The American Heritage First Dictionary from Houghton Mifflin is a colorful, hardcover dictionary for children aged 5-8. This newly updated edition is over 400 pages of brightly illustrated large-print words and pictures in an easy-to-understand format.

The First Dictionary is laid out like a real dictionary (not a picture-only dictionary). It is simple for children to use and understand, actually showing them how to use it in the first few pages. This resource will help children learn the phonics and spelling of words, the definitions of the words, and how they work in a sentence. The First Dictionary also addresses words that sound alike, compound words, common word groups, pairs and opposites, and more!

This dictionary is geared to the youngest scholar and is a great resource for them. With over 2,000 age-appropriate words and over 850 full-color photos and drawings, this is a wonderful learning tool!

Product review by Lisa Barthuly and family, The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine, LLC, July 2006

The American Heritage Children's Dictionary

Houghton Mifflin
www.houghtonmifflinbooks.com

The American Heritage Children's Dictionary from Houghton Mifflin is a colorful, hardcover dictionary for children aged 8-11. This newly updated edition is huge--over 800 pages of brightly illustrated words and definitions in an easy-to-understand format.

The Children's Dictionary is simple for children to use and understand, actually showing them how to use it in the first few pages. This version includes a pronunciation key, a thesaurus, phonetics of words, parts of speech, beautiful maps, the historical meanings of some words, and more!

With over 34,000 age-appropriate entries and hundreds of full-color photos and drawings, this is a great resource for children.

However, take note-even in a book geared toward this young age, the secular starts to get 'woven in.' Consider the definition of marriage: "A relationship between two adults who have exchanged vows of love and are officially regarded as a family in their community."

Our recommendation: while this is a good resource overall, we choose to go with a solid Christian dictionary.

Product review by Lisa Barthuly and family, The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine, LLC, July 2006

The American Heritage Student Dictionary

Houghton Mifflin
www.houghtonmifflinbooks.com

The American Heritage Student Dictionary from Houghton Mifflin is a colorful, hardcover dictionary for students aged 11 and up. This newly updated edition is a hefty volume--over 1000 pages chock full with over 65,000 words and definitions along with full-color pictures (over 2000 photos and drawings) in an easy-to-understand format.

This Student Dictionary is easy for students to use and understand, actually showing them how to use a dictionary properly in the first few pages. This version presents the elements of the dictionary, capitalization and punctuation guidelines, pronunciations, usage and synonym notes, charts and tables (periodic table of the elements, geologic time, measurement, the solar system, taxonomy, etc.), and more.

Take note--this is a secular dictionary that discusses earth's history in terms of "millions of years." It says that the earth was actually formed 4.6 billion years ago. Also, the definition of marriage is as follows: "A state of being married; a relationship between two adults who have exchanged vows of love and are officially regarded as a family in their community."

Because of those and several other secular humanist definitions woven throughout, we'll stick with our Noah Webster 1828 . . . thanks. This is not a dictionary we would use in our family.

Product review by Lisa Barthuly and family, The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine, LLC, July 2006