The American Heritage Children's Dictionary - Hardcover

Houghton Mifflin Company

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0395425298 ISBN 13: 9780395425299

Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 1986

Synopsis

A dictionary for the elementary school student with introductory explanatory material.

About this title

Review

The revised, 21st-century edition of The American Heritage Children's Dictionary, designed for ages 8 and older, doesn't contain the words "plethora," "treacle," "metaphor," or "reciprocal." What use is it, then? you may ask yourself, but that's a question that many kids could answer for you. The letters are large enough to read! Every word is used in a sentence! There are over 800 color photos and illustrations! When you look up the word "erratic" in The American Heritage Dictionary for grownups (Third Edition), it says, "1. Lacking consistency or uniformity; irregular. 2. Unconventional; eccentric." When you look "erratic" up in this children's dictionary, it is defined as, "Not following a steady or usual course; irregular. Our rowboat's course was erratic after we lost our oars." More third-grader-friendly? Certainly.

More than 400 words have been added to this edition--"electronic mail," "online," "seersucker," "vagabond," and "millennium," to name a few. This hefty, appealing hardcover dictionary contains 14,000 main entries and 37,000 boldface forms; it's the only children's dictionary to feature a 10-page phonics guide to help early readers sound out and spell words; and it includes a thesaurus (even if it is very basic, at six pages long). Throughout the book are information blocks such as "Word History" ("hibernate" comes from the Latin word for winter), "Language Detective" (how do you pronounce "creek" where you live?), "Vocabulary Builder" (with word parts such as "-less"); and "Synonyms." If you're looking for word fun for the whole family, younger children ages 4 to 6 may enjoy The American Heritage Picture Dictionary, and older kids ages 11 to 15 might find The American Heritage Student Dictionary helpful. It's never too early to give your children the tools they need to learn! --Karin Snelson

From the Publisher

Kids live in the same world grownups do-they have to know what a modem or a hologram is, how to spell tsunami and Kwanzaa, and whether to write cyberspace and home page as one word or two.

Designed for children in grades 3-6, the American Heritage Children's Dictionary features expanded vocabulary, all-new art, and a fresh, appealing look. Over 800 full-color photos and original illustrations enhance the precise definitions. With 14,000 main entries and over 37,000 entry words in all, this new edition is more up-to-date and offers more definitions than any dictionary in its field. Hundreds of feature notes provide intriguing information about the history and regional use of words as well as useful tips for better spelling and vocabulary building. Also included is a special 10-page section on phonics, making this the only children's dictionary to feature phonics in a substantive way.

Imagine verb 1. To form a mental picture or idea of: Can you imagine a blue horse with a yellow man? 2. To make a guess; think: How do you imagine the story will turn out?
i-mag-ine (i maj'in)

verb imagined, imagining

Also available:

The American Heritage Picture Dictionary
The American Heritage First Dictionary
The American Heritage Student Dictionary

Edition details

• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
• Publication date: 1986
• ISBN 10: 0395425298
• ISBN 13: 9780395425299
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 16