Teachers Resource Books

In evaluating a children's dictionary, there are two test words we always check first: "e-mail" and "iguana." After all, if "e-mail" doesn't appear in a dictionary, how up-to-date can it be? And iguanas, well, what kid doesn't want to read all about this "very large tropical American lizard with a ridge of tall scales along its back"? We are happy to report that this fine dictionary is above and beyond our gold standard. Not only are there definitions for each of the test words, there are illustrations for each, as well! This 912-page illustrated dictionary is packed with great information, including world maps on the inside covers, an easy-to-use how-to guide, and a reference section with facts and maps of the continents, pictures of flags from countries around the world, U.S. presidents and vice presidents, pronunciation guides, signs and symbols, and lots more. Sandwiched between this wealth of facts and figures are 846 pages of definitions with DK's trademark crisp, clear photographs illustrating many of the words. One of the handiest features in this volume is the multicolored alphabet running down the outer edges of every single page, with the featured letter highlighted for easy reference when flipping through. So get out there and e-mail all your iguana friends about this terrific reference guide! (Ages 9 to 12) --Emilie Coulter
--This text refers to an alternate

Hardcover
edition.

Grade 2–5—Including a reference guide to letter pronunciation at the bottom of each spread, this work also includes an alphabet locator on the side of each page. Clear guide words and extensive use of cross-references enable users to locate definitions and synonyms. Clearly captioned color photographs and some drawings, including the relevant definition as needed, bring the entries to life. Homographs are identified, and word histories are included throughout, adding to the interest level of the work. Each definition includes examples, and guidance such as variant spellings and usage labels ("often cap") are provided where necessary. A closing reference section includes a spread for each continent, color images of the flags of the world and of U.S. states, significant data on each state, a chronological listing of U.S. presidents and vice presidents, and common abbreviations. The book concludes with a listing of signs and symbols and a comprehensive index to all pictures in the work. The clear, easy-to-read print and bright pictures of varied type and source make this work easy for second or third graders to use, while fourth and fifth graders will appreciate the depth of the entries.—Sara Rofofsky Marcus, Yeshiva Har Torah, Little Neck, NY
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The erudite Lerer, whose Inventing English (2007) was enthusiastically reviewed in these pages, has now undertaken an ambitious, one-volume history of children’s literature. He begins in classical antiquity and ends with the salutary likes of Weetzie Bat (1989) and the Time Warp Trio, giving particular attention along the way—he being a philologist—to the language of literature, whether critical or narrative. Always in search of large ideas and overarching themes, he has what many may find an annoying tendency to pronounce (“The book now ends with bedtime—as all great children’s stories really do”) and to presume his reader’s tacit agreement, offering far too many propositions beginning “How can we not . . .” Nevertheless, Lerer does an extraordinary job of expanding our understanding of individual titles by richly contextualizing them in the world of their creation and stimulates readers’ imaginations by some surprising juxtapositions (Darwin and Dr. Seuss!). Though the book’s principal audience will be an academic one, general readers will find much of interest here as well. --Michael Cart
--This text refers to the

Hardcover
edition.

�Lerer�s Olympian survey of more than 2,000 years leaves the reader with a stimulating vision of history. . . . His narrative swells and ebbs like a symphony. . . . To find Pilgrim''s Progress and Weetzie Bat in a single volume is itself a pleasure.��Michael Sims, Washington Post Book World (Michael Sims Washington Post Book World 20080706)

�Lerer has accomplished something magical. Unlike the many handbooks to children�s literature that synopsize, evaluate, or otherwise guide adults in the selection of materials for children, this work presents a true critical history of the genre. . . . Scholarly, erudite, and all but exhaustive, it is also entertaining and accessible. Lerer takes his subject seriously without making it dull.��Library Journal (starred review) (Library Journal 20090102)

�Lerer�s history reminds us of the wealth of literature written during the past 2,600 years. . . . With his vast and multidimensional knowledge of literature, he underscores the vital role it plays in forming a child�s imagination. We are made, he suggests, by the books we read.��San Francisco Chronicle (San Francisco Chronicle 20080824)

