2012 Sneak Peek

It’s sneak peek time!
 The ALA Midwinter conference was in my backyard this weekend (so fun!) and I was there for the awards announcement yesterday morning. There were a few poetry titles scattered amongst the prizes: Thanhha Lai’s National Book Award winning Inside Out and Back Again received a Newbery honor, the Coretta Scott King Author Award included honor books The Great Migration by Eloise Greenfield and Never Forgotten by Patricia McKissack, and the Pura Belpre Award went to Under the Mesquite by Guadalupe Garcia McCall, with honors to Margarita Engle for Hurricane Dancers. (Interesting that multicultural poetry is getting such recognition—so worthy!)

I also had the opportunity to chat with the publishers, peruse new books, pore over catalogs, attend previews, and gather my annual “sneak peek” list of the poetry titles that are scheduled to be published in 2012. Of course this is subject to change with additional titles possible as the year rolls along. (I revised and updated this list on Sept. 20, 2012.)

Please let me know of any others I can add. I’ll be coming back to this posting throughout the year and adding titles, hoping to offer a one-stop spot here for referencing a 2012 list of poetry for kids throughout the year (and beyond). Meanwhile, I am THRILLED to share 50 (now 75!) titles of poetry for young people (including novels in verse) coming soon…


1. Andrews, Julie and Hamilton, Emma Walton. Eds. 2012. Julie Andrews’ Treasury for All Seasons: Poems and Songs to Celebrate the Year. Ill. by Marjorie Priceman. New York: Little, Brown.
2. Applegate, Katherine. 2012. The One and Only Ivan. Harper.
3. Argueta, Jorge. 2012. Guacamole; Un poema para cocinar/ A Cooking Poem. Ill. by Margarita Sada. Groundwood.
4. Brownlee, Liz. 2012. Animal Magic. Ill. by Rose Sanderson. London: Iron Press.
5. Cabrera, Jane. Adapter. 2012. Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star. New York: Holiday House. 
6. Calhoun, Dia. 2012. Eva of the Farm. Atheneum.
7. Clayton, Dallas. 2012. Make Magic! Do Good!. Somerville, MA: Candlewick.
8. Coombs, Kate. 2012. Water Sings Blue: Ocean Poems. Ill. by Meilo So. Chronicle.
9. Corcoran, Jill. Ed. 2012. Dare to Dream… Change the World. Kane Miller.
10. Cushman, Doug. 2012. Pigmares. Charlesbridge.
11. Davies, Nicola. 2012. Outside Your Window: A First Book of Nature. Ill. by Mark Hearld. Somerville, MA: Candlewick.
12. Dean, Carolee. 2012. Forget Me Not. New York: Simon Pulse.
13. Elliott, David. 2012. In the Sea. Ill. by Holly Meade. Somerville, MA: Candlewick.
14. Engle, Margarita. 2012. The Wild Book. Houghton Mifflin.
15. Farish, Terry. 2012. The Good Braider: A Novel. Marshall Cavendish.
16. Farrar, Sid. 2012. The Year Comes Round: Haiku Through the Seasons. Ill. by Ilse Plume. Whitman.
17. Florian, Douglas. 2012. Poem Runs; Baseball Poems and Paintings. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
18. Florian, Douglas. 2012. Unbeelievables: Honeybee Poems and Paintings. Beach Lane.
19. Florian, Douglas. 2012. Shiver Me Timbers! Ill. by Robert Neubecker. New York: Beach Lane/Simon & Schuster.
20. Frost, Helen. 2012. Step Gently Out. Ill. by Rick Lieder. Candlewick.
21. Fyleman, Rose. 2012. Mice. Ill. by Lois Ehlert. Simon & Schuster. 
22. Grady, Cynthia. 2012. I Lay My Stitches Down: Poems of American Slavery. Ill. by Michele Wood. Eerdmans.
