One of the resources I have been exploring is the verse novel resource. The resource covers verse novels aimed at younger readers and young adult readers. This resource can help people who are new to verse novels find the right one to start with or give readers like me a broader idea of what Australian verse novels are out there.
To put this post together. I consulted the NCACL website, the Australian Children’s Poetry website, and other websites linked throughout.
A verse novel is defined as a novel-length narrative told in poetry rather than verse, and depending on the story, will use different types of poetry and poetic forms to tell the story. The poetry within the verse novel will have a distinct voice as well. It is a distinct hybrid form which has its roots in epic poetry but is a newer development stretching back to the nineteenth century and has taken different forms throughout its history. Verse novels, as Sally Murphy points out, need to consider things like line length, but also whether the story and all its elements will work as a verse novel. I can see how this would be a good process, as some stories might work better as prose novels, whilst others have the most impact as verse novels, such as one I read recently called Sunshine on Vinegar Street by Karen Comer. From my reading, the rhythm of the verse novel is just as important as the narrative, because the verses and poetic forms used in combination with the words are what ensure the novels have impact where they need to.
The Australian Children’s Poetry website (linked above) gives a good overview by Sherryl Clark on reading a verse novel, and I have been consulting this along with the NCACL website to give an understanding of verse novels for those who have not encountered them yet. Sherryl Clark, the author of the article linked above, says that unlike a collection of poetry, you cannot dip in and out of a verse novel. It tells a story, so each poem needs to be read in order, and they can be slow or fast, or somewhere in between or a bit of both – I have experienced this with the verse novels I have read, and I am hoping to read some more at some stage as well. Sometimes, you might need to take time with verse novels to appreciate the images, the emotions and ideas, and the way they come out in the poem in a less direct way than a prose novel. These poems can speak to the imagination, and they also cannot stand alone – in a couple that I have read recently, the poems speak to each other, especially when there are two or three characters involved, as the poems will connect the characters who might be in different places or part of a different species – as in Queen Narelle by Sally Murphy, who has written a few verse novels. Poems in verse novels are strongly linked to the storyline and will not really mean anything when taken out of their context.
The National Centre for Australian Children’s Literature currently has a collection of 63 verse novels. Verse novels are a unique way to tell a story, transforming the prose story into verses of poetry rather than prose, but the verses don’t always rhyme. In fact, the NCACL defines a verse novel as an extended narrative told in free verse. Based on the ones I have read; the story will dictate the style of the poetry and the forms of the verses that are used to tell the story. It is a form that can help reluctant readers get into a book or give anyone a new take on a story. It might feel like something is missing from the story with such sparse usage of language. There’s not – everything is there. The NCACL resource has a great list of books, further split into Younger Readers and Young Adult Readers in interactive Microsoft Sway documents, but there is also a complete bibliography in a Word Document that can be downloaded as well, that I hope will be added to as more Verse novels are given to the National Centre for Australian Children’s Literature.
The NCACL states in their introductory resource that a verse novel can be a useful device to tell a story through multiple perspectives, which is what Queen Narelle by Sally Murphy and The Little Wave by Pip Harry do – the former uses the perspectives of a cat and a young girl, in the same family, and the latter tells a story about three kids from two different schools, and what happens as the school in the country prepares to visit the coast and the friendships that develop across the novel. The verse novels resource, much like the other databases was put together through careful research by experts with knowledge and experience about Australian children’s literature including Belle Alderman, Kathryn Apel, Sally Murphy, and Ruth Nitschke, and their editor was Susan Hall. This team oversaw a scope that gathered Australia’s long history of verse novels from well-known authors and new creators that ensured the stories included were diverse across cultures, historical periods, and presentation styles, as some include illustrations, and some have lines of text presented in all sorts of interesting ways. What I think works about this resource is that it includes books that will appeal to a wide range of audiences across all ages. Like the previous resources, each entry in the verse novel resource has an annotation, and moves on its own, so I had to read quickly or go back through – which was an interesting experience. Verse novels are accessible to all readers and the NCACL resource says that readership is determined by theme and content, and the resource also aims to help readers of all ages find the right verse novel for them. Some of the books on the list are ones I had heard of, but wasn’t aware that they were verse novels, so I have downloaded the reference list so I can try to explore some more of the books on the list in my own time.
The flyer is a great source as it gives tips about using the resource and what it includes, such as annotations, readership level, themes, any awards a book or author might have won, the links it has to the Australian Curriculum, and links to a range of free resource available about the creators, interviews, and teaching resources. As it is a relatively new style of novel that I have discovered, I did some additional research above, and added those links in as well, so I had as broad an understanding of the genre and what it has brought to literature. And in particular, children’s literature. I have not, at the time of writing, ever read an adult book in verse form, and I think it would be interesting to do so – perhaps there are some stories aimed at adults that would work well, or even work better as verse novels. A book that has the character reflecting on things a lot, perhaps, where they are inside themselves. For now, I will read the children’s once that are out there, and enjoy those.
The website also has a Verse Novels quiz, a resource flyer from 2021 that introduces the resource, and a list of the reviews. Whilst not as comprehensive as the other databases I have explored, I think this is still a valuable resource as even though verse novels have a long history, it feels like they are really coming into being at the moment, and having a resource like this means that everyone should be able to find something they want to read and explore, and something they can use in a classroom setting, as some of these books may also crossover into the other databases.
These NCACL resources are wonderful, and I hope to explore some more of the books listed in the bibliography, as I hadn’t realised that we had so many verse novels in Australia – I think many people will be surprised as it is a format that not many novels explore or use. The most effective ones give you everything you need to know concisely, and in a way that is equally as engaging as a prose novel. For some, the verse novel will be a faster read, but I do like to try and take my time so I can engage with the story and see how the threads of the story are coming through the verse. Below I have included a list of ones I have read by Australian authors, and linked back to my reviews.
Verse novels I have read.
The Way of Dog by Zana Fraillon
Sunshine on Vinegar Street by Karen Comer
I have read several other verse novels, but they have been from British authors, and are not included here as my focus is on Australian Children’s Literature for this post. I am yet to read Are You There Buddha by Pip Harry, and hope Sunshine on Vinegar Street and Queen Narelle make their way into the lists soon as more verse novels come out. If I have missed any, I apologise, as this post is based on the NCACL resource and the ones I know I have read.
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