Time for a rhyme? Or maybe a new way of thinking

Poetry Books by various authors

c.2025,

Penguin                                             

$18.99 – $20                           

Various page counts

A, B, B, A.

That’s not only how you spell the name of a popular music group. That’s also how a poem might be structured if it rhymes or is created in other ways. That’s the thing about poetry: it’s all how you perceive it when making and reading it. So why not think about putting these great poetry books on your shelf this month…?

When you spend time with poetry, you expect a certain kind of relationship between the author and the reader. That’s only part of what you get in “The Space Between Men” by Mia S. Willis (Penguin Poets, $20). It might also change the way you feel.

Here, Willis – a poet, historian, and educator – explores culture, Black history, and what it’s like to be Black, Southern, and queer. When those various experiences come together in poetry here, it invites readers to consider the width and depth of the spaces and their mere existence.

This book is worth a good look if short but image-fueled poetry appeals to you.

Poetry can take your thoughts in many directions, including thoughts about yourself. If you’re hungry for soul-searching, try “Is This My Final Form?” by Amy Gerstler (Penguin Poets, $20).

Life doesn’t follow a straight line. Some things are two things at once, and situations can change, which are two points that seem to be everywhere in this book. Is this a series of biographical poems with a twist of imagination, or are the poems here a collection of new perceptions and ways to embrace what could be?  Please read and think about it because it’s up to the reader to interpret. However you perceive these poems, you may chuckle sometimes. For sure, you’ll want to reread them and think anew.

Finally, if your child loves the beauty of poetry and wonders how to create poems, then “The One and Only Rumi” by Rabiah York, illustrated by Maneli Manouchehri (Penguin, $18.99), is a book to bring to the table.

Here, children will learn the story of Muhammad, a wise young boy whose life changed when Genghis Khan came to his village. Muhammad was only allowed to fill a bag with possessions, and he knew he’d miss the birds and the friends he’d made at home. His father said it was unlikely that they’d ever return.

Yes, there were other birds and other friends in his lifetime, but Muhammad never forgot the first ones, and “he never stopped listening” to the wind, the sound of the leaves, or the laughter of others. He grew to become a man, a teacher, and a poet, as your 8-to-12-year-old will see in this beautifully illustrated, beautifully told book.

If these collections about poetry and life don’t quite fit what you need, be sure to ask your favorite bookseller or librarian for more. They can help you find poetry, silly rhymes, great biographies, and collections of verse that are perfect volumes to spend hours on. In the meantime, give these poetry books an “A.”