Coelho, Joseph. Spooky Poems Aloud: 25 Poems to Frighten and Delight. Daniel Gray-Barnett, Illus. Wide Eyed, 08/2024. 40pp. Poetry. Trade $19.99. 978-0-7112-8740-2. GRADES 3–6. HIGH ADDITIONAL.
Coelho (UK Children’s Laureate 2022-2024) has written twenty-five original poems celebrating all things scary and spooky, covering topics such as ghosts, monsters, and graveyards. There is a sentence at the beginning of most poems describing its type, which includes limericks, tankas, poems with a repeating line, whispered poems, and more. Teachers could use this to inspire students to write some of these types of poems. Overall, the spooky theme and monster characters will attract readers, even if a few of the poems have imperfect rhymes (such as “creak” and “creep”). The fun, full-color cartoon illustrations feature children of various races and keep the collection from being too scary. Review based on an ARC.
Penny Peck—San José State University iSchool