I adore poetry, and in recent years, I’ve clung to Black verse novels for myself, my children, and the kiddos in my book club. Narrative poetry is growing in popularity, and for good reason. The format lends itself to creative writing at its best, and the authors who are trying their hand at it are making a splash with young readers. National Poetry Month will be here before we know it, and your tweens and teens will surely welcome the Black verse novels below if your family or class would like to get involved.

What’s attracting me to this combination of fiction and poetry? Most of my love for Black verse novels is simply the pure enjoyment of consistently compelling and engaging stories, but there are other reasons that I seek them out:

The genre opens young people’s minds to new possibilities. They see how fascinating poetry can be as a complement to prose. Also, the format with plenty of white space on the page makes it easy for them to embrace books and topics they may otherwise feel less interested in.

Poetry that doesn’t rhyme can be difficult for some kids and teens to get into. By placing the verses within a story with a clear beginning, middle, and end, readers can easily follow along without any expectation that the lines will rhyme.

I notice how selective authors are when writing in verse. It’s as if they’ve carefully weighed and considered every single word. None are gratuitous, and none are spared. It feels beautifully precise, and not only is it a pleasure to read this type of writing, but I think it can help students who tend to add a bunch of flowery words without substance. More is definitely not always better.

Verse novels are often quick (or quicker) reads. This is a benefit when free time is scarce or when readers are in the mood for something they can complete in a relatively short time. That’s one of the reasons that I like these books for book club; it ensures that the kids aren’t overwhelmed with the additional reading above and beyond their school books.

Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, I may earn commissions from qualifying purchases using these links, at no additional cost to you. Thank you for your support.

Most Black verse books on our shelves are Young Adult (YA) titles, which are best for teens as they have more mature content and sometimes curse words. If you’re looking for middle school options, you can safely go with Brown Girl Dreaming, The Red Pencil, Crossover, Garvey’s Choice, and Catching a Story Fish.

If you’ve read any of these, please comment with your thoughts and share any others that your family or students have enjoyed!

You can find me on Instagram @heritagemomblog, and you can learn more about my family’s experience with poetry in my book, A PLACE TO BELONG.