23. Hale, Christy. 2012. Dreaming Up: A Celebration of Building. Lee & Low.
24. Harrison, David. 2012. Cowboys. Wordsong/Boyds Mills Press.
25. Heard, Georgia. Ed. 2012. The Arrow Finds its Mark: A Book of Found Poems. Macmillan.
26. Heidbreder, Robert. 2012. Noisy Poems for a Busy Day. Ill. by Lori Joy Smith. Toronto: Kids Can Press.
27. Hemphill, Stephanie. 2012. Sisters of Glass. Knopf.
28. Hoberman, Mary Ann. Ed. Forget-Me-Nots: Poems to Learn by Heart. Ill. by Michael Emberley. Little, Brown.
29. Hopkins, Ellen. 2012. Tilt. New York: Margaret K. McElderry. 
30. Hopkins, Lee Bennett. Ed. 2012. Nasty Bugs. Ill. by Will Terry. Dial.
31. Hopkins, Lee Bennett. 2012. Mary’s Song. Ill. by Stephen Alcorn. Eerdmans.
32. Hoyte, Carol-Ann and Roemer, Heidi Bee. Eds. 2012. And the Crowd Goes Wild!: A Global Gathering of Sports Poems. Ill. by Kevin Sylvester. Friesens Press.
33. Hughes, Langston. 2012. I, Too, Am America. Ill. by Bryan Collier. Simon & Schuster.
34. Jensen, Dana. 2012. A Meal of the Stars; Poems Up and Down. Houghton Mifflin.
35. Katz, Susan. 2012. The President’s Stuck in the Bathtub: Poems About U.S. Presidents. Clarion.
36. Kimmel, Eric A. Adapter. Moby Dick: Chasing the Great White Whale. Ill. by Andrew Glass. Feiwel & Friends.
37. Koertge, Ron. 2012. Lies, Knives, and Girls in Red Dresses. Ill. by Andrea Dezsö. Candlewick.
38. Lawson, JonArno. 2012. Down in the Bottom of the Bottom of the Box. Ill. by Alec Dempster. Erin, Ontario: Porcupine Quill's Press. 
39. Leavitt, Martine. 2012. My Book of Life by Angel.  New York: Farrar, Straus & Giroux.
40. Lesynki, Loris. 2012. Crazy About Soccer. Toronto: Annick Press.
41. Levine, Gail Carson. 2012. Forgive Me, I Meant to Do It: False Apology Poems. Ill. by Matthew Cordell. HarperCollins.
42. Lewis, J. Patrick. 2012. Edgar Allan Poe’s Pie: Math Puzzlers in Classic Poems. Ill. by Michael Slack. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
43. Lewis, J. Patrick and Yolen, Jane. 2012. Last Laughs: Animal Epitaphs. Ill. by Jeffrey Timmins. Charlesbridge.
44. Lewis, J. Patrick and Yolen, Jane. 2012. Take Two! A Celebration of Twins. Ill. by Sophie Blackall. Candlewick.
45. Lewis, J. Patrick. 2012. When Thunder Comes: Poems for Civil Rights Leaders. Chronicle.
46. Lewis, J. Patrick. 2012. If You Were a Chocolate Mustache: Poems. Ill. by Matt Cordell. Wordsong/Boyds Mills Press.
47. Lewis, J. Patrick. (Ed.) 2012. Book of Animal Poetry. National Geographic.
48. Lewis, J. Patrick. 2012. What’s Looking at You Kid? Ill. by Renee Graef. Sleeping Bear Press.
49. Luján, Jorge. 2012. Con el sol en los ojos/ With the Sun in My Eyes. Ill. by Morteza Zahedi. Groundwood.
50. Lurie, Susan. 2012. Frisky Brisky Hippity Hop by Alexina B. White. Ill. by Murray Head. Holiday House.
51. Marsalis, Wynton. 2012. Squeak, Rumble, Whomp! Whomp! Whomp! Ill. by Paul Rogers. Somerville, MA: Candlewick.
52. Mathers, Petra. Ed. 2012. The McElderry Book of Mother Goose: Revered and Rare Rhymes Compiled and Illustrated by Petra Mathers. Margaret K. McElderry Books.
53. McLaughlin, Timothy. Ed. 2012. Walking on Earth and Touching the Sky; Poetry and Prose by Lakota Youth at Red Cloud Indian School. Abrams.
54. Merchant, Natalie. Ed. 2012. Leave Your Sleep. Ill. by Barbara McClintock. Farrar, Straus & Giroux.
