Dictionaries

Post your favorite dictionaries below.

3 Dictionaries -- by Stacia Frederick 1. __Scholastic Children’s Dictionary __, Revised Edition, by the Editors of Scholastic Inc., Scholastic Inc., 1996. This dictionary, for ages 8 and up, contains: (1) About This Letter Boxes which appears on the first page of each new letter; there is a fact about that letter or a spelling tip for words containing that letter’s sound; (2) Thumb-Index Tabs at the side of the book help you find the section you are looking for; (3) Entries are listed in alphabetical order; many words have different meanings listed, and some entries have illustrations or photographs; (4) Main Entry Words are in bold print to make it easy to find the words you looked up; (5) Word History and Other Boxes (Word History, Prefix, Suffix, Synonym, and Language Note boxes) appear throughout the dictionary; and (6) Labeled Illustrations show you the details defined in the entries. A dictionary entry contains: (1) Syllable Breaks; (2) Usage Guides which states whether the meaning of a word is informal or slang; (3) Pronunciations are in parentheses; (4) Definitions; (5) Part of Speech; (6) Cross References tell you where to find a picture of, or more information about, the main entry word; (7) Related Words and Word Forms; and (8) Homophones. There are also maps and geographical information on the 50 states and the countries of the world; alphabets of Braille and American Sign Language; and Flags and Facts of the countries of the world. The Advisory Board consists of Library Media Specialists; Professors of Biology, Science Education, Mathematics, and Technology; from middle schools to medical school to universities. This dictionary is easy to read and decipher, has great pictures, printed by a reputable publisher, and is a good size for an elementary student.

2. __LEGO Star Wars, the Visual Dictionary__, written by Simon Beecroft, DK Publishing, 2009. Here’s a dictionary for all LEGO and Star Wars fans. The book begins with a complete timeline of every LEGO Star Wars set from 1999 to 2010. Then follows 4 chapters: Movie Saga, The Clone Wars, Specialist Sets, and Beyond the Brick. Each LEGO Star Wars set is identified with a Data Box (official name, year it was first released, LEGO identification number, number of LEGO pieces, and the movies in which the model appears. Each LEGO Star Wars figure is clearly labeled, visually appealing, and easy to read for elementary students. The last part of the book talks about how the sets were designed and created.

3. __The DK Children’s Illustrated Dictionary__, John McIlwain, Dorling Kindersley Publishing, Inc., 1994. This dictionary is for children ages 5 to 8, lower elementary school, and was developed in consultation with experts in children’s language teaching. It is colorful and contains more than 12,000 word entries (5,000 main entries and 7,000 related words). Entries include plurals, verb tenses, pronunciation guides, related words, and this dictionary contains more than 2,500 color photographs and illustrations. At the beginning of the book, there is an introductory section that teaches how the dictionary works with fun games such as Odd Word Out, Word Detective, Guess the Word, and Rhyming Words. This is a fun book to get children interested in dictionaries.

//Scholastic Science Dictionary// (2000). It seems that my top 3 dictionaries are by Scholastic. They all seem to be very approachable and easy for younger elementary students to use. This dictionary is a good starter, subject-specific dictionary. Science concepts are defined and colorfully illustrated**.** This is a bright and approachable dictionary for even the younger students to use.
 * Melanie Patterson - Dictionaries**

//The Scholastic Rhyming Dictionary// (1994). This book lists words by the beginning vowel of the rhyming sound. The introduction describes different types of rhymes and gives a good introduction for using the dictionary.

//The Scholastic Children's Thesaurus// (2006). This is a "thesaurus designed for young writers ranging in age from 9-13." There are more than 500 entries, with more than 2,700 words. Words and synonyms are defined and illustrated in the context of sentences. There are tip boxes below the entries that give additional information on the words included in the entry. Again, this is an approachable introductory thesaurus for children.

Michael Lavieri -- Dictionaries

//Loose Cannons and Red Herrings: A Book of Lost Metaphors// (1988) by Robert Claiborne, published by W.W. Norton & Company. It contains explanations (some theoretical) for the origins of commonly used words and phrases, like "the cat's out of the bag." (His prevailing theory involves a cat-o'-nine-tails and the punishment of sailors). I feel like this could be a great jumping off point for an etymological research project and a potentially high-interest subject.

