Too often these days, authors are forced to revise their wording in texts so that the vocabulary used is less intimidating for children. Publishers don’t want to scare off potential buyers by making the language in young children’s books seem too difficult. They prefer to publish literature with easy words that are thought of as appropriate for children. In many cases, the revisions made to word choices in these books dumb down the content for children. Instead of setting high expectations, authors choose to lower their standards of the vocabulary utilized in their books. In Interpreting Literature with Children, Shelby Wolf makes a similar argument by quoting Perry Nodelman. “The more we believe that children are limited in various ways, the more we deprive them of experiences that might make them less limited…If we believe that [children:] cannot understand complicated language, we will give them only books with limited vocabularies…Deprived of the experience of anything more than the little we believe them capable of, children often do learn to be inflexible, intolerant of the complex and the unconventional.”

“Words are the writer’s primal tools…A rich vocabulary allows a writer to get a richness of thought onto the paper…But anyone who tries to write English—child or adult—immediately gets caught in a kind of linguistic stranglehold that makes it difficult to use those tools” (Fletcher, 1993). Instead of limiting children's vocabularies, we should be encouraging them to take on challenging terms and to grow in their knowledge of communication.

The Big Words Award was created to honor authors and literature that incorporate more complex word choices within the text. The award will be given to a picture book that challenges children’s verbal communication, embraces complex words, and encourages children to expand their spoken and written vocabularies. Nominated books should be written approximately for children ages three to seven and include at least three words that are considered more challenging for children in that age range.

The deadline for book nominations is October 13th.

The Father Who Had 10 Children
This book is great for kindergarten with the accessible colors words. There are a few words that may be tricky for this age group that will challenge readers in a positive way. It has a cute plot too.

Fancy Nancy

This book surely uses "fancy" and complex words. Nancy always seems to have a fun way of saying common words. Through the colorful illustrations and the smart little girl you meet, you're hooked on the book from the minute you pick it up.

Bugs Are Insects

Explores vocabulary and information about insects.

One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish

Big Words for Little Peoplee
This is a really cute book with great illustrations.
With grown-up words like cooperate, respect, patience and considerate, a big, boisterous and zany family celebrates the power of language and discovers that words—big or little—are the bridge that connects us all.

Max's Words
While most kids collect stamps or coins, Max collects words from magazines and newspapers. He learns new words and about storytelling through this hobby.

Stuart Sets Sail

This book tells of Stuart's sailing experience and all of the adventures he encounters. It is labeled as an " I can Read Book" therefore suits this age group i feel. The author repeats a few challenging words a few times as almost to get the reader to look at them and try to understand them. Good book for young children to learn and expand on reading while having an enjoyable read.

Tikki Tikki Tembo

This book tells the story of why Chinese people came to give their first child such a big name. But after an almost deathly accident, the Chinese people realized that maybe naming their first child with an extremely long name, might not be the best choice. Through the terrifying experience, the first born son changed the course of history that no more would parents name their first son with such a long name.

This book is a good choice, because although the book might be for younger children, the name of the fist son may be a little intimidating for some.

Merry-Go-Round: A Book About Nouns

Many books about grammar and language are dry and uninteresting, but not Ruth Heller’s Merry-Go-Round: A book about nouns. Each page brings a new surprise, and the lessons are presented in such a lively and colorful manner that even plural constructions become interesting. The extensive and unusual choices in vocabulary will challenge its readers, whether child or adult.