Quite an engaging long-words-for-short-people book, that bulks up our understanding of them all through a verse from our compiler, and quite often a quote from a highly school-approved author. Some of these will be much appreciated by certain teachers – 'alliteration' and 'hyperbole', for two, are bound to come up at some point in English, but others screaming for their place in the curriculum ('sustainable' leapt out) are absent. There is little rhyme nor reason, then, but this isn't designed to be strictly on the educational side of the Venn diagram, it and its full-colour artwork are here for fun too. And so we get quirky words like 'discombobulate' (one of those words that implies an obvious opposite that is practically never used), 'kerfuffle' and 'querulous'.

The benefits of this is that the hard miles have been put into the rhymes, therefore we see the words in action, and of course get to nail their pronunciation if they're part of a couplet or quatrain. I mean, not all the poems are classics, but they're all decent enough for these purposes. The bigger issue is if this does or does not make gaining such word knowledge seem like fun – as a sustainable hobby, perhaps. To me, it just about felt like it did, and with little to report as a caveat this is a four-star winner.

COLOSSAL WORDS FOR KIDS is a fantastic book that both children and adults can enjoy. My 5th grader loves learning new words and has been working on learning about adjectives, onomatopoeia, etc. this school year and this was such a great guide for him. The illustrations along with the catchy poems are absolutely wonderful. While expanding his vocabulary, my son was drawn to the colors in the illustration and it the combination of poetry and the colors made him eager to read - and learn - more. This is a book that is a must have for ELA teachers and librarians to have on hand. I also highly recommend it to all my homeschool mom friends :)

As educators or parents we have to consistently try and find new words to use when explaining or writing. This book takes the reader through an alphabetical collection of words that the readers have probably not come across yet. There are 75 new words to learn, each with a rhyming poem explanation. The poems themselves are hilarious, and the illustrations are equally as brilliant.
Huge amount of teaching points in this book such as creative writing. Great for classrooms and libraries, perfect for a read aloud story.
Perfect for children age 7+

COLOSSAL WORDS FOR KIDS (written by Collete Hiller, illustrated by Tor Freeman, published by Frances Lincoln Children’s Books) is a riveting collection of scintillating words that will surely turn the most nondescript conversation or written composition into an indisputably effervescent one! 😅 (Yes, those adjectives are all in this book. I tried my best!) 7 to 12 year-olds (and even older!) will have so much fun learning about the 75 words in this book as each word is explained in short, rhyming and hilarious poems, accompanied by equally hilarious illustrations. There were definitely a few I have never heard before myself (do you know what “histure”, “querulous”, “fettle” or “soporific” mean??)! Teaching opportunities with this book are plentiful, and will fit wonderfully into structured literacy lessons: phonological awareness (rhyming and multi-syllabic words), phonemic awareness, fluency, and of course, vocabulary.

This is super and should be a must-have for anyone who loves and is curious about words. Being told through the form of short rhymes, this is an easy read which could be read in one or dipped in and out of. I can already think of some children (and adults) who will devour this and then try out their new vocabulary. I love the fantastic illustrations which perfectly compliment the chosen words.
I can't wait to buy my own copy of this.

We don’t want to be ‘Ambiguous’ so this review is written with ‘Brevity’ and we will try not to ‘Deviate’ from our point. If you ever feel ‘Discombobulated’ when searching for the meaning of a tricky word then this book is for you. It’s not ‘Ostentatious’ to be ‘Replete’ with ‘Scintillating’ vocabulary and we can guarantee that you will love to expand yours using this fabulous text.

Each of these wonderful words are accompanied by a catchy, clever rhyme to clarify their meaning, put them into context and ensure that they stick in the minds of our little book worms, who can put them to great use in their creative writing. The humorous poems are perfectly paired with fantastic cartoon style illustrations designed to further engage our memories and entertain us.

Perfect for children age 7+

Thank you to NetGalley and FLC/Quarto for sending this eBook for review consideration. All opinions are our own.

I want Colossal Words for Kids for every English Language Arts (ELA) lesson I've taught in the past and every Orton-Gillingham tutorial I'll facilitate in the future.

This book is phenomenal. The inclusion of several ELA-specific words—including adjective, onomatopoeia, and synonymous—make this an instant classroom-ready resource, but the best thing about this book is that it's just plain fun! The poems used to define each term are short (see: brevity) and well-metered, perfect for reading aloud, which the author rightly recommends in the introductory pages.

What's more, each poem/definition is enhanced with an illustration—a perfect aid for dyslexic learners and struggling readers—and many include a fun quote from literature or history.

