Customer Reviews

Merriam-Webster's Primary Dictionary

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Merriam-Webster's Primary Dictionary is an illustrated dictionary for young readers ages 4-7. Filled with nearly 1,000 entries with age-appropriate definitions, uses in context, brief histories of the word's origin, and references to stories, fairy tales, nursery rhymes and more celebrating the words, Merriam-Webster's Primary Dictionary is an educational delight. Enhanced with the poetry of and artwork of children's literature "superstar" Ruth Heller, Merriam-Webster's Primary Dictionary is an ideal teaching tool for the precocious young reader.

As a teacher of kindergarten and first grade, I heartily recommend this dictionary for the primary age group. This dictionary is aimed at 5 - 7 year olds and is a wonderful resource. It has around 2000 entries, but does not pretend to cover the complete vocabulary of children this age. It is, however, rich in content and appealing in format and appearance. (The illustrations are by Ruth Heller, one of my favorite illustrators for children's books.) The entries include fascinating facts about the origins of words. This dictionary includes figurative meanings, idiomatic expressions and language oddities. It is an excellent resource for introducing the use of dictionaries.

I have a 6yo and we have tried to use this dictionary whenever she asks the "What does ____ mean?". So far not one of the words she has asked about has been in there and I have owned it for over a year! I think it is great for just leizure reading and discovery of a 5-7yo but for a true elementary dictionary it does not have enough words or depth.

I bought this book because of the rating by another person, and the name Webster. Once my daughter (she's 6 years old)got the book, she read it and really enjoyed reading it. The only thing is when it was time to write the definitions for her spelling words, she struggled because the definitions aren't clear, they have sentences describing words, not clear definitions. Words like every, shall, etc., are not listed in this book and the definitions used in this book are merely sentences that describes the words. I personally didn't like it at least not for my 6 year old.

This dictionary is perfect for a young child, especally a child with English as a second language. The pictures are colorful and life-like. The words and definations are easy to read.