Poetry: Books for Teens

"The term "Apple" is a slur in Native communities across the country. It's for someone supposedly "red on the outside, white on the inside." Eric Gansworth is telling his story in Apple (Skin to the Core). The story of his family, of Onondaga among Tuscaroras, of Native folks everywhere. From the horrible legacy of the government boarding schools, to a boy watching his siblings leave and return and leave again, to a young man fighting to be an artist...

The author takes readers on a poetic journey through her childhood in Harlem. León explores love and loss, melody and bloodshed as she navigates the intricacies of foster care, mourning, self-love, and resilience. She invites readers to dream with abandon-- because it is a privilege to dream at all. -- adapted from front flap.

Dream Catchers, the seventh volume created by members of POPS the Club, is an enlightening and inspiring collection of art, prose, and poetry by high-school students with a unique perspective: they have encountered the pain of the prison system--most have incarcerated loved ones, and some have themselves been in detention. By telling and sharing their stories, they not only start the process of healing but also illuminate a world many of us are unfamiliar...

"Originally performed at the Kennedy Center for the unveiling of the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial, and later as a tribute to Walter Dean Myers, this stirring and inspirational poem is New York Times bestselling author and National Book Award finalist Jason Reynolds's rallying cry to the dreamers of the world. For Every One is just that: for every one. For every one person. For every one dream. But especially for every one kid. The kids who dream...

"With authenticity, integrity, and insight, this collection of poems addresses the many issues confronting first- and second- generation young adult immigrants and refugees, such as cultural and language differences, homesickness, social exclusion, human rights, racism, stereotyping, and questions of identity. Poems by Elizabeth Acevedo, Erika L. Sánchez, Samira Ahmed, Chen Chen, Ocean Vuong, Fatimah Asghar, Carlos Andrés Gómez, Bao Phi, Kaveh...

A collection of seventy-two poems written especially for girls ages twelve and up by the much-honored and beloved poet Naomi Shihab Nye. "A lovely, rich collection that promises to be a lasting companion for young writers."—School Library Journal (starred review)

First love, friendship, school, family, community, having a crush, loving your mother and hating your mother, sense of self, body image, hopes and dreams . . . these

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"Growing up with a mother suffering from paranoid schizophrenia and a mostly absent father, Nikki Grimes found herself terrorized by babysitters, shunted from foster family to foster family, and preyed upon by those she trusted. At the age of six, she poured her pain onto a piece of paper late one night - and discovered the magic and impact of writing. For many years, Nikki's notebooks were her most enduing companions. In this accessible and inspiring...

A collection of poems about the experiences of young people and a section with information about how each poem was written to enable readers to create their own original poems.

Collects more than one hundred poems for young readers, with selections by Maya Angelou, Arthur Sze, Langston Hughes, Edgar Allan Poe, Walt Whitman, William Butler Yeats, and others; and includes an audio CD with some of the poets reading their works.