Reference Review

By Staff -- School Library Journal, 10/1/2006

THE AMERICAN HERITAGE FIRST DICTIONARY. 405p. illus. photos. CIP. Houghton 2006. Tr $16.95. ISBN 0-618-67766-6. LC 2005031529.

K-Gr 3–This clear, easy-to-use reference opens with a five-page introduction to dictionary use and contains more than 2000 common words and 850 color photographs and drawings. Entries feature full-sentence definitions and sample usage. Occasional sidebars offer opposites, rhyming, or related words. The guide words at the top, main entries, and picture captions are all highlighted in purple. The entire alphabet appears at the bottom of each spread, reinforcing the exact location of the leading letter. New letters are introduced on a fresh page in large, blue upper and lowercase print surrounded by multiple pictures of objects beginning with that letter. The large fonts, generous spacing, and bright illustrations make this book a good choice for new readers. Sections on phonics and spelling, parts of speech, homophones, compound words, and lists of common word groups, such as parts of the body and pairs of opposites, are appended. Users, especially second-language learners, will appreciate the dictionary’s clarity and simplicity, but Merriam-Webster’s Primary Dictionary (2005) offers a richer choice for browsers and includes jokes and riddles, snippets from classic children’s literature, and word histories. Teachers might prefer the former for practicing independent dictionary skills, while the latter is a more appealing choice for home libraries.–Barbara Auerbach, New York City Public Schools

Gr 10 Up–A collection consisting of essays with an acknowledged “feminist/womanist” perspective. It also contains biographies of those male writers who have dealt with themes from feminist perspectives, as well as important works, movements, periods, genres, and events relevant to the literature. Each author profile is followed by a list of selected works by and about the subject. Unfortunately, there are no illustrations. The first volume provides lists of the entries in both thematic and alphabetical order. The essays, which include cross-references in bold print, are by a variety of literary critics and experts, particularly African-American women. Although several of the authors are identified as writers of literature for children and young adults, not all are. For example, the poet Lucille Clifton’s “Everett Anderson” series is neither discussed in the section about her nor listed in the bibliography of her work. The second volume includes a listing of the contributors’ credentials and a brief time line of significant literary events, with bold entries indicating African-American firsts. A clearly written, accessible resource.–Linda Greengrass, Bank Street College Library, New York City

Gr 8 Up–Two hundred five signed essays by folklore scholars that cover cultures from around the globe. Volume one includes an overview of topics and themes in world folklore and articles on Africa, Australia, and Oceania. The other three volumes cover, respectively, Southeast Asia and India, Central and East Asia, Middle East; Europe; and North and South America. The articles provide only a few brief synopses of tales and myths, focusing instead on each group’s history, social structure, arts, rituals, games, music, and religious beliefs. North America, for example, contains articles, each about 8 to 10 pages long, on 15 major tribes of Native Americans, along with pieces on general African-American, Appalachian, and Mississippi Delta cultures. Each entry includes a few black-and-white photos of folk dances, costumes, crafts, or members of the culture participating in folk ceremonies. The essays all conclude with a bibliography of materials on that particular culture, and the set closes with a short bibliography of items on folklore in general. This material provides a wonderful opportunity to show students what they have in common with others and what makes each culture different.–Walter Minkel, New York Public Library

Gr 8 Up–Slimmed-down versions of, respectively, The New Oxford American Dictionary (2005) and Oxford American Writer’s Thesaurus (2004), these volumes make somewhat more portable resources for student writers. At about 180,000 entries, the dictionary trumps the 165,000-word Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary (2004)–though without that volume’s online access and continual updating–and enhances its definitions with frequent examples, related expressions in boldface, and brief historical discussions, as well as back matter that includes a long list of frequently misspelled words and common redundancies. There are a very few small illustrations, and no biographical entries. The thesaurus offers about 350,000 synonyms and antonyms within 15,000 main entries, usually with shades of meaning exemplified through in-context phrases or, rarely, more detailed disquisitions dubbed “The Right Word.” Both volumes include an extensive catalog of “Clichés To Avoid,” as well as sometimes-opinionated usage notes. Though these volumes do not outshine existing products, libraries with antiquated ready-reference collections may find them appealingly affordable as updates.–John Peters, New York Public Library

Gr 9 Up–The author’s stated aim is to provide an objective account of military facets of the American Revolution in response to Hollywood’s biased portrayals in movies such as The Patriot. The first part of the book is a detailed chronology of the conflict from 1763 to 1783; next come 368 alphabetically arranged topical and biographical essays of 500-2000 words each, followed by an appendix containing 21 clear, informative battle maps. A number of black-and-white reproductions of paintings and drawings are included. Bibliographies provide citations to current scholarly research. There are essays on Chief Cornplanter, Chief Cornstalk, and Chief Joseph Brant, but none on the role of various Native American tribes. Although there is much here to aid beginning research, this information has been amply covered in other works.–Madeleine G. Wright, New Hampton School, NH

