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.

This was a really fun poetry book!
Each poem was perfectly fitting for the word it was describing, and the illustrations went along perfectly!

What a fantastic book! I loved the word choices, how varied they were and how there were so many. Instead of treating the entries in a dictionary format, there are so many other ways you learn the words, such as through poetry. I'd recommend this for homes, classrooms, and library storytimes. Participation not only generates energy but helps readers to remember these fancy words. Thanks to NetGalley for letting me read this

When I started reading this book out loud to my son (7 years old), my whole family perked up and floated into the room to listen. My daughter even demanded that I read louder so she could hear from her bedroom. This was such a clever way to introduce what I like to call $5 words to kids. Poetry, rhymes and built in examples. The context clues are clear and lead readers easily to the definition. The illustrations were fun too. I liked that quotations from books were included to show use of the word, but not happy with the lack of diversity of the texts and authors they were pulled from. Overall, a great book for an advanced young reader.

‘Your word is your wand’. Packed full of wonderful words, Colossal Words for Kids introduces children to the power of vocabulary and the delight of the English language.

So much more fun than a dictionary, the quick rhymes provide helpful and witty context to the words, which are further reinforced by facts and fun quotes from other literature. The combination of punchy rhymes and bright and lively animations make these fun words just jump off the page.

An excellent book for upper primary school kids to enjoy with their parents. There’s so much to explore in the rhymes, pictures and snippets that I think it will be enjoyed over again. An accompanying audiobook could also be a great addition- the authors are right in that this book is most fun when read aloud. My favourite words were exhilarated, testy, and chortle.

Thank you Francis Lincoln Children’s Books, and NetGalley for a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed are my own.

<i>Colossal Words for Kids</i> is truly such an exceptional take on the collection of word books for young minds to learn. Oftentimes when we see books like these, you get a bunch of words illustrated beautifully—sometimes with eye-catching pictures alongside them—and the definition right by its side. But this author is creative, instead crafting exquisite poems to mentally build an image in the reader’s mind for the words and provide various examples of how to use it.

I had such a blast reading this book and was incredibly excited and impressed with it throughout. So much so that I was certain I would be purchasing it in the future! And for such a fantastic book with what I would consider to be an exceptional ability to engage young minds in their language development, it’s therefore incredibly disappointing that I find myself questioning the appropriateness of doing so—I’ll explain in a moment.

Perhaps the only tiny criticism I have of the book’s specific definitional content is that it would have been nice to also have the actual definition of each word included. I don’t think it would have made sense to place it alongside the wonderful poems or beautiful illustrations, but a few pages at the end to list out the definitions of each word would have done wonders!

All of this said, back to my previous point, I do feel it is important of me to add, however, that this book did make a rather huge—or should I say colossal?—misstep. It’s 2024. I think nearly all of us are aware of the very real concerns centered around J. K. Rowling. And sure, we can all have a conversation about how the author is not her books and we will not condemn loving the Harry Potter series. However, that does not excuse, in my book, choosing to have her be the <i>most</i> quoted author in this book. Specifically, she is quoted a total of four times.

Of all the other included authors, only one author—Louisa May Alcott—is quoted more than once. In fact, Alcott is quoted only twice!

Do you really mean to tell me, that out of all the written works in the world, you could not find another author who penned the word you were using in your poem to illustrate your definition?

This author can’t even make the paltry argument that the decision was made due to notoriety because not only are there a vast abundance of notable authors to choose from, but Sandhya Menon—while popular, not an author I would classify as very well known throughout the world—is quoted!

This was a gross and egregious mistake, in my view, to make in this book. And it’s enough to have me fairly certain I won’t be purchasing this book at any point in the future. It’s honestly quite disappointing since <i>Colossal Words for Kids</i> would otherwise be a book I’d easily get for my learning center and home.

I enjoyed reading this book but it could be a challenge for kids to enjoy it. I would suggest this book for kids above level in their reading. That being said, my daughter is an advanced reader. She is 8 years old for reference. :) She always asks me about difficult-to-understand words. I read this book with her and she enjoyed learning about the words. She liked the illustrations and examples. The examples were a nice addition to explaining the words. I liked that there were quotes to help make words even clearer to understand meaning. As a parent, I can use all the help I can get, which this book helps with.

Love Always, Catherine

I received an advanced review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Colossal Words for Kids by Colette Hiller, illustrated by Tor Freeman: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Format: ARC from Francis Lincoln Children's Books

Since starting Kindergarten this year, my son's interest in reading and language has taken off. This book was perfect for him. Colossal Words for Kids features 75 words that aren't used frequently in everyday language, with silly poems and accompanying illustrations for each word to better explain the meaning and appropriate use of each word. As an adult reading this to a child, I found the book delightful and amusing for us both! This book is best suited for children ages four and up, though many children would likely read this with an adult to assist with pronunciation of the colossal words. Thank you to Francis Lincoln Children's Books for the ARC!

Any book that provides a fun way to teach vocabulary is going to rank high in my world. This book uses poems that are fun, along with wonderful illustrations to provide meaning to words.