Poetry for Kids

Halloween is coming up soon, so this year I decided to write several different pumpkin poems. Out of all of them, this one quickly became one of my favorites.

One of the fun things about visiting a pumpkin patch is seeing how many different kinds of pumpkins there are. Some are tall, some are short, some are wide, some are skinny, and some have funny stems or unusual colors and stripes. When every pumpkin has something special about it, picking just one can be a lot harder than it sounds.

That was the idea behind this poem. I wanted to write something simple, playful, and a little bit silly about trying to choose the perfect pumpkin for Halloween. I hope it reminds you of a trip to a pumpkin patch of your own.

Pumpkin Problems

I’m searching for a pumpkin

I want a jack-o’-lantern for

I found a long and skinny one.

I found one with a curly stem.

— Kenn Nesbitt

Football season has just begun, and some members of my family are already enthusiastically watching the games and hoping their favorite team will make it to the Super Bowl again this year.

I’ve written lots of sports poems over the years, including a couple about football. But those poems could just as easily have been about soccer as American football. This is the first poem I’ve written that is unmistakably about American football, complete with a quarterback throwing the ball and sending it spiraling through the air.

When I started thinking about what kind of football poem I wanted to write, I thought it might be fun to tell the story from the football’s point of view. After all, what would it feel like to actually *be* a football? You’d get to soar through the air while thousands of people cheered. Players would leap to catch you, cradle you in their arms, protect you from the other team, and carry you down the field. That sounds like a pretty exciting life.

Of course, being a football might have its downsides too. But I’ll let the football tell you about those itself.

Here’s my newest poem…

It’s Fun to Be a Football

It’s fun to be a football.

The quarterback releases me.

The players leap to catch me.

They hold me close and rock me

It’s honestly incredible

 — Kenn Nesbitt

I wrote this poem because, here in the northern hemisphere, summer is almost over and fall will be here in just a few days. But, at least where I live, you wouldn’t necessarily know it from the weather. The days are still sunny and warm, and it still feels a lot like summer, even though I know the cooler autumn weather will be arriving before long.

That got me thinking about what might happen if Summer and Autumn were actual people with jobs to do and schedules to keep. Maybe Summer can’t simply leave whenever he wants. Perhaps he has to wait for Autumn to show up and take over his shift first. And what if Autumn happens to be running a little late?

Of course, when Summer leaves us here in the northern hemisphere, he has somewhere important to go. In places south of the equator, such as Australia, South Africa, and much of South America, the seasons are reversed. Their summer runs roughly from December through March, while we’re having winter. So I imagined Summer getting ready to head south, with people there eagerly waiting for his arrival, while Autumn has reasons of her own for not being quite ready to take his place.

The result is a phone conversation between two very busy seasons trying to sort out their schedules.

Summer and Autumn

The Summer phoned the Autumn

“My shift is nearly over and

“I’m shopping for an outfit.

“As soon as I can find the one

“But Autumn,” said the Summer,

“South Africa’s been calling too.

So if it’s hot and sunny when

— Kenn Nesbitt

My wife recently started a new job as a school picture day photographer. Every day when she comes home, she has interesting, and often funny stories about the people and things she photographed that day. She’s taken pictures of hundreds of students, of course, but she’s also photographed teachers, school staff, and even a principal’s dog!

One thing she quickly discovered is that the grown-ups aren’t necessarily any easier to photograph than the kids. Teachers, for example, are much more likely to ask for do-overs of their staff photos because they didn’t like their smile, their hair, or the way they looked in the first one.

After hearing all these stories, I started thinking that picture day sounded like a perfect subject for a poem. My wife agreed and asked me to write a funny picture day poem that she could share with her coworkers.

So I wrote this one. Thankfully, she liked it. I hope you do too.

Picture Day

It’s picture day at school today.

I mugged for the photographer.

She said, “Say cheese!” I puffed my cheeks

She told me that, for picture day,

The camera clicked. I laughed so hard

— Kenn Nesbitt

The beginning of a new school year can be exciting, but it can also be a little scary. You might wonder who you’ll sit with, whether you’ll make new friends, or whether the other kids will think you’re cool. That was one of the ideas that got me started on this poem.

The other idea has been bouncing around in my head for years. Once, during an assembly at an elementary school, I was speaking to about 200 fourth- and fifth-graders. We were going to write a poem together, so I asked for a volunteer to tell me their favorite thing ever… something we could use as the subject of our poem.

I called on one student, and they enthusiastically shouted, “Space llamas!”

I thought that was hilarious and I told them so, though I heard a lot of other kids groan, which just goes to show that we don’t all like the same things and that’s okay. We ended up writing about regular llamas that day, but I never forgot those space llamas. Every so often, they would wander back into my imagination, waiting for the right poem.

