“In my books I usually write in verse when the heart of what I want the reader to grasp is a feeling that I can’t explain. A feeling that poetry gives life to.”—Amber McBride
April is National Poetry Month, and here is a fantastic list of middle-grade (MG) and young adult (YA) books by Black authors for tween and teen readers to get into. Amber McBride, whose YA novel-in-verse and National Book Award Finalist Me (Moth) debuted in 2021, has both an MG and YA title on the list. Explore the titles to find something from prolific and new Black writers. For more poetry books and novels-in-verse, see 40 Children’s & YA Books and Poetry Books and Verse Novels on the Our Stories Matter Bookshop.
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Amber McBride | Feiwel & Friends | October 1, 2024 | MG
2. Black Star (The Door of No Return)
Kwame Alexander | Little, Brown BYR | September 24, 2024 | MG
3. Mid-Air
Alicia D. Williams | Danica Novgorodoff | Atheneum Books | April 23, 2024 | MG
Lesa Cline-Ransome | Holiday House | March 5, 2024 | MG
Courtne Comrie | HarperCollins | October 24, 2023 | MG
Sharon G. Flake | Knopf BYR | July 11, 2023 | MG
Jasminne Mendez | Dial Books | March 14, 2023 | MG
Kaija Langley | Nancy Paulsen Books | June 6, 2023 | MG
9. A Bird in the Air Means We Can Still Breathe
Mahogany L. Browne | Crown BYR | March 11, 2025 | YA
Tony Keith Jr. | Quill Tree Books | February 25, 2025 | YA
11. (S)Kin
Ibi Zoboi | Versify | February 11, 2025 | YA
Nadine Pinede | Candlewick | December 3, 2024 | YA
Lisa Roberts Carter | Whitney Mitchell | Central Avenue Teen | May 28, 2024 | YA
14. The Unboxing of a Black Girl
Angela Shanté | Page Street | May 7, 2024 | YA
Renée Watson | Ekua Holmes | Kokila | February 13, 2024 | YA
16. Bright Red Fruit
Safia Elhillo | Make Me a World | February 6, 2024 | YA
17. How the Boogeyman Became a Poet
Tony Keith, Jr | Katherine Tegen Books | February 6, 2024 | YA
18. Poemhood: Our Black Revival
Amber McBride | Erica Martin | Taylor Byas | HarperTeen | January 30, 2024 | YA
19. Salt the Water
Candice Iloh | Dutton BYR | October 3, 2023 | YA
Hannah V. Sawyerr | Amulet Books | September 19, 2023 | YA
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