The B on Your Thumb - by Colette Hiller (Hardcover)

About the Book

The B on Your Thumb is a book of rhymes and delightful ditties to boost early reading. Each rhyme teaches a particular sound, spelling, or rule, and will delight young children with the silliness of the English language.

Book Synopsis

'This is the sort of picture book that will bear up under repeated childhood readings and may even be of use to adults.'

--The Wall Street Journal

"The B on your Thumb is clever, engaging, educational and fun. I wish I had thought of it."
--Craig Smith, author / songwriter of The Wonky Donkey

The B on Your Thumb is a book of 60 hilariously illustrated rhymes and delightful ditties to boost early reading--each poem teaches a specific sound, spelling, or rule. Using rhythm and wordplay, they promote phonics awareness, thinking skills, and literacy. But most of all, this book delights young readers with the fun and silliness of the English language.

This is a book where words like to play,
where letters get cross when they don't get their way.
There are sounds to make and jokes to uncover.
An owl in your bowl, for you to discover.
Meet the K on your knee, who's ready for fun,
and don't be alarmed by the B on your thumb!

An introduction instructs grown-ups how to use the book and extensive activities at the end allow children to build on their learning. Grouped into four categories--sounds, silent letters and secrets, spellings, and words that sound the same--the poems include:

• See with Two Ees
• The Story of Q and U
• The Rain in the Train
• Ridiculous Ph
• Enough of Uff
• Certainly a C
• The Most ImportANT
• Which Witch

Learning to read has never been so much fun!The B on Your Thumb is a must for every young family's bookshelf.

Review Quotes

"A fun (not frivolous) phonetic friend."--Kirkus Reviews

"This is the sort of picture book that will bear up under repeated childhood readings."--Wall Street Journal

"Unreservedly recommended."--Midwest Book Review

'A charming, gentle way to get children thinking about and playing with spellings, language and words. Proof that spelling can be a whole lot of fun.'--Jospeh Coelho, Poet and author

'A lovely, loony look at language!'--Michelle Robinson, Children's Author

'I remember the misery I had as a child trying to pronounce and spell words. I wish this book had been around back then, it would have saved me and the teachers a lot of grief. The illustrations are fun, every page is as colourful as a jar of smarties and every rhyme is accessible. Also, its usefulness as an educational tool can't be underestimated.'--Brian Patten, Poet and author

'The B on your thumb is clever, engaging, educational and fun. I wish I had thought of it. I can't wait to read it to my daughter.'--Craig Smith, Author/Songwriter of The Wonky Donkey

'This collection of 60 poems to help three to seven-year-olds learn to read and spell is a hoot. [...] Each poem teaches a specific lesson, whether it's mastering letter sounds or explaining that words like "write" and "right" sound the same but are spelled differently.'--The Independent

'What a wonderful book! I can think of no better way to introduce children to the delights and idiosyncrasies of the English language, helping them learn to read and spell. I'm sure these joyful rhymes are destined to become beloved by teachers, parents, and most importantly, children.'--James Clements, Education writer

About the Author

Colette Hiller is a writer, arts producer and author of the critically acclaimed poetry book The B on Your Thumb. Her children's rhymes have been featured on BBC Words and Pictures and her children's album, Applehead, has been a hit with kids across the world, selling over 50,000 copies. An advocate of early learning, Colette believes that even very young children are receptive to the joy of wordplay. She taught her own twins to read by the time they were three.

Tor Freeman is a London-based illustrator. In 2012 she was awarded the Sendak Fellowship. In 2017 she won the Guardian Graphic Short Story Prize. Her books include the Digby Dog and Olive series.