//A Dictionary of American Idioms//, 3rd ed., by Adam Makkai, M.T. Boatner, and J.E. Gates, published by Barron's in 1995. The book could almost be a companion to //Loose Cannons and Red Herrings//, as it, rather than describe the origin of the metaphor, sticks strictly to the meaning. For example, its entry on "go to the dogs" labels it as an informal verb phrase, meaning "To go to ruin; to be ruined or destroyed," and gives a few examples of usage.

//Webster's Dictionary of Word Origins,// Merriam-Webster//,// published by Smithmark Reference in 1995. This is a comprehensive dictionary of word origins, based on the Merriam-Webster dictionary, that offers elaborate explanations of where words come from. The entries are written in a readable (often almost conversational) tone, and describe the historical and linguistic reasons our words have evolved. For example, the dictionary explains that the word "buddy" evolved from the word "brother," because of the difficult young children have with the letter //r//. I would use this dictionary with older students to explore the etymological changes that created the language they all use.


 * Mary Gaeta - Dictionaries**

//The American Heritage Children's Dictionary//. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2003. Print. This book is great for elementary and middle school students. The words are defined with simple explanations. For some definitions, the book provides an example of how to use the word in a sentence. The print is large and easy to read and the many of the definitions are accompanied with pictures.

Young, Sue. //The Scholastic Rhyming Dictionary//. New York: Scholastic Reference, 1994. Print. This dictionary lists words by beginning vowel (A,E, I, O, U and sometimes Y) of the rhyming sound. It is a fun book to read for sound to help a student with pronunciation. It comes in handy for students that are creating any type of rhyming verse. The last section of the book contains an index of words and their rhyming sounds.

Young, Mary O'Keefe, and Anna Grossnickle Hines. //Curious George's Dictionary//. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2008. Print. This is a preschool/kindergarten dictionary that I fell in love with. The words are listed alphabetically and pictures are used for definitions. The introduction has a brief explanation of how to use this dictionary. This is book is good to use to introduce kindergarten students to the dictionary as a reference resource. It may also be used for younger ESL students.


 * Mary Murphy Wood – Dictionaries **


 * Hobson, Archie//. The Cambridge Gazetteer of the United States and Canada: a Dictionary of Places.// Cambridge [England]: Cambridge University Press, 1995. Print.** This dictionary describes what a gazetteer is – an all inclusive and deductive listing as a geographical reference book. This dictionary puts emphasis on the name of a place, pronunciation and origin; it provided limited but essential information about the location. The Gazetteer also contains assorted maps of Eastern North America, Louisiana Purchase, the Thirteen states before and after 1781, Civil War maps, Great Lakes, Historic Trails, Roads, Rails, Great Plains, Canada, Northwest Territories a total of twenty maps. The dictionary contains glossary entries which define words the reader may not be familiar with. The Entry structure – name of the place and defines it (city, neighborhood, region, historical site, etc.) What is the essence of this place? Why is this place of enough interest to merit inclusion in this book. The maps supplement the text. There is cross-referencing to refer the reader to related entries. The book also lists it sources, some of which are government literature, reference works, government statistics, maps, atlases, newspapers, scientific and other handbooks.


 * Opie, Iona Archibald., and Moira Tatem. //A Dictionary of Superstitions//. Oxford [England]: Oxford University Press, 1989. Print.** This dictionary contains an alphabetical listing of superstitions. The dictionary examines popular superstitions, such as crossing your fingers and less known ones such as mentioning a pig to a fisherman. The dictionary also explores spells, cures, rituals, taboos, charms and omens. The dictionary also illustrates the history of the beliefs by quotations from a wide range of sources such as diaries, local histories, newspapers, glossaries, folklore publications, works of literature and orally collected material. The dictionary also includes a thematic index linking the entries with folk belief.

This dictionary was organized with a list of Illustrations and abbreviations to assist the reader. The dictionary was organized alphabetically with 5000 artists from A – Z. After the artist the dictionary contained 200 pages of photos of sculptors by selected artists. The dictionary contained a brief biography on each of the 5000 artists, such as place and date of birth and death if available. Last know address. Where the artist studied, exhibited, memberships, field of work, i.e. bronze, stainless steel, marble etc.
 * Opitz, Glenn B. //Dictionary of American Sculptors: "18th Century to the Present," Illustrated with over 200 Photographs//. Poughkeepsie, NY: Apollo, 1984. Print.**

