My First Dictionary by Betty Root, Jonathan Langley, Jonathan Langley (Illustrator)

From the Publisher

The very definition of a beginner's illustrated dictionary!

Colorful and engaging, My First Dictionary depicts and defines the 1,000 nouns, verbs, and adjectives most commonly encountered by young children. Complied by the respected reading and language specialist who created My First Word Book, and thoroughly vetted by educators, it takes an exciting visual approach by laying out words and pictures on a grid format so that children can quickly identify what word belongs with which color photo or illustration. Every definition — field-tested on kids of the appropriate age group—gives the word's primary meaning in terms of a youngster's experience. Useful as a first word book to aid in vocabulary development, spelling and alphabetizing skills, or as an enjoyable, practical language reference source for beginning readers, My First Dictionary makes language live.

Publishers Weekly

Sharp, brightly hued photos that effectively leap off the page combine with detailed drawings to make this large-format, paper-over-board volume a visual treat for youngsters. Preschoolers can keep busy identifying the two dozen or so objects, concepts and actions illustrated on each spread. Older readers can tackle the concise definitions accompanying each bold-faced word and picture. Root emphasizes familiar and more exotic animals, as well as activities, playthings and locations (supermarket, school, park) that are pivotal to a child's world. She does an admirable job using words and pictures to present tough-to-describe adjectives (double, expensive). The author also includes entries and photos representing numerous cultures, and writes her definitions from a child's perspective without being at all condescending (``A man is a grown-up boy''). A welcome addition to this well-balanced reference is a concluding section devoted to ``dictionary games'' that challenge memory, spelling and deduction skills. Ages 4-up. (Aug.)

School Library Journal

PreS-Gr 2-An enticing picture dictionary that defines and illustrates 1,000 words commonly used by young children. Most of the entries are arranged in three columns with a color-coded indicator running across the top of each page. However, several pages have entries that cover two columns, which may confuse readers just trying out the concept of alphabetical order. Also, an additional 150 words are printed in boldfaced type and explained in context. A variety of word games that can be played with this book are appended. While the full-color photographs and drawings are up to the publisher's usual standard in quality, a few are perhaps confusing: ``alphabet'' shows part of our ABC's as well as part of the Russian alphabet. ``A skirt is a garment that hangs down from the waist.'' ``Bank'' has two entries, a riverbank and one that stores money; these entries are adjacent on one page. ``Bat'' for baseball and ``bat'' that flies happen to fall on sequential pages, making the double meaning less obvious to young browsers. The book's British origin shows up occasionally. However, the attractions are many, and libraries will welcome this addition to their nonfiction shelves.-Dorcas Hand, Annunciation Orthodox School, Houston

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