On June 11, 2013 he was named Children's Poet Laureate by the Poetry Foundation.
He was the last one to receive this title before the Poetry Foundation changed the name to Young People's Poet Laureate.He is a writer of humorous poetry for children, including the books My Hippo Has the Hiccups and Revenge of the Lunch Ladies.
Kenn Nesbitt has collaborated with poet Linda Knaus on one collection of Christmas poems entitled Santa Got Stuck in the Chimney and with children's musician Eric Herman on several CDs.
His poems also appear in numerous anthologies of humorous children's poetry.
Nesbitt's writing often includes imagery of outrageous happenings, before ending on a realistic note.
Being children's poems, many make fun of school life.
He wrote his first children's poem, Scrawny Tawny Skinner, in 1994.
Later, he wrote several more poems.
In 1997, he decided to write his first poetry book, My Foot Fell Asleep, which was published in 1998.
Nesbitt's poem The Tale Of The Sun And The Moon, was used in the 2010 movie Life as We Know It (film).