By Kate Millerick

**1. The American Heritage Student Dictionary:** This dictionary would be very easy for a younger student to handle. The appearance of the book is very much like the text books they already use, so it would not seem like an intimidating reference book to the students. The student dictionary contains more than 67,000 entries, including computer and internet terms- that are relevant to today’s children, accompanied by 2000 color photographs and illustrations on pleasant to look at glossy pages. **2. The American Heritage Children's Dictionary:** Boston : Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, c2010. ** This dictionary is by the editors of the American Heritage dictionaries; it defines and illustrates words in ways that are easily understandable to children. The Children’s dictionary contains over 25,000 entries as well as 16,000 example sentences that show words in context. This book is ideal for students because it is an eye catcher with more than 1,500 color photographs and illustrations that aid in a student’s ability to make sense of the information they are receiving. ** **3. Merriam-Webster's Visual Dictionary / Jean-Claude Corbeil, Ariane Archambault ; illustrators, Jean-Yves Ahern ... [et al.] **Springfield, Mass. : Merriam-Webster, Inc., c2006. This is “the first visual dictionary to incorporate real dictionary definitions.” Unlike a conventional version this dictionary is organized into 17 chapters by subject area –some examples of chapters include: Astronomy, Animals, Earth, Human Anatomy, Energy, Science, etc. Each chapter is sub-divided into subjects and corresponding themes. This dictionary contains more than 20,000 terms and 6,000 color illustrations. It is ideal for teachers, parents, translators, and students of all skill levels including learners of English as a second language. This dictionary is an “indispensable visual reference that goes beyond object identification to answer questions about function, significance and purpose.” This book could never serve as the main resource in a library, but I think in an elementary school or for ESL students, a resource like this one would be a really helpful tool.

This is a very well-organized dictionary that lists rhyming words alphabetically by the number of syllables. It has a very practical use for students trying to write rhyming poetry, song lyrics, raps, or other creative speeches. What I like most about this resource is that it requires students to apply their knowledge of syllable deconstruction to find words that would fit their needs, and it may lead students to new words that they didn’t know. The unique thing about this book is that it is organized by handshape rather than by alphabetical order. That means the student (or teacher) can look up an unfamiliar sign by looking for the handshape rather than by looking up the word – which they may not know. This has a lot of usefulness in my own school because we service a large number of physically disabled, nonverbal students for whom sign language is one of their few means of communication. This book differs from a health encyclopedia in that the topics are concisely described without overwhelming the reader with medical jargon. In addition to defining medical conditions and terms, this book covers such items as sports injuries, what to expect in a physical exam, emotional disorders, and diagnostic techniques. I was surprised to find this in my elementary library; I think it would be more appropriate for a high school library considering some of the explicit illustrations included.
 * //The Scholastic Rhyming Dictionary//**, by Sue Young, Scholastic, 1994.
 * //The American Sign Language Handshape Dictionary //, **by Richard A. Tennant and Marianne Gluszak Brown, Gallaudet Univ. Press, 1998.
 * //The Watts Teen Health Dictionary//**, by Charlotte Isler and Alwyn T. Cohall, Franklin Watts, 1996.

By Emmy Garr:

//The American Heritage College Dictionary//, //Fourth Edition//, published by Houghton Mifflin in 2004. I like this dictionary because it is thorough but not so huge or with such tiny print that it’s overwhelming for students, and it has a nice balance of pictures to text. It's current and updated enough to include contemporary terms that students might need to look up. This was the dictionary I used to order for my English classroom, and it is the volume I see most students using where I work now.

//Dictionary of Imaginary Places//, //Expanded Edition//, by Alberto Manguel and Gianni Guafalupi, published in 1987. It is a large volume that contains texts and maps about a huge variety of literary made-up places, including magical locations from Greek mythology and everywhere that's mentioned in the //Lord of the Rings// trilogy, for example. It’s a fun book to thumb through and a good resource for an ELA classroom or library. I do not think it would be used frequently by the general school public unless a teacher somehow incorporated it into her curriculum, but I wanted to mention it as an enjoyable resource.

//Ultimate Visual Dictionaries//, DK Publishing, 2002. This is an excellent visual dictionary for upper elementary and middle school students, as well as high school students who are perhaps struggling readers. Students of any age who want brief descriptions of topics and many detailed, labeled diagrams would benefit from this volume. It is divided into categories like “The Universe” and “Plants” whose entries are arranged (loosely) alphabetically. I think the most helpful element of the pictures and diagrams is that they are very thoroughly labeled, which would be especially helpful for struggling readers: the text helps explain the drawing but is not overwhelmingly challenging. The focus in this work is fairly heavy on scientific topics. I can envision a middle school student using this for research and students of any age flipping through this for fun – personally I sat for quite a while with this book because I found the visuals to be incredibly engaging and informative.