This book belongs in libraries, classrooms, homeschools, and tutoring kits everywhere. And while the target ages are 7-to-12-year-olds, it would also make a prefect resource and vocabulary journal template for older learners.

I work with students who benefit from seeing difficult words in a variety of settings, so I’m always on the lookout for these sort of books. The book was fun and engaging! It was a great way to support kids/students with higher level vocabulary. The only thing I’d want added is some sort of pronunciation guide for the words.

What an absolutely fantastic and clever book! This would make a great gift for any child and I’ll be looking to buy it for my daughter when she is a little older. The illustrations and colours are great, I love that it is a resource to help expand vocabulary and make children interested in it. The rhythm is catchy and it’s great how rhyme is used to define the words in a memorable way, even giving clear examples (for example using alliterative words to define alliteration.

Amazing book for kids to dip in and out of, contains some fabulous words, some a bit more mundane but presented in a fun way with each word being a useful poem in its own right. Brilliant resource for expanding kids vocabulary in a fun way.

What a brilliant resource for teaching your child some large and complex words in a fun and colourful way,

On each page you are provided with a word. The author has then used it in an engaging rhyme which will make it very memorable and hopefully easier for your child to remember.

Even as an adult I felt I learned a lot of new words. Think this is a very useful learning tool.

We LOVE this book. Me and my 5 year old learned so much and really annoyed all of the funny poems! Each day we try to remember another word and go and find something related to it. I would recommend it to anyone young and old, who want to expand their vocabulary and have a giggle at the same time.

A fantastic book that I can't wait to purchase so I can have a physical copy to share with children and staff at school.
A set of poems describing 'colossal' words to help develop vocabulary in a fun and well presented way.

Interesting book. Most of the illustrations were wonderful whiel some were quite boring to look at.
I liked the idea of introducing these 'big words' through a cute and funny little poem. It definitly makes the learning process more entertaining. I felt like some of the poems were a bit too long, however.
This is definitly not a book you'd want to read from a-z but rather open and look at now and then.

How about a book that is fun and builds vocabulary at the same time. This book is amazing and I have used it all week with my speech language kids. The poems are well thought out and scintillating and the illustrations are equally inventive. This little treasure has words beginning at A and ending at Z. Some of the words are used in a visually descriptive way to emphasis the meaning. I also enjoyed the little blocks at the bottom of the page using the same words with excerpts from a well known poet to Harry Potter. There is nothing soporific about this quaint little gem. It’s so much fun my students and I practiced chortling throughout the book

Thank you #netgalley and publishers for allowing me the opportunity to review this great book. It will be an addition to my curriculum

I love it! So fun and playful with cute whimsical art. The poems are perfect representations of the words they are illustrating.

A joyous learning experience.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with this book in exchange for my review! All opinions are my own.

This was a great book. As a child, I did have a big vocabulary for someone my age. This book would be great for a child with a big vocabulary or for a child that doesn't have a big vocabulary but their parents want them to learn more words. Words can be very fascinating!
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I went a little wild with the hashtag thingy on the previous page but I seriously love this one. It is not your run-of-the-mill word bank kind of books. Every new word is introduced with a poem. It is literally a masterpiece.

I have added it onto my shopping list on Amazon and will be ordering at least 10 copies when it is out, 9 of them of course will be presents for my students.

A book of poems that teaches kids (and adults) new words! I loved the format of this book, and found it super approachable and fun. I think my high school students could benefit from this too because they definitely do not know a lot of these words!

I received my copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

What's your "idiosyncrasy"? It may be "nondescript" or "scintillating" or maybe you're "oblivious" to it. Whatever it is, you'll probably find a word for it in this fun, fun book. I had a great deal of fun reading the rhythmic wordplay within, chuckling at the colorful, humorous illustrations. At times the words and letters seemed to have a life of their own, too, meandering (you'll find that word defined within) about the page, creating shapes that help convey the meanings. Make sure you check out that "Z" for "zest" and the "Y" in "unruly".

I highly recommend this one for my teacher friends and, for that fact, anyone with children (or even adult friends) fascinated by wordplay. Not only do you get humorous definitions that are far more fun than anything you'll find in a dictionary, but there are added bits here and there about authors and, well, words. Even better, some of the nuances are tackled. So, don't be "doleful" like Eeyore. Order a copy now. If not, it'll be a "colossal" (yes, that word is in there, too) shame and deprive you of fun moments. Thanks #QuartoPublishingGroup and #FrancesLincolnChildren'sBooks for sharing this sneak peek via #NetGalley. As an avid reader, not to mention writer and former English teacher, I loved it.