If you’re looking for a dictionary for kids, either for your classroom, library, or homeschool, here are the best dictionaries for children.
These are kid-friendly reference books that contain illustrations and definitions to help children learn to spell and learn new vocabulary words.
As an educator, I understand the ease of an online dictionary (like Merriam Webster or Dictionary.com) but I think that at an early age, it’s important to look up words in a physical dictionary. One big reason is that in a physical book, children can practice alphabetizing, in other words, looking up words in order of the alphabet. That’s a very important life skill!
Best Dictionaries for Kids
My First Dictionary
ages 5+
Each of the 1,000 words in this dictionary is accompanied by a photo or illustration with the part of speech (nouns, verbs, and adjectives). The words listed are most commonly encountered by young children.
Scholastic Children’s Dictionary
ages 6+
I highly recommend this easy-to-read dictionary with the words in red plus the parts of speech definition, a
kid-friendly pronunciation guide, sample sentences, and some illustrations. This dictionary includes a thesaurus plus guides to grammar, idioms, geography, and US presidents.
Merriam-Webster Children’s Dictionary by DK
ages 7+
This reference dictionary contains 35,000 words and 3,000 full-color illustrations making it my top pick for classrooms and libraries. I also like that the borders are color-coded for each letter of the alphabet. The words include the definition, notes on spelling and punctuation, and examples.
Scholastic Pocket Dictionary of Synonyms, Antonyms, & Homonyms
ages 8+
Designed for upper elementary and middle school students with more than 12,000 synonyms and 10,000 antonyms at their fingertips, this thesarus book is a great reference tool. It requires some understanding of how to use it though — with the antonyms in italic font after the list of synonyms.
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