Colossal Words for Kids

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.

*2024 Good Housekeeping Best Book of the Year*
*2025 CBC Librarian Favorites Winner*
*WINNER of the CLiPPA Poetry Prize 2025*


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!