Merriam-Webster Children's Dictionary

Its DK! Yes that matters. DK has mastered the art of making dictionaries. I have used DK Oxford American Illustrated dictionary. Dk made it so wonderful that when I sit with it I spend atleast 15 minutes. Wesbter knows how to convey the meaning of a word.

So you combine the best of DK and Webster you get this masterpiece. The salesrank for this book is less than 2000 and that tells you how popular this book is. I would just go ahead and buy it if I am thinking of buying 'a' book for children.

For children this book is a treasure from which they can learn new words seeing lots of pictures. If a kid wants to know what a fruit is he looks at fruit here he will also be able to learn all about fruits and types of fruits like dry fruits, etc. he turns the pages to fruit and finds the pictures of all kinds of fruits and that makes him recognise what a fruit is and what all fruits he eats.

There are 4000 pictures. Other books boast of 2000 pictures but they arent even close and all they got are bad and small pictures. All they carry is a small picture of an apple or something while explaining fruit. Also if you see letters XYZ alone you will see lot of pictures in this book. Its the best book rated in America and I have seen all children's dictionaries recently.

I had an option of choosing between this one and World children's dictionary which costs less. But I realised that a bad dictionary is no better than not having one. So I chose this one and its a perfect gift for my cousins. So if you are looking for a book to gift some kids, grab this one.


A replacement for the walking parental dictionary   December 19, 2000
49 out of 51 found this review helpful

I've been looking for a good dictionary for my 3rd grader, and have fallen in love with the DK Merriam Webster.

Our experience with the Scholastic First Dictionary had been unfortunate -- four of the four words she did not understand in a recent spelling homework had failed to make it into that dictionary at all. In contrast, the DK Merriam-Webster has had a rich set of words that seem to meet her demands. I am in danger of ceasing to be her walking dictionary!

Definitions are simple without being too watered down. For instance, we recently passed an opossum on the road. When she looked up opossum, there was a good picture, and a definition that it is "a common American animal related to the kangaroos that lives mostly in trees and is active at night." She was able to latch on to "related to the kangaroos" and "active at night" more easily than learning that it was a nocturnal marsupial.

In the back of the dictionary are reference sections that are brief but informative.

The layout of the dictionary is excellent, a good mix of pictures and text, and a nice color-coding scheme for alphabetical indexing. At the bottom of each page are examples of how to pronounce the phonetic symbols the book uses.

The heft of the book is good for a kid -- my daughter has mentioned several times that it feels like a "real" book -- but not unmanageable.

We'll have to see if the dictionary can truly take her through 8th grade or if she graduates to an adult dictionary before then. Either way, this book will have prepared her for a full adult dictionary very well.


The only dictionary your child will need until they are 10   February 5, 2001
anonymous (Las Vegas, NE)
27 out of 27 found this review helpful

This is the best dicitonary for young children. The vast number of definitions and words make it very useful in the classroom as well as at home. The illustrations just capture a child's attention and helps them to associate the word with the picture. The definitions a clear and precise. Sample sentences also help greatly in understanding the use of the word. The pronunciation notes are a godsend as well. This is the best dicitonary for primary and elementary school age children. It will help them along until they are ready to use the Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dicitonary.


must have   November 3, 2003
Lisa G (Wellington FL)
20 out of 20 found this review helpful

I have a 6 and 8 year old who love this book! My boys are able to look up words and understand the definitions without it being "too easy". The illustrations are great too!!