The Magic of the Dictionary

Eliza Clark
September 7, 2012

 

I once heard about a man who read the entire Oxford English Dictionary, all twenty volumes of it, from cover to cover. It took him twelve months to do so. When asked why, the man said that knowing the exact, if obscure, words for things made his experience of the world richer: “Knowing what to call something makes me more aware of that thing.” 

Another word-lover, the great poet W.H. Auden, was also fond of reading definitions. He said that if he could take one book to a desert island, it would be “a good dictionary” rather than a literary masterpiece because “in relation to its readers, a dictionary is absolutely passive and may legitimately be read in an infinite number of ways.”

Our kids love their dictionaries too. The little ones pore over their children’s picture editions before they are even able to sound out the words.  The older kids go to look up one word, and half-an-hour later are still lost in the in the depths of the dictionary.

In the hands of a child, a dictionary is a powerful learning tool. This big book of words gives kids a large measure of independence in reading, writing, and spelling. It also helps them absorb not just new vocabulary but also new concepts and connections. Knowing the complexities and nuances of our language expands our children’s minds, their thinking, and their understanding.

In short, every child should have a dictionary. And as Auden would urge, it needs to be a “good dictionary,” if not the OED quite yet. Here are three that will serve the purpose:

Children’s Illustrated Dictionary - DK Publishing

The stated reading level for this dictionary is 6 and up, but much younger children will enjoy poring the excellent color photographs.

Miriam Webster Children’s Dictionary - DK Publishing

This volume is a good choice for elementary as well as middle-grade students.

Webster’s New World Children’s Dictionary

This one is designed to bridge the gap between young children’s picture dictionaries and their adult counterparts, and serves its purpose well.