Poetry for Valentine's

 Just giving a poem—any poem-- is a lovely Valentine gesture, but if you’re looking for poetry for young people specifically ABOUT Valentine’s and all kinds of love, you won’t have much trouble. Poets have been pouring out their hearts for centuries. Young readers feel this same longing and often gravitate to very emotional “love” poetry—both in their reading and in their writing. You might even be surprised how popular these can be with adolescent readers (both boys and girls). This list is one of 150+ similar topical lists from my book, The Poetry Teacher’s Book of Lists. I hope you’ll check it out. Meanwhile, Valentine's poetry...

“Love” poetry for children

1. Adoff, Arnold. 1997. Love Letters.  New York: Scholastic.
2. cummings, e e. 2005. Love: Selected Poems by e e cummings. Ill. by Christopher Myers.
3. Greenfield, Eloise. 2003. Honey, I Love. New York: HarperCollins.
4. Grimes, Nikki. 1999. Hopscotch Love: A Family Treasury of Love Poems. New York: Lothrop, Lee & Shepard.
5. Hopkins, Lee Bennett. 2005. Valentine Hearts: Holiday Poetry. New York: HarperCollins.
6. Hopkins, Lee Bennett. Ed. 2005. Days to Celebrate: A Full Year of Poetry, People, Holidays, History, Fascinating Facts, and More. New York: Greenwillow.
7. Katz, Alan. 2010. Too Much Kissing; And Other Silly Dilly Songs About Parents. Simon & Schuster.
8. Lear, Edward. 2007. The Owl and the Pussycat. Toronto: Kids Can Press.
9. Levine, Gail Carson. 2012. Forgive Me, I Meant to Do It: False Apology Poems. Ill. by Matthew Cordell. HarperCollins.
10. Livingston, Myra Cohn. 1985. Celebrations. New York: Holiday House.
11. Livingston, Myra Cohn. Ed. 1987. Valentine Poems. New York: Holiday House.
12. Marzollo, Jean. 2000. I Love You: A Rebus Poem. New York: Scholastic.
13. Mora, Pat. 2001. Ed. Love to Mamá: A Tribute to Mothers. New York: Lee & Low.
14. Pearson, Susan. 2006. Slugs in Love. New York: Marshall Cavendish.
15. Prelutsky, Jack. 1996. It’s Valentine’s Day. New York: HarperTrophy.
16. Sidman, Joyce. 2007. This is Just to Say: Poems of Apology and Forgiveness. Ill. by Pamela Zagarenski. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.
17. Singer, Marilyn. 2011. Twosomes: Love Poems from the Animal Kingdom. New York: Knopf.
18. Steptoe, Javaka. Ed. 1997. In Daddy's Arms I Am Tall: African Americans Celebrating Fathers. New York: Lee & Low.
19. Strachan, Linda. 2003. What Colour is Love? London: Bloomsbury.
20. Thomas, Joyce Carol. 2001. A Mother’s Heart, A Daughter’s Love: Poems for Us to Share. New York: HarperCollins.
21. Walker, Rob D. 2009. Mama Says: A Book of Love For Mothers and Sons. Ill. by Leo and Diane Dillon. New York: Scholastic.
22. Wilson, Karma. 2003. Bear Hugs: Romantically Ridiculous Animal Rhymes. New York: McElderry Books.
23. Yolen, Jane. 2009. How Do Dinosaurs Say I Love You? New York: Scholastic.
24. Young, Ed. 1997. Voices of the Heart. New York: Scholastic.

“Love” poetry or young adults

1. Block, Francesca Lia. 2008. How to (Un)Cage a Girl. New York: Joanna Cotler.
2. Fletcher, Ralph J. 1998. Room Enough for Love: the Complete Poems of I Am Wings and Buried Alive: Poems. New York: Aladdin.
3. Franco, Betsy. 2008. Falling Hard: Teenagers on Love. Somerville, MA: Candlewick Press.
4. Hemphill, Stephanie. 2012. Sisters of Glass. New York: Knopf.
5. Herrera, Juan Felipe. 1999. Crashboomlove. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press.
6. Herrick, Steven. 2004. A Place Like This. New York: Simon Pulse.
7. Herrick, Steven. 2004. Love, Ghosts, & Facial Hair. New York: Simon Pulse.
8. Holbrook, Sara and Wolf, Allan. 2008. More Than Friends; Poems from Him and Her. Honesdale, PA: Wordsong/Boyds Mills Press.
9. Janeczko, Paul B. Ed. 2004. Blushing: Expressions of Love in Poems and Letters. New York: Scholastic.
10. Merriam, Eve. 1983. If Only I Could Tell You: Poetry for Young Lovers and Dreamers. New York: Knopf.
11. Mora, Pat. 2010. Dizzy in Your Eyes. New York: Knopf.
12. Myers, Walter Dean. 2009. Amiri and Odette: A Dance for Two. New York: Scholastic.
13. Pockell, Leslie. Ed. 2003. The 100 Best Love Poems of All Time. New York: Warner.
14. Sayer, Viv. Ed. 2008. Poems of Love and Longing. London: Pont Books.
15. Soto, Gary. 1990. A Fire in My Hands. New York: Scholastic.
16. Soto, Gary. 2009. Partly Cloudy: Poems of Love and Longing. Orlando: Harcourt.
17. Tregay, Sarah. 2012. Love & Leftovers. New York: Katherine Tegen.
18. Vecchione, Patrice. Ed. 2004. Revenge and Forgiveness. New York: Henry Holt.

Image credit: Teachingwithheart.blogspot.com

Posting by Sylvia M. Vardell © 2013. All rights reserved.