Gr 8 Up–An outstanding classical music resource, worth every moment devoted to its 11-year creation. With 1500 entries on composers, performers, instruments, musical terms, compositions, and historical periods, this clearly written, witty overview accomplishes the author’s stated intent: “to connect with the broadest possible public, and to focus on those areas of the literature that are well represented on recordings and accessible to the general listener.” The encyclopedia is a perfect general introduction for novices or casual listeners, as well as an informative review for more seasoned classical music fans. Almost every entry for a composer, performer, or composition includes a small text box of “Recommended Recordings,” most of which are reviewed in The NPR Guide to Building a Classical CD Collection (Workman, 1999). Many clear, captioned black-and-white photos, primarily portraits, are included. One unique and particularly useful feature is a series of links to more than 500 musical selections on a Web site created by Naxos, a large classical music label. Readers can access more than 75 hours of music using the log-in code to gain initial access and register as users. Every library will want this excellent book.–Ginny Gustin, Sonoma County Library System, Santa Rosa, CA

Gr 10 Up–Eighty clearly written, fairly sophisticated essays on significant African-American poets, playwrights, and authors from the Colonial period to the present. Only 12 entries were commissioned specifically for this work; the rest were adapted from Salem’s “Critical Surveys of Literature” series. Each signed essay begins with a list of the subject’s works, classified by genre (including works for children), continues with biographical information and an analysis of major works, and concludes with a bibliography of works about the person. Many entries include a black-and-white portrait. The third volume includes essays on African-American drama, fiction, and poetry. Following the essays is a briefly annotated list of additional African-American writers; an extensive bibliography; an annotated list of electronic resources; and genre, personage, title, and subject indexes. The coverage is fairly broad and approximately one-third of the selections are about women writers. This a concise and useful set, but libraries that already own all four of the “Critical Surveys of Literature” volumes might think twice before purchasing it.–Linda Greengrass, Bank Street College Library, New York City

Gr 11 Up–An informative and comprehensive reference with more than 800 alphabetical, signed entries on all aspects of poverty. Entries, ranging from a few paragraphs to about five pages, cover a wide spectrum of topics, including secular and religious antipoverty organizations and relief initiatives; the special problems of women and children; the causes, economics, history, politics, policy, and measurements and definitions of poverty. Also addressed are countries’ efforts to alleviate it; and profiles of people who have influenced economic thought or systems or contributed to relief efforts. Although the essays are generally well written and objective, there is a bias toward asset redistribution as a solution to the problem. Each essay has cross-references and a bibliography. Average-quality black-and-white photos and portraits add little to the text. The two appendixes provide economic data for each American state and global economic profiles. Each volume contains a comprehensive set index. This encyclopedia offers a wealth of statistics and information that is not readily available elsewhere. However, the entries have high reading levels and many include complex technical discussions of statistical methods, international banking, and economic theories. A good choice for high school collections.–Mary Mueller, Rolla Junior High School, MO

Gr 8 Up–These volumes are a revision and expansion of Great Events from History (1997), incorporating essays from that set’s Chronology of European History. Out of a total of 343 signed essays, 238 are completely new, as are many of the maps, appendixes, sidebars, and black-and-white illustrations. Topics include geopolitical events, social and intellectual issues, scientific developments, philosophy, and the arts. The global coverage emphasizes turning points that redirected and shaped history and helped create the modern world. Essays have an average length of 1600 words. Each one begins with a short summary of the topic and includes dates, locales, categories, key figures, text, significance, further reading, see-also references, and cross-referencing to other essays in this set and in the rest of the series. Four extensive indexes–geographical, category, personages, and subject–are included in volume two only, while each volume has a keyword list of contents for the set. The bibliography of scholarly resources is broken down by subject. An informative resource.–Patricia Ann Owens, Wabash Valley College, Mt. Carmel, IL

Gr 9 Up–These volumes contain 221 entries from the Dictionary of World Biography: The 17th and 18th Centuries (Salem, 1999) and 132 new entries. The alphabetically listed subjects encompass 36 areas of expertise and include John Newbery, Pontiac, Qianlong, Hannah More, Pius IV, Paul Revere, and Shah Wali Allah, among others. Each article is approximately three pages long and lists the subject’s major accomplishments, important dates, and areas of achievement. The body of the entry is divided by subtitles: early life, life’s work, and significance, and is followed by a short but helpful annotated bibliography. Particularly valuable is the even treatment of figures who are the subject of scholarly argument. One hundred fifty average-quality black-and-white illustrations, as well as five maps naming important geographical areas of the 18th-century world, are provided. The appendixes include a list of rulers and heads of state by geographical area and a chronological list of entries. Category, geographic, personage, and subject indexes give students multiple access points. A well-written, useful set.–Ann Joslin, Fort LeBoef School District, Waterford, PA

Gr 9 Up–Two hundred forty-five alphabetically arranged, signed essays, each about four to five pages in length, covering significant advances in biology, chemistry, computer science, psychology, and other scientific disciplines. Each clearly written entry provides a short definition of the discovery, its significance, and a listing of key scientists involved. A complete discussion follows, concluding with cross-references and a bibliography. About half the articles have sidebars spotlighting individuals, as well as specific