Poetry For Children
- In the Middle of the Trees, Harper, 1958.
- Square as a House, Harper, 1960.
- Alexander Soames: His Poems, Harper, 1962.
- The Rose on My Cake, Harper , 1964.
- Any Me I Want to Be: Poems, Harper, 1972.
- Near the Window Tree: Poems and Notes, Harper, 1975.
- Dogs and Dragons, Trees and Dreams: A Collection of Poems, Harper, 1980.
- Something Sleeping in the Hall, Harper, 1985.
- Soap Soup, HarperCollins, 1992.
- Moon, Have You Met My Mother?: The Collected Poems of Karla Kuskin, illustrated by Sergio Ruzzier, Laura Geringer, 2003.
Self-Illustrated; for Children
- Roar and More, Harper, 1956, revised edition, HarperCollins, 1990.
- James and the Rain, Harper, 1957, illustrated by Reg Cartwright, Simon & Schuster, 1995.
- The Animals and the Ark, Harper, 1958, illustrated by Michael Grejniec, Atheneum, 2002.
- Just like Everyone Else, Harper, 1959.
- Which Horse Is William?, Harper, 1959.
- The Bear Who Saw the Spring, Harper, 1961.
- All Sizes of Noises, Harper, 1962.
- (Under pseudonym Nicholas J. Charles), How Do You Get from Here to There? Macmillan, 1962.
- ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ, Harper, 1963.
- Sand and Snow, Harper, 1965.
- (Under pseudonym Nicholas J. Charles) Jane Anne June Spoon and Her Very Adventurous Search for the Moon, Norton, 1966.
- The Walk the Mouse Girls Took, Harper, 1967.
- Watson, the Smartest Dog in the U.S.A., Harper), 1968.
- In the Flaky Frosty Morning, Harper, 1969.
- What Did You Bring Me?, Harper, 1973.
- A Boy Had a Mother Who Bought Him a Hat, Houghton, 1976. Illustrated by Kevin Hakes and reprinted in 2010.
- Herbert Hated Being Small, Houghton, 1979.
- Night Again, Little, Brown, 1981.
- City Dog, Clarion, 1994.
Prose For Children
- A Space Story, illustrated by Marc Simont, Harper, 1978.
- The Philharmonic Gets Dressed, illustrated by Marc Simont, Harper, 1982.
- The Dallas Titans Get Ready for Bed, illustrated by Marc Simont, Harper, 1986.
- Jerusalem, Shining Still, illustrated by David Frampton, Harper, 1987.
- A Great Miracle Happened There: A Chanukah Story, illustrated by Robert Andrew Parker, Willa Perlman Books, 1993.
- City Noise, illustrated by Renee Flower, HarperCollins, 1994.
- Patchwork Island, illustrated by Petra Mathers, HarperCollins, 1994.
- Paul, paintings by Milton Avery, HarperCollins, 1994.
- Thoughts, Pictures, and Words, photographs by Nicholas Kuskin, R. C. Owen, 1995.
- The Upstairs Cat, illustrated by Howard Fine, Clarion, 1997.
- The Sky Is Always in the Sky, illustrated by Isabelle Dervaux, Laura Geringer, 1998.
- I Am Me, illustrated by Dyanna Wolcott, Simon & Schuster, 2000.
- Under My Hood I Have a Hat, illustrated by Fumi Kosaka, Laura Geringer, 2004.
- So What Is It Like to Be a Cat? illustrated by Betsy Lewis, Atheneum, 2005.
- Toots the Cat, illustrated by Lisze Bechtold, Hold, 2005.
Illustrator
- Xingu, Violette Viertel and John Viertel, Macmillan (New York, NY), 1959.
- Who Woke the Sun? Mitzi S. Seidman, Macmillan (New York, NY), 1960.
- The Dog That Lost His Family, Jean Lee Latham and Bee Lewi, Macmillan (New York, NY), 1961.
- Sing for Joy, Margaret Mealy and Norman Mealy, Seabury, 1961.
- O Ye Jigs and Juleps! Virginia Cary Hudson, Macmillan (New York, NY), 1962.
- Harrison Loved His Umbrella, Rhoda Levine, Atheneum (New York, NY), 1964.
- Credos and Quips, Virginia Cary Hudson, Macmillan (New York, NY), 1964.
- Boris, the Lopsided Bear, Gladys Schmitt, Collier (New York, NY), 1966.
- Look at Me, Marguerita Rudolph, McGraw (New York, NY), 1967.
- Big Enough, Sherry Kafka, Putnam (New York, NY), 1970.
- What Shall We Do and Allee Galloo! Marie Winn, editor, music arranged by Allan Miller, Harper (New York, NY), 1970.
- Stone Soup, Marcia Brown, Great Books Foundation (Chicago, IL), 1984.
- The Monster Who Grew Small, Joan Grant, Great Books Foundation (Chicago, IL), 1984.
- The Monkey and the Crocodile, Ellen Babbit, Great Books Foundation (Chicago, IL), 1984.
- Traces, Paula Fox, Boyd’s Mill Press, 2008.
Contributor of essays and reviews to book and periodicals, including The State of the Language, University of California Press, Saturday Review, House and Garden, Parents, Choice, New York Times, Los Angeles Times, and Village Voice.
Author of screenplays, including What Do You Mean by Design? and An Electric Talking Picture, both 1973. Author and narrator of filmstrip Poetry Explained by Karla Kuskin, Weston Woods, 1980.