This year’s CLiPPA – the UK’s premier award for published poetry for children – has been won by Colette Hiller for her collection Colossal Words for Kids, illustrated by Tor Freeman (Frances Lincoln Children’s Books). The collection features 75 ‘colossal’ words, all cleverly defined in rhyme, from capacious to voracious and procrastination to zest.

A former actress and BBC producer, Colette Hiller believes that children are natural wordsmiths, who love knowing and using big words. Of her award-winning collection she says: “My real aim is to spark a lasting joy of language. When we teach young children ambitious words, we show them that they are not intruders and that the English language is theirs for the taking.”

Colossal Words for Kids was chosen from a rich and varied shortlist of five titles by a panel of expert judges that included ‘patron saint of poetry’ Roger McGough and last year’s winner Matt Goodfellow.

Commenting on this year’s winner, Roger McGough said: “Colossal Words for Kids was a favourite with all the judges. It’s indisputably original and ambitious, with rhymes that demand to be spoken aloud. It’s also proof that learning big words needn’t be even faintly… soporific!”

The award ceremony took place at the Lyttleton Theatre in London in front of an enthusiastic audience of 800 primary pupils and was also live-streamed into classrooms across the country.  The event featured readings from all the shortlisted poets, live drawing by former Children’s Laureate Chris Riddell, and performances by the winners of this year’s CLiPPA Shadowing Scheme, who also enjoyed a performance workshop delivered by the National Theatre to help them prepare for their big moment on stage.

Darren Matthews, Primary Advisory Teacher at CLPE said, “Congratulations to Colette Hiller, whose effervescent, scintillating and riveting verse has prompted poetry performances by thousands of children in hundreds of classrooms across the UK via our Shadowing Scheme, while introducing them to the delights of onomatopoeia, alliteration, hyperbole and many other colossal words. Like Colette, at CLPE we believe that poetry is fundamental to children’s love of language and are delighted to celebrate her book and all our shortlist today in such gregarious, jovial style!”

Jonathan Douglas, Chief Executive of the National Literacy Trust, CLPE’s parent organisation, said: “Children love poetry – reading, writing and performing it, as today’s CLiPPA ceremony demonstrates. We’re delighted to celebrate another outstanding shortlist and winner and to do so at the National Theatre and in the company of so many excited, enthusiastic young poetry fans. There’s no award quite like the CLiPPA!”