Well, I finally found a place for them. Here’s a back-to-school poem about feeling nervous, trying to fit in, and, of course, Space Llamas.

Space Llamas

I dyed my hair green for the first day of school.

It looked like I’d have to sit right next to him;

My legs turned to noodles. I whispered a prayer.

I plodded along for what felt like a mile,

 — Kenn Nesbitt

Sometimes magazines ask me to write poems on a specific topic. Earlier this year, an editor at Storyworks 4-6, a multi-genre magazine for students in grades 4–6, asked me to write a poem about being nervous about making new friends on the first day of school. Instead of writing just one poem, I did what I usually do and wrote several different ideas so the editor would have a few to choose from.

In the end, they picked a different poem, called “Friendship Starter Kit,” which you’ll be able to read in the September 2026 issue of Storyworks 4-6. But I liked this one so much that I didn’t want it to sit in a folder on my computer, so I decided to share it here instead.

I think one of the nicest things about making new friends is that sometimes it happens when you least expect it. You don’t always have to plan it. Sometimes all it takes is a funny coincidence, a shared interest, or even grabbing the wrong lunchbox. I hope you enjoy it. This is…

Lunchbox Switcheroo

I brought my new lunchbox the first day of school.

At lunchtime the bell rang. I picked up my lunch.

I unlatched my lunchbox and, to my surprise,

I jumped from the table and, snapping the lid,

I said, “You like Zombie Bananas? No way!”

— Kenn Nesbitt

Celebrate the upcoming release of The Greatest Book of Poetry Ever Written by Kenn Nesbitt! In this special episode, Kenn shares the story behind his biggest poetry collection yet… a “greatest hits” volume featuring 120 of his favorite poems from across his career, including 18 poems appearing in print for the very first time.

Learn why this book is especially meaningful to Kenn, hear about the wonderful illustrations by Rafael Domingos, and discover why a heartfelt endorsement from Jack Prelutsky makes this release one he’ll always treasure.

Plus, enjoy an exclusive reading of a brand-new poem from the collection, “The Pirate of Pickletown.”

Pre-order the Kindle edition here: https://kennn.com/greatestebook

The paperback and hardcover editions will be released on October 13, 2026.

When I’m writing a poem, I often know how it’s going to end long before I know how it’s will begin. It’s a little like taking a road trip. You don’t usually hop in the car and start driving without a destination in mind. First, you decide where you want to go. Then you figure out how to get there. You might take a wrong turn or two along the way, but if you keep your destination in sight, you’ll eventually arrive.

This poem came together much the same way. The ending popped into my head first, and I knew I wanted to build a poem that would lead naturally to it. The challenge was finding just the right beginning and then connecting all the dots in between. Fortunately, I had two very cooperative octopuses to help me get there. I hope you enjoy it. This is…

Octo-Pair

An octopus walking along the sea floor

He also exclaimed, with a look of surprise,

“Our tentacles also are all the same size,

— Kenn Nesbitt

When I was a kid, it seems like I was always getting in trouble with my parents for misbehaving. The funny thing is, I usually didn’t think I was doing anything wrong. I was just having fun. I didn’t know I wasn’t supposed to kick the newly planted flowers in the garden or chew on the edge of the dining room table. Somehow, though, my parents always disagreed. Those childhood memories were the inspiration for this poem, although once I started writing, the idea quickly took on a life of its own. I hope you enjoy it, and if you’ve ever gotten into trouble without quite understanding why, you might just recognize a little of yourself in this one.

I Might Have Misbehaved Today

Mom asked me when I misbehaved.

“It might have been at lunch

“Or maybe when my undies clogged

My mother wasn’t happy with

— Kenn Nesbitt

I wrote this poem because I’m due for a haircut next week, and I have reached that awkward stage where my hair feels just a little too long. It’s not quite wild enough to be a problem, but it’s long enough that I find myself looking forward to my appointment and wishing it would get here sooner.

At the same time, summer has finally arrived. After months of cool, rainy weather, the idea of spending time outdoors on a warm, sunny day sounded especially appealing. That got me wondering: what if there were a barber who worked outside instead of inside a shop? Before long, I had imagined Benny Buzzcut, a barber who gives haircuts in his back yard and has become so popular that people come from all over to visit him.

As often happens with my poems, I started with a silly idea and then followed it wherever it wanted to go. Along the way, Benny’s little back yard business grew bigger and busier, and the poem eventually found its own amusing ending. I hope you enjoy meeting Benny Buzzcut as much as I enjoyed writing about him.