National Poetry Day falls on 3rd October this year, and what better excuse to celebrate our love of poetry here at LoveReading4Kids than to create a collection of poetry books we adore.

Each year we come together because voices, words and stories help to bridge understanding in our community.

Why do we need National Poetry Day?

Research from the National Literacy Trust shows that, as well as providing an outlet for creativity, engagement with poetry is associated with positive literacy behaviours.

  • In 2022, 3 in 10 (28.0%) children and young people said that they read poetry in their free time at least once a month.

  • Most poetry readers were motivated to read poetry to learn new words (67.6%), new things (65.8%) or about other people and cultures (51.8%).

  • 1 in 2 (50.9%) children and young people who read poetry in their free time write poetry in their free time, compared with just 7.1% of children who don’t read poetry.

  • Children and young people who read poetry had higher reading engagement than those who do not read poetry. Compared with those who do not read poetry, more children who read poetry said that they enjoy reading (62.3% vs. 42.0%), read daily (37.7% vs. 24.3%) and see themselves as good readers (85.5% vs. 78.2%).

And according to The Runnymede Trust and Penguin Random House Lit in Colour Report (2020) -

  • Poetry is the most common way for secondary students to encounter a Black, Asian or other minority ethnic author and single poems are the easiest texts to insert into the curriculum. 

As you know we go all out on National Poetry Day each year, our nation's annual mass celebration on the first Thursday of October, that encourages all to enjoy, discover and share poetry. This year, National Poetry Day takes place today, on 3 October 2024, and the theme is Counting.

As usual on National Poetry Day we also announce the winners of our 2024 LoveReading4Kids Poetry Prize, our competition for children ages 7- 11 from across the UK. The winning poet wins a trophy and certificate, a batch of gorgeous poetry books, plus a visit to their school from poet Laura Mucha. 

Here, we share and celebrate our favourite poetry books, and hope they bring you as much joy as they do us.

Explore the resources provided by the National Literacy Trust for National Poetry Day.

National Poetry Day

#NationalPoetryDay