Big, Bigger, Biggest! [Hardcover]

Nancy Coffelt (Author, Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 3 and up

How would you describe a hippopotamus? Big might be the first word that comes to mind. What about a whale? Gigantic? Immense? How about enormous! What if you had to find a word for the biggest animal of them all—a dinosaur. Mammoth? Humongous? Colossal!

With its bright pictures of animals in all shapes and sizes, this terrific read-aloud introduces young children to the language of comparisons, synonyms, and antonyms.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Kindergarten-Grade 2—This exercise in vocabulary expansion through synonyms and one-upmanship is innovative despite a few missteps. On the first page the hippo says, "I'm big. I'm large. I'm huge. I'm jumbo." On the facing page the killer whale says, "I'm bigger. I'm gigantic. I'm immense. I'm enormous." The following spread depicts a dinosaur's feet and tail with the words, "I'm biggest. I'm mammoth. I'm humongous. I'm colossal." And so it goes with each word—small, fast, slow, hungry, slimy and sleepy—going through its comparative and superlative forms, while several synonyms for each word are listed, and different animals are depicted. The acrylic on canvas illustrations show each simply drawn, boldly outlined animal on a color-saturated background with minimal-if any-props. However, at times Coffelt stretches to find enough words to fit the concept (e.g., "empty," "piggish," and "hoggish" for "hungry") and in some cases they do not seem to effectively increase in intensity. Is "droopy" really more tired than "spent," or "nimble" quicker than "speedy?" Finally, the fact that the "sleepiest" animal is a bat at night certainly is not educationally sound. Nevertheless, teachers looking for an innovative way to introduce synonyms and superlatives will certainly find much to work with here, and perhaps young listeners will be better able to express themselves after exposure to books of its ilk.—Amy Lilien-Harper, The Ferguson Library, Stamford, CT
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From Booklist

At the start of this picture book filled with exciting words, a hippo says that he is “big . . . huge . . . jumbo.” A whale claims that he is even bigger: “gigantic . . . immense . . . enormous.” A mammoth knows that he is the biggest of all: “humongous . . . colossal.” Then the pages switch to small creatures, from a rabbit (“I’m little. I’m teensy. I’m wee.”) to a chick (“I’m petite . . . tiny . . . itty-bitty.”). A bug under the microscope is “smallest . . . minuscule.” Other spreads explore the differences between fast and slow. And what creature is the slimiest? Who is hungriest (“ravenous” “insatiable”)? Sleepiest (“pooped”  “somnolent”)? Each animal, rendered in bright acrylic paint with thick black lines, fills up its own page, and even if young children don’t know that the drama is technically all about antonyms, synonyms, and comparisons, they will be drawn by the bragging, swaggering characters. A great read-aloud to begin a discussion about the concepts and show the fun of wordplay. Preschool-Grade 2. --Hazel Rochman

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 3 and up
  
• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Henry Holt and Co. (BYR); First Edition edition (March 31, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0805080899
• ISBN-13: 978-0805080896
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 9.1 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #332,923 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Nancy Coffelt began her career as a fine artist and soon branched out into illustration and writing for young people. While she is known for her bright oil pastel imagery and humorous picture books, Nancy's young adult work has an edgier side. Her books have garnered praise ranging from starred reviews from Kirkus, Horn Book and SLJ as well as her FRED STAYS WITH ME receiving an ALA Notable mention as well as the Boston Globe/Horn Book Honor Award.
Nancy lives, paints, writes, teaches and obeys the whims of her family's two small dogs in Portland, Oregon.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars This is an easy way to introduce the young child to synonyms, antonyms and BIG words!, October 16, 2009

By 

D. Fowler "Dragonfly77" (Vermont) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Big, Bigger, Biggest! (Hardcover)

The hippo, the killer whale and the dinosaur tromp into the pages of this book, bright and smiling telling us how big they are. Of course the dino is so large only his feet and part of his tail are showing because he is the biggest creature of all. He says, "I'm mammoth. I'm humongous. I'm colossal!" Of course a bunny is soooo much small, but a chick is even smaller yet. The smallest of all is a wide-eyed eight-legged bug you have to look at under a microscope. He is far from humongous and says, "I'm miniature. I'm minuscule. I'm microscopic." How about that?

Synonyms and antonyms can also describe things like speed. The penguin is fast, but the dragonfly is faster and nimbler too. Of course the leopard is the fastest because he is "fleet," "meteoric" and "hypersonic." The tortoise is slow, but the sloth is even slower. The snail is the slowest and sadly describes himself by saying, "I'm sluggish. I'm lethargic. I'm lackadaisical!" You'll also meet a frog, a pig, a bear, a lizard, an octopus a clam, a squirrel, a koala and a bat. What kind of big fancy words can you think of to use for them?

This is an easy way to introduce the young child to synonyms, antonyms and BIG words. It immediately brought to mind Fancy Nancy, the little girl who enjoys learning and using fancy words. This book was fun, amusing and the artwork was vibrant and colorful. This is a read-aloud book, but after a few reads little hands will be turning the pages and youngsters will be reciting those big fancy words all by their lonesome. This is the perfect book for the "insatiable, voracious" little wanna be reader!

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent for kids of many ages, September 2, 2009

By 

M. Pagel - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Big, Bigger, Biggest! (Hardcover)

Younger kids will enjoy the pictures; and older kids will enjoy learning new words; adults will enjoy reading the words. A good book for your personal library as well as your school's library.

3.0 out of 5 stars cute, April 6, 2009

By 

Kirsten G. Cutler (Santa Rosa, California) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Big, Bigger, Biggest! (Hardcover)

I love hearing a diversity of vocabulary so any book that promotes words is automatically a plus for me. A series of three pictures represent each comparative concept, for example, each page showcases an animal and provides four synonyms that describe a trait about the animal so one illustration shows a hippo, and the text says, "I'm big. I'm large. I'm huge. I'm jumbo." The next animal represents synonyms for the word bigger. The third illustration shows the distinctive feet and trunk of an elephant, and the text reads, "I'm biggest! I'm mammoth. I'm humongous. I'm colossal!" Concepts covered include: small, fast, slow, hungry and slimy. A salamander represents, "I'm slimy. I'm damp. I'm dank. I'm moist." A jellyfish is "slimier" and a clam is "slimiest!" Children will enjoy these comparisons. The simple illustrations that portray an animal appear on solid colored paper and each word set is concluded with a double spread. The last page humorously provides words like, "Finished, Ended. Completed...to convey the phrase, The End.