55. Nesbitt, Kenn. 2012. The Armpit of Doom: Poems for Giftedly Mental Children. Ill. by Rafael Domingos. CreateSpace.
56. Newman, Leslea. 2012. October Mourning: A Song for Matthew Shepard. Candlewick.
57. Ode, Eric. 2012. When You're a Pirate Dog and Other Pirate Poems. Ill. by Jim Harris. Pelican.
58. Opie, Iona and Peter Opie. Eds. 1992/2012. I Saw Esau: The Schoolchild's Pocket Book. Somerville, MA: Candlewick. (Reissued)
59. A Poem as Big as New York City: Little Kids Write About the Big Apple. Ill. by Masha D’yans. New York: Teachers Writers Collaborative.
60. Prelutsky, Jack. 2012. I’ve Lost My Hippopotamus. Ill. by Jackie Urbanovic. Greenwillow.
61. Rose, Caroline Starr. 2012. May B. Random House.
62. Rosen, Michael J. 2012. Running with Trains, A Novel in Poetry and Two Voices. Wordsong/Boyds Mills Press.
63. Rosen, Michael. 2012. Bananas in My Ears: A Collection of Nonsense Stories, Poems, Riddles, & Rhymes. Ill. by Quentin Blake. Somerville, MA: Candlewick.
64. Rosenthal, Betsy. 2012. Looking for Me. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.
65. Ross, Gary. 2012. Bartholomew Biddle and the Very Big Wind. Ill. by Matthew Myers. Somerville, MA: Candlewick. 
66. Shange, Ntozake. 2012. Freedom's a-Callin Me. Ill. by Rod Brown. Amistad/Collins.
67. Singer, Marilyn. 2012. The Boy Who Cried Alien. Ill. by Brian Biggs. Hyperion.
68. Singer, Marilyn, 2012. Every Day's a Dog's Day: A Year in Poems. Dial.
69. Singer, Marilyn. 2012. A Strange Place to Call Home: The World’s Most Dangerous Habitats and the Animals That Call Them Home. Ill. by Ed Young. Chronicle.
70. Singer, Marilyn. 2012. The Superheroes Employment Agency. Ill. by Noah Z. Jones. Clarion.
71. Sklansky, Amy E. 2012. Out of This World: Poems and Facts About Space. Knopf.
72. Smith, Charles R., Jr. 2012. Stars in the Shadows: The Negro League All-Star Game of 1934. Ill. by Frank Morrison. Atheneum.
73. Swain, Gwenyth. 2012. Hope and Tears: Ellis Island Voices. Honesdale, PA: Boyds Mills Press/Calkins Creek.
74. Thomas, Joyce Carol. 2012. In the Land of Milk and Honey. Ill. by Floyd Cooper. New York: HarperCollins.
75. Tregay, Sarah. 2012. Love & Leftovers. Katherine Tegen Books.
76. Vardell, Sylvia and Wong, Janet. Eds. 2012. The Poetry Friday Anthology. Princeton, NJ: Pomelo Books.
77. Weston, Robert Paul. 2012. Prince Pugly. Razorbill.
78. Wilson, Jacqueline. Ed. 2012. Green Glass Beads. Pan Macmillan Children's.
79. Wong, Janet. 2012. Declaration of Interdependence: Poems for an Election Year. PoetrySuitcase.
80. Yolen, Jane. 2012. Bug Off! Creepy Crawly Poems. Ill. by Jason Stemple. Wordsong/Boyds Mills Press.
81. Yolen, Jane. 2012. Ekaterinoslav: One Family's Passage to America, a Memoir in Verse. Duluth, MN: HolyCow! Press.
82. Yolen, Jane. 2012. The Emily Sonnets. Ill. by Gary Kelley. Creative Editions. 

Also... for adults, but with appeal to teens:
Petras, Kathryn & Ross. 2012. The Anthology of Really Important Modern Poetry: Timeless Poems By Snooki, John Boehner, Kanye West and Other Well-Versed Celebrities. Workman.
*a hilarious tongue-in-cheek book of "found" poetry with poems made from the actual comments of various celebrities

Also a poetry-related work:
Burak, Kate. 2012. Emily’s Dress and Other Missing Things. New York: Roaring Brook.

Image credit: 

evakipler.com

Posting by Sylvia M. Vardell © 2012. All rights reserved.