Novels in Verse for Kids

Description: Carlos knows that when the soldiers arrive with warnings about the Communist rebels, it is time to be a man and defend the village, keep everyone safe. But Mama tells him not yet -- he's still her quiet moonfaced boy. The soldiers laugh at the villagers, and before they move on, a neighbor is found dangling from a tree, a sign on his neck: Communist. Mama tells Carlos to run and hide, then try to find her. Numb and alone, he must join a band of guerillas as they trek to the top of the mountain where Carlos's abuela lives. Will he be in time, and brave enough, to warn them about the soldiers? What will he do then? A novel in verse inspired by actual events during Guatemala's civil war.--Amazon.

Description: Sixth-grader Emmy tries to find her place in a new school and to figure out how she can create her own kind of music using a computer.

Description: In this novel told through poems, nine-year-old Sam loves fishing with his dad, so when his pesky little sister horns in on their fishing trip, he is none too pleased.

Description: Through a series of poems, a young girl chronicles the life-changing year of 1975, when she, her mother, and her brothers leave Vietnam and resettle in Alabama.

Description: When nine-year-old Eleanor's beloved babysitter Bibi moves away to care for her ailing father, Eleanor must spend the summer adjusting to a new babysitter while mourning the loss of her old one.

Description: Sent with her mother to the safety of a relative's home in Cincinnati when her Syrian hometown is overshadowed by violence, Jude worries for the family members who were left behind as she adjusts to a new life with unexpected surprises.

Description: Told in verse in two voices, with a chorus of fellow students, this is a story of two girls, opposites in many ways, who are drawn to each other; Kate appears to be a stereotypical cheerleader with a sleek ponytail and a perfectly polished persona, Tam is tall, athletic and frequently mistaken for a boy, but their deepening friendship inevitably changes and reveals them in ways they did not anticipate.

Description: "For the brother and sister in this story in verse, each day begins with a barnyard wakeup call. They are spending the summer on their grandparents' farm, where they collect eggs from the chicken coop, fill in for the farm dog by barking the cows home, and dance around the perfectly ripening watermelon growing in Grandma's garden. All their barnyard adventures happen in the company of Rexter, the rooster, Seed-Sack the mule and Ginger-Tea the farm dog--animal friends that will steal readers' hearts over the course of a carefree 'rooster summer'"--Jacket flap.

Description: "It is the summer of 1775. The British occupy Boston and its busy harbor, holding residents captive and keeping a strong military foothold. The threat of smallpox looms, and the town is cut off, even from food supplies. Following the battles of Lexington and Concord, Congress unanimously elects George Washington commander in chief of the American armed forces, and he is sent to Cambridge, Massachusetts, to transform the ragtag collection of volunteer militiamen into America's first army. The war has so far been little more than a series of intermittent skirmishes, but Washington is in constant fear of attack--until he takes the offensive with results that surprise everyone, the British most of all"--Jacket flap.