Strunk and White Elements of Style—Always on my bookshelf, always the first book I recommend for writers, creative or professional. Co-written by E.B. White of Charlotte’s Web fame, this slim little white volume covers the essentials of grammar, and coaches writers toward a no-nonsense style.  Since it was published in 1918, it’s now in the public domain so you can access it online. 

Oxford A-Z of Grammar and Punctuation—What more do you need when it comes to grammar? By Oxford University press, so expect the Oxford comma, of course. 

Bird by Bird by Annie Lamont—Humorous and practical, this book gets down to what stops us from writing, demystifies the process, and encourages us to break through keep going. Although written for adults, its lessons can be distilled for young writers too. 

A Poetry Handbook by Mary Oliver—One of my favorite books on the nuts and bolts of poetry writing, largely because it is so accessible for young and beginning writers, with short chapters on some of the basic components of poetry: sound, imagery, diction, etc.  

The Crafty Poet: A Portable Workshop by Diane Lockward—With model poems by professional poets (including our founder Suzanne Zweizig), this book provides prompts and ideas for jumpstarting your creative writing.