The American Education Publishing Children's Dictionary (Wordsmyth Reference Series) [Hardcover]

School Specialty Publishing (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 8 and up | Grade Level: 3 and up | Series: Wordsmyth Reference Series

Featuring over 30,000 entries and 1,000 full-color images, this outstanding reference tool is the only dictionary a child will ever need! The American Education Publishing Children’s Dictionary includes a pronunciation guide, word histories, British and Canadian spellings, synonyms, and homophones. The comprehensive index includes a unique classification system that helps children locate words of related meanings.

Features:

•Over 30,000 entries and 1,000 full-color images

•Boxed entries provide expanded information

•Comprehensive definitions include pronunciation guide, word histories, British and Canadian spellings, synonyms, and homophones

•Mini-almanac features time lines, tables for weights and measures, mini-atlas, famous figures, and other fact charts.

•Comprehensive index with unique classification system allows for thorough cross-referencing

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

This hefty dictionary is targeted at the students in elementary through middle school. The more than 30,000 entries are easy to read, with definitions arranged in three columns. "Word History," "Homophone Note," and "Synonyms" boxes give extra information about some words. Frequent small photographs and drawings (one to two per page on average) illustrate some definitions and add to the appealing look. An alphabet strip runs down the outer edge of each page, allowing for easy location of each section. Large, easy-to-read guide words are placed in a blue strip at the top of each page, while entry words, broken into syllables, are clearly denoted in bold, with the definitions slightly indented. Part of speech, in red italics, follows the word directly, and the pronunciation is situated at the end of the entry. There are no usage labels, but British and Canadian spellings are included. Each alphabetic section begins with a colored box that gives pronunciation information and a list of hard-to-spell words.

A series of icons is located at the bottom of each page. These stand for broad topics such as "Human Body" and "Natural Environment." When one of these icons is located in a definition, it refers the student to the "Lexipedia Word Explorer" at the back of the dictionary. Here all words pertaining to a given topic area are grouped together, providing cross-referencing to related terms. Full-page and double-page colored sections address a plethora of popular topics, such as dinosaurs, stars, and money. A "How to Use" section at the front of the dictionary, which lays out in detail all the features mentioned above, is followed by a brief history of the English language, a pronunciation key, and a sound and spelling guide. The reference section that concludes the volume contains a world history time line; a section on "Symbolic Communication" (road signs, Braille, etc.); a mini world atlas; pictures of flags of the world; lists of U.S. presidents and Canadian prime ministers; facts about U.S states and Canadian provinces; and weights and measures.

Picture placement is sometimes problematic. For example, a photo of a tree placed between lofty and log could refer to either one and does a good job of illustrating neither. While the cartoons used to illustrate words with several distinct meanings are helpful in some instances, a few of the more tortured sentences (for example: "At the Silly Things Bowl, Martin bowls a strike with a ceramic bowl") may be more confusing than not.

With the exception of these caveats, this attractive dictionary is a fine work, suitable for use in school and public libraries. RBB
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 8 and up
  
• Hardcover: 960 pages
• Publisher: American Education Publishing (May 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 157768298X
• ISBN-13: 978-1577682981
• Product Dimensions: 10.2 x 8.3 x 2.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #853,861 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars This is NOT the only dictionary your child will ever need!, January 12, 2005

By 

Denise F. "Denise F," (New York State, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The American Education Publishing Children's Dictionary (Wordsmyth Reference Series) (Hardcover)

This dictionary disappoints from the very beginning! While it is beautifully laid out, with color-highlighted parts of speech, excellent font size, easy to understand syllabication and a complete alphabet on each page to help children remember the letter order, the content is severely lacking. My eight-year-old daughter couldn't find the first word she looked up: "dappled". Other words required for school, such as `contiguous, personification, peripatetic, pachyderm, horseradish and more, were not in this dictionary. These are all words that a child wouldn't necessarily know the meaning to, but would be part of a course of study. Soon my daughter didn't want to use it. What's the point of going through all the work if you probably won't find the word? We exchanged it today for the Encarta World English Dictionary and we're both much happier. The Encarta is all black & white, but at least it has the words we need. McGraw Hill advertises its dictionary as `The only one your child will ever need" and states that it is "targeted at the students in elementary through middle school". I find it impossible to believe that a middle school child would have no reason to look up the words that we looked up. I guess McGraw-Hill assumes that children won't use dictionaries after first or second grade, except as bookshelf ornaments or paperweights.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Part of the Bedtime Entourage, May 24, 2005

By 

E. Page (Houston, TX) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The American Education Publishing Children's Dictionary (Wordsmyth Reference Series) (Hardcover)

My 3.5 year old is COMPLETELY in love with this dictionary. He is asleep in bed with one hand on it as I type. I am going to be buying it from Amazon because the local library is VERY tired of us checking it out and renewing it and renewing it and renewing it.

I know he needs a real dictionary (not the picture word ones, yawn) and so we went to the library and looked at all the versions THEY had available for kiddoes.

This was the only one we found with a two page Star Map Constellation graphic AND a big color spread on Dinosaurs. Believe me, these are apparently the DECIDING FACTORS in picking this dictionary if you are 3-ish.

He is constantly flipping through and stopping to read words and meanings aloud at all hours of the day and night (the whole reading thing is a long story and yes we're very proud and exasperated because there is no SPELL-TALK that adults can do without him sounding out the words like I-C-E-C-R-E-A-M and Z-O-O).

This is NOT the only dictionary your child will ever need. Depending on your child you may have to pop open your real dictionary now and then... or just go straight to the Internet. It obviously doesn't have every word that an adult dictionary would have... but then my adult dictionary does not have the CONSTELLATIONS or DINOSAUR spreads and it does not encourage him to kiss it and snuggle off to sleep with it.

So there are trade-offs.

In the long run, I think it will leave a good, warm attitude about dictionaries and make them more approachable.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very adequate for advanced 6 year old., February 7, 2006

By 

bookhound99 - See all my reviews

This review is from: The American Education Publishing Children's Dictionary (Wordsmyth Reference Series) (Hardcover)

It is an elementary level dictionary and my 6 year old enjoys reading from it in the evenings. He is an advanced reader, but I do think the term "elementary" applies differently to everyone's needs. Many elementary school students are capable of reading well beyond their grade level. I think for very advanced words such as another reviewer was looking for, they are probably best working with an Intermediate or Collegiate dictionary like Merriam-Webster for their advanced 3rd grader. We happen to own the complete Oxford English Dictionary and I do not have any problems looking up more advanced words with him, if this should ever happen!

One huge plus is that the McGraw Hill Children's Dictionary is sturdily bound, and is printed on a lightweight stock. The pages are not flimsy, it is just a lighter bulk paper, so it weighs substantially less than the heavy coated versions of other childrens' dictionaries. In this respect, I applaud McGraw-Hill for understanding a young child will be able to lift a 900+ dictionary more readily than than one that is twice as heavy. I can imagine a very heavy dictionary can put a child off from even looking up words.

This Dictionary has colorful 2-page spreads on the Constellation, weather, musical instruments, conservation and weapons, that are fascinating to study for the curious mind.