The American Heritage Children's Dictionary

by American Heritage

Book Overview

A brand new edition of our superb dictionary for children in grades 3-6 (ages 8-12), with age-appropriate vocabulary, easy-to-understand definitions, lively example sentences, and delightful color... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0544336100
• ISBN13: 9780544336100
• Release Date: July 2015
• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin
• Length: 896 Pages
• Weight: 4.17 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.6" x 8.2" x 10.1"
• Age Range: 8 to 12 years
• Grade Range: Grades 3 to 7

Customer Reviews

Excellent classroom resource

I purchased a classroom set - 20 copies - of this dictionary for my second graders. Having spent my own money, you can be sure I checked out the options, and I found this the very best. The layout of the dictionary is perfect for early learners (kindergarten to third grade). There is a good distribution of informative illustrations that keep young readers interested and supports understanding. I like the boxes inserted throughout which extend knowledge of select words. Synonyms, Word History, Language Detective, & Vocabulary Builder provide inquisitive or gifted children additional links to develop word knowledge. My job teaching students how to locate words in a dictionary is easier because of the layout. The guide words are easier to identify because they are, like the entry terms on the page, in a light blue type, while all other text is black. Unlike some children's dictionaries, the entry term is shown whole, not syllabized. The syllabized form is given, but last, after more pertinent information. In a classroom full of literature, this dictionary is a book my students choose to read for entertainment. Perhaps because it is their first reference tool - or because I made them aware of how I acquired them, letting each student carry one up to the classroom - they pour over them. Of course, not every unknown word that a child may encounter will be found in this dictionary. But as an early step toward understanding language and the mechanics of a dictionary, this one is the best I know of to get kids off to a good start.

Great for early elementary school

This is the dictionary used in my childrens' school. The definitions are child-friendly and the words included are ones on many spelling lists. So far my kids have used it through third grade.

Wonderful

I purchased this for my 8 year old Daughter. Instead of her asking me how to spell this and that word, I showed her how to find it herself in the dictionary. It is very colorful and has beautiful pictures.

Great 1st Dictionary - 1st-4th grades

My review is based on the 2003 version. This version must be vastly improved over earlier reviews, as earlier reviews said it had no pronunciation guide. This version is great! It has blue text for the word. Short, concise definitions and a pronunciation guide at the end. I feel this is a great "real" 1st dictionary for kids. I picked it for it's readability, suitability/content, and concise definitions. And, as some reviewers said, it may not have "every" word, but I found this version to be the easiest to start with and "entice" them into using the dictionary. I really like the DK/Merrian version, but alas, it's really hard for me and my little guys (1st and 2nd) to decipher through all the blah text, symbols, and more complex definitions. I want them to be excited about reading. My plan is to use this one now until the kids seem to outgrow it, and then I'll upgrade to an "older dictionary". Maybe by then DK/Merriam will have an easier format in a few years. In the interim, I'll use the dictionary.com or merriam-webster online for the missing vocab words. Multiple resources are great. In closing, I did sit in Barnes and Noble for 20 minutes comparing between the Scholastic, DK/merriam, New World Webster, and American Heritage. I still think for a first children's dictionary that this is a great solution. I would have thought Scholastic would have done a better job. The New World Webster was good with definitions, but the artwork consisted of drawings that were not as "good" and the readability was not quite as good. Hope this helps all in the market.

Great Kid's Dictionary

I bought this dictionary for my daughter when she started first grade - knowing that it would be a while until her reading skills were good enough for her to use it. Beginning in about the 2nd grade, she started to use it regularly - and in 3rd grade (last year) she used it all the time. Terrific first dictionary for a kid, with great pictures in full color, good art and illustrations, nice bold type, etc. What's nice about it is that it's layout is just like a grown-up dictionary - which they will switch to in time. This is a perfect dictionary for a grade schooler to learn to do 'research' with appropriate elementary school/junior high vocabularly. Highly recommended!