Poetry can be expressed in many ways. Although traditional poetry fills library shelves, so do novels written in verse. This unique style of storytelling encourages intentionality with every written word. Generally, this writing style explores complicated and diverse topics using less text than a traditional narrative. Here is a small sampling of books that introduce readers to this engaging lyrical genre.
Read Novels in Verse
The Red Pencil
Pinkney, Andrea Davis
Scraps
“Our house is made of rice-bag scraps
No walls,
only plastic flaps,
billowing
in stale breezes.
The roof of this rice-bag house
is patched together
from roots
of diseased, brittle trees.
This place,
this dwelling,
a misshapen dome.
Home?”
—Excert from The Red Pencil
This Promise of Change: One Girl's Story in the Fight for School Equality
Boyce, Jo Ann Allen