Merriam-Webster Children's Dictionary: Features 3,000 Photographs and Illustrations

Hubby and I read the reviews of several children's dictionaries and even went to a couple of bookstores to physically see them and we were very impressed with this one. The others were very good too, but the illustrations on every single page of this dictionary compelled us to purchase this one for our two kids ages 6 and 8. I tested it by looking up words that I thought a children's dictionary wouldn't have such as "paraffin", "spectre", and "rosette" and was pleased to find them all. The pages are good quality paper, the printing clear and easy to read, and the photographic illustrations are very clear. Though it did have the definitions for the male and female reproductive organs, there were no pictures of them so I guess that's good if you are wanting to keep your children from seeing such things. In the back of the dictionary is a very good reference section with world maps and information about the various countries and continents, several pages of world flags, a list of the presidents of the United States, abbreviations, pronunciation guides and a picture index. This dictionary is great for kids in elementary through high school and adults can use it too. I wish I had one of these when I was in school! I can't believe a book of this scope and quality costs less that 15 dollars. A very good dictionary for anyone needing one.

My second-grader needed a dictionary for school, and this one not only is expansive, but it also is very kid-friendly. My grandson is not very bookish, but he enjoys this one, because it contains just about "every word you could imagine," in his words, and because it is seductively beautiful and brightly illustrated with decent print, as reflected in his eyes. It has been a long time since I thought of a dictionary as "fun", but now I remember what it was like to explore the English language at a young age of discovery. What's more, this dictionary is more fun to read, while pondering its copious illustrations that seem to jump off the page, than even the encyclopedic dictionaries of old. To my mind, this is a near-perfect dictionary for the young (and even for the young-at-heart). This partnership of Merriam-Webster and DK is stunning, just stunning. The only negative to such an ambitiously large compendium of knowledge obviously is its size and weight. But not only did my grandson not complain about how large and heavy it is, but he has happily carried this dictionary everywhere, seemingly proud to display such a "weighty" and "beautiful" book for all to see. To tell the truth, he does look smarter just holding it. What's more, it seems not only well designed, but also well manufactured, with a real protective cover, and thick pages, that should hold up well to many years of use by young hands. Frankly, for such quality, the price seems an unbelievable bargain.

In this very digital age you would think that a dictionary would be passe but it very necessary for school kids. My child can "Google" things and look it up on the net but this actually encourages reading and learning independence. Most parents remember being told to look it up in a large intimidating dictionary that was leather bond and small typed font that maded your eyes blur and discouraged you from ever asking: Mom/Dad you how do you spell.......? or What is ....? This is not that dictionary. It is inviting and dare I say fun and hits it target audience elementry/ middle school aged kids. The font is big enough to read but not so that it looks like a preschool primer. The pictures are rich and colorful and not cartoonish and condescending. My kids in the second grade and this dictionary could easliy keep until the eighth grade if not for revisions and updates. He hates repeat hates reading and said so himself but labeled this his favorite book. That is saying a lot considering he has tons of books at home including comicbooks. He loves being able to find the answer on his own and even his cousin in middle school asked to use his dictionary. Wow.

Ordered this for my 7 year old son. We homeschool and obviously every homeschool needs an age-appropriate dictionary. He has another that's quite a bit dated and very childish. This one isn't childish at all and is quite a complete volume that he will probably be able to use for ten years. It's his new favorite book! He loves the pages of maps and flags of the world and every page has quality pictures to illustrate child-appropriate definitions. It's been helpful in cementing his alphabetizing skills. He's so proud that he can look up words on his own now that he reads in his chapter books. In the beginning there's also a whole section dedicated to how to use this dictionary, but it also goes into detail on the parts of speech and grammar. Very comprehensive for a kids dictionary. I had a Scholastic kids dictionary when I was his age and I don't remember it being nearly as thorough as this one.

A good children's first dictionary from a trusted publisher. It covers many words that children encounter daily. However, it is NOT a complete dictionary. It is a must to teach children how to use a dictionary and to introduce them to the habit of looking up the meaning of words (which parents actively have to encourage and mirror). A word of caution: for young kids that have limited word skills, the explanation of the words can sometimes be just as confusing as the word itself. May need to be used together with a good thesaurus for younger kids. I often had to look up in a thesaurus for adults to give examples and try to explain the words. That is why I gave it 4 stars.