems

Laura Mucha & Tania Rex

Poetry

Tonight I fancy a flight,
so I shuffle my short feathers
and jump…

Take off on a night flight, have a monster’s lunch, listen to birdsong, shout out the Apatosaurus rap and check out Alexander Fleming’s petri dish. The read the note Cinderella left for her Ugly Sisters!

A spectacular debut collection from an exciting new poet who is also a brilliant performer of her work in schools and festivals.

Peacock Pie

Walter de la Mare

Poetry

The perfect gift for children aged 8+, this stunning classic collection of poetry will delight a new generation of readers of the Faber Children’s Classics list.

Peacock Pie contains the finest of Walter de la Mare’s poems for children, accompanied by exquisite original illustrations from Edward Ardizzone. This beautiful new edition of a classic anthology is an essential part of any child’s bookshelf.

Cherry Moon

Junli Song & Zaro Weil

Poetry

This wondrous new poetry collection captures eye-popping moments, tender observations and a thousand whimsical reflections on the sheer joy of the natural world. Thought-provoking, sensitive and delightfully original, Cherry Moon, poses big questions about life with poems and other small gatherings of words; encouraging children of every age to explore the power, enchantment and sheer wonderfulness of nature.

Rhythm and Poetry

Karl Nova

Poetry

Rhythm and Poetry (otherwise known as RAP) is by Hip Hop artist and poet Karl Nova. The beauty of rap lyricism and Hip Hop influenced poetry is displayed with wit, humour and positivity. His approach is to meet young people where they are and engage them with the style and attitude they are familiar with. This collection reflects on his journey of growth from childhood to adulthood through the lens of Hip Hop culture.

Sensational!

Roger McGough

Poetry

The wonderful Roger McGough has drawn together a stunning collection of poems inspired by the five senses. Gems from the very best classic and contemporary poets such as Carol Ann Duffy, Ian McMillan, John Hegley, William Wordsworth, Vernon Scannell and Michael Rosen will captivate any reader. Prepare for a welcome assault on your senses!