Children’s Picture Dictionary - Book Review

I recently was asked by Flowerpot Press to review the book Children’s Picture Dictionary edited by Tammy Hunter. There are over 1,234 words given but not all of the words are illustrated. I am not being paid to give this review and this book sells for $7.99 SRP.

I thought this dictionary would be a good resource for a teacher when working with beginning readers. I don’t think that a child could read this independently and since all of the terms did not have pictures, it might even be confusing to a child. I also didn’t like the pronunciation key using phonemic sounds that was used even though I can see that the editor thought it would be helpful to a child. I think it would teach a child bad habits that may actually confuse them when a teacher requires them to use phonics when decoding words. If an adult was working with a child, the adult could read the definition and see if they child could find the matching picture. If there was no picture, the child might want to draw an illustration that might match the world. The pictures and illustrations used in the book were very appealing and cute. I can see this book on a teacher’s shelf to use as a resource to enhance reading lessons.