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I was looking at Bigger last night and I was wondering what dictionary would be good to get. We have a regular ol' dictionary, an intermediate dictionary, and a Webster's 1828. While I love the 1828, I think I'd like something a bit more friendly for a second grader. What would you ladies recommend for that age?

My son is in Bigger (8yo/2nd grade) and he does just fine with a regular "old" dictionary (I think ours is from the 60s - can't pass up those quarter garage sale finds!). He's learned how to use the guide words at the top of the page, figure out what "n." or "adj." means, and see crazy letters that tell us how to pronounce the word.

If you get a very simple kid's dictionary, I'm not sure all the words your son will have to look up in Bigger will be found in it.

We really like the DK Merriam-Webster Children's Dictionary. It is like an adult dictionary in terms of how many words it has, but has great pictures, easier-to-understand definitions, and a really nice reference section at the back.

Hope this helps!

Kathy

We buy the Calvert reference libraries for the kids. The middle school one came with the American Heritage Student Dictionary and Student Thesaurus. It has Houghton Mifflin at the bottom of it. It has worked well for my big kids. I have a ds who is close to starting BHFHG and I plan to buy the Calvert Reference Library Level III which includes the Children’s Dictionary, Children’s Thesaurus, and Lesson Manual. Recommended for Grades 3, 4, and 5.
I love the way HOD has the kids using reference materials within their subjects and not just teaching them separately. My dd scored above 8th grade level on the reference materials portion of the ITBS in 4th grade.
I really like the Houghton Mifflin/American Heritage reference materials and they have worked well with our children.

Thank you for these suggestions - I will look into them!