�There is hardly a children�s classic, from Robinson Crusoe to Where the Wild Things Are to pop-up books, which [Lerer] does not discuss with sympathy and wit.��Eric Ormsby, New York Sun (Eric Ormsby New York Sun 20071211)

�There are dazzling chapters on John Locke and Empire, and nonsense, and Darwin, but Lerer�s most interesting chapter focuses on girls� fiction. In a brilliant series of readings, he uncovers a preoccupation with theatricality in classic fiction for girls, from the melodramatic conduct of Anne of Green Gables to Jo March�s career as dramatist.��Diane Purkiss, Times Literary Supplement (Diane Purkiss Times Literary Supplement 20070919)

�A history of children''s literature is . . . a history of literature itself and Seth Lerer, by training a medieval philologist like J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis, has written a very good one.��Jonathan Bate, Sunday Telegraph (UK) (Jonathan Bate Sunday Telegraph 20071227)

�A dazzling cornucopia of erudition and originality on a subject of grave concern in twenty-first century U.S. education and culture. Every page of Seth Lerer�s brilliant book reminds us of the supreme and enduring value of childhood reading. This volume deserves the attention of all who care about the shaping of lives�educators on all levels, policy makers, psychologists, and parents, as well as scholars. Lerer writes that children''s literature is meant �docere et delectare� (to instruct and to delight), and this is precisely what he himself has done in this fascinating book.��Ellen Handler Spitz, University of Maryland, author of Inside Picture Books (Ellen Handler Spitz 20071227)

�A wonderful book, with remarkable temporal breadth in its vision of the children�s tradition. Highly effective as a work of synthesis, yet with many, many moments of originality and surprise, even for expert readers. Anyone engaged (whether as scholar, educator, even �simply� as parent) with the psychic life of children will have much to learn from Lerer�s account.��Katie Trumpener, Yale University (Katie Trumpener )

�A breathtakingly powerful and complex history of children�s literature that energizes rather than depletes. Lerer gives us the facts, but he also weaves experiences and stories into an account that moves in registers ranging from the ecstatic to the elegiac. An ideal guide for students new to the field of children�s literature as well as for scholars familiar with the territory.��Maria Tatar, Harvard University (Maria Tatar )

�Seth Lerer�s Children�s Literature: A Reader�s History from Aesop to Harry Potter is unique in its method, depth, and breadth. Lerer�s comprehensive knowledge of ancient and medieval literature serves him well, for he has a singular understanding of how vernacular literature originated and informed literature for children and adults and how children�s literature informed the construction of both childhood and adult readers. It is a joy to read his study because one can sense a serious and sensitive mind at work, seeking to chart a new path through the history of children�s literature. Lerer mixes his personal reading experience with an astute scholarly appreciation of literary reception, and the result is an original study that will contribute to a greater awareness of the profundity of children�s literature.��Jack Zipes, University of Minnesota (Jack Zipes )

"Splendidly well written, and both wide-ranging and comprehensive."�Choice (Choice )

"It''s a thick scholarly tome, but also a charming read that revels in children''s imaginations and the timeless works that stimulate them. . . . The book''s main attraction is its obvious delight in the subject matter: Lerer perfectly captures the love of literature that follows a voracious child reader into adulthood."�Rachael Scarborough King, New Haven Review (Rachael Scarborough King New Haven Review )

�Lerer makes some smart, timely arguments. Opening up a too-constricted definition of children�s literature is a crucial corrective; anyone who studies children before the twentieth century already knows that children read and were influenced by far more than so-called children�s books. It is high time that children�s literary histories acknowledged and analyzed those materials.��International Research in Children�s Literature (International Reserach in Children's Literature )

"Lerer has so many unusual insights, and illuminating observations that anyone who loved reading as a child will find his book utterly absorbing." (Christina Hardyment BBC History Magazine )