Little Kids, Big Words: Using Colossal Words in the Library

Abstract

I recently led a seminar for two hundred nine-year-olds at the Brooklyn Public Library, all about big words. There were no animations or screens—just me and the (seemingly dry) subject matter, big words for big kids or, in the name of my new book, Colossal Words for Kids (Frances Lincoln Children’s Books, 2024). For an hour, the children were rapt, fully engaged by language, all of which left the organizer pleased but slightly astonished. For my part, however, I wasn’t at all surprised!