The American Heritage First Dictionary [Hardcover]

Editors of the American Heritage Dictionaries (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 24, 1997 | Age Level: 8 and up | Grade Level: 4 and up

This 1997 edition has been expanded with a new phonics and spelling guide designed to help children ages 6 to 9 develop solid spelling and reading skills. Using sample words from the dictionary, the guide gives a detailed list of the common spellings of the most important vowel and consonant sounds. Spelling skills are further reinforced by sections on homo-nyms, compound words, and basic rules for spelling plurals and verb tenses. In addition, a five-step procedure enables children of all ages to learn how to study a word. Parents and children will find useful, clearly presented information to supplement classroom instruction.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Kindergarten-Grade 3–This clear, easy-to-use reference opens with a five-page introduction to dictionary use and contains more than 2000 common words and 850 color photographs and drawings. Entries feature full-sentence definitions and sample usage. Occasional sidebars offer opposites, rhyming, or related words. The guide words at the top, main entries, and picture captions are all highlighted in purple. The entire alphabet appears at the bottom of each spread, reinforcing the exact location of the leading letter. New letters are introduced on a fresh page in large, blue upper and lowercase print surrounded by multiple pictures of objects beginning with that letter. The large fonts, generous spacing, and bright illustrations make this book a good choice for new readers. Sections on phonics and spelling, parts of speech, homophones, compound words, and lists of common word groups, such as parts of the body and pairs of opposites, are appended. Users, especially second-language learners, will appreciate the dictionary's clarity and simplicity, but Merriam-Webster's Primary Dictionary (2005) offers a richer choice for browsers and includes jokes and riddles, snippets from classic children's literature, and word histories. Teachers might prefer the former for practicing independent dictionary skills, while the latter is a more appealing choice for home libraries.–Barbara Auerbach, New York City Public Schools
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

This attractive full-color dictionary for kindergarten to grade three mainly defines one- and two-syllable words. Some of the photographs have been replaced since the 1997 edition, and sections on homophones and parts of speech have been added to the back matter. Since this dictionary is mostly about basic concepts and vocabulary, you can probably still get by with the 1997 edition if your copy is in good shape.

RBB
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 8 and up
  
• Hardcover: 384 pages
• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt; Revised edition (February 24, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0395857619
• ISBN-13: 978-0395857618
• Product Dimensions: 10 x 8 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,993,450 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A nice start for 1st and 2nd graders..., March 9, 2001

By 

Laura Haggarty (Northern KY USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The American Heritage First Dictionary (Hardcover)

This book is a nice place for first and second graders to start when they need to look up a word. It has 650 color illustrations (drawings and photographs), 1,800 entries, and pretty well covers the beginning words used by young readers. Each entry has a definition, as well as uses the word in a sentence to give context. If there is more than one definition, they are numbered in order of common usage. Variant forms of the word are listed at the end of the definition. The illustrations are bright and cute, and the type is large enough to facilitate easy reading.

My only real quibble with this book is that there is no pronunciation guide given for words. I realize youngsters might not be able to use such a guide all the time, but it would be good to have anyway. All in all a nice book for the 5-7 age range, but if you're looking for older kids, look elsewhere.

15 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Only for young elementary children, January 7, 2002

By 

"gbambach" (Troy, MI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The American Heritage First Dictionary (Hardcover)

I bought this for my son in 4th grade hoping he would find it very useful. However when he tried to look up the word "reflect" so he could see how to spell it, the word was not in this dictionary. For children in 1st or 2nd grade, this dictionary might be fine, but children in 3rd grade or higher will need a dictionery with more than 50,000 words. My search continues...

16 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Well Prepared for First Grader, November 11, 1998

By 

[e-mail] (Anaheim, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The American Heritage First Dictionary (Hardcover)

Here is a dictionary that your son/daughter will enjoy using, as well as learn. Sounding out words and being able to see a picture of the word is an extremely powerful tool. I highly recommend it.