Publication Date: May 7, 2024
Boost your child’s growing vocabulary with 75 hilariously illustrated poems from Colette Hiller, author of the critically acclaimed kids’ poetry book The B on Your Thumb.
Each poem in this funny, funky book teaches a specific important word, as well as its meaning and spelling, in an innovative and accessible format that kids will love. Using rhythm and wordplay, the poems help build a colossal vocabulary, thinking skills and literacy – without kids even noticing! But most of all, this book delights young readers with the joy and silliness of the English language.
Building a colossal vocabulary has never felt so natural, or so much fun! Each word in this collection is defined in a simple rhyme. Using rhythm, humor and logic, each word’s meaning is made clear and accessible. Kids will want to try them out straight away: it’s a ready-to-use collection! You and your kids will love:
- Rolling rhymes that will be chanted again and again
- Fun and quirky drawings that bring these educational poems to life
- Holistic learning premise from Colette Hiller skilled in writing educational poetry for children
From Ambiguous to Zealous, the words in this book are for 7-to-12-year-olds. It may seem inconceivable for one book to encompass such a wide age span! But in fact, inconceivable – and all the other words in this book – were selected from vocabulary lists intended for older children, so that younger children can challenge themselves and discover a wealth of great new words!
Whether the book Colossal Words for Kids by Colette Hiller is considered a reference book or an enjoyable tromp through the alphabet of fun-to-use words is strictly up to the eye and ear of the beholder!
Viewing this book as an educator, I appreciate the use of Tier II vocabulary, high-frequency words that can be used across multiple subjects or topics. The words are not so obscure as to make using them seem pompous. As the opening of the book states, “The words in this book are strong and useful. Even the small ones are mighty. Some may look difficult at first—but don’t be fooled. All these words are easy to use. What’s more, you’ll find using them colossal fun!”
Part of this fun is the insertion of text boxes that quote famous individuals and their noted use of a word. Knowing you could use a word once used famously by Mark Twain, Louisa May Alcott, or Albus Dumbledore certainly is a motivator to a young logophile! The book opens with hints for its reader on how to access the content with amusement.
Written in alphabetical order, there are just enough words given for each letter to make the challenge of bringing a word or two into your conversations seem doable. The rhyming text allows each word to play on your tongue and settle in your brain. If used in a 4th-grade or above classroom, the pages could serve as material for shared reading.
A dictionary, this is not! The entries are used in a playful context with illustrations to create each meaning. The book jacket would draw attention to a young reader, but removing it reveals a hardcover with a collage of words that would entice a curious adult. So, dare to display this as a coffee table book!
Whether the reader is young or old, for a lover of words, Colossal Words for Kids is pure gold! 
Colette Hiller is a writer, arts producer and author of the critically acclaimed poetry book The B on Your Thumb. Her children’s rhymes have been featured on BBC Words and Pictures and her children’s album, Applehead, has been a hit with kids across the world, selling over 50,000 copies. An advocate of early learning, Colette believes that even very young children are receptive to the joy of wordplay. She taught her own twins to read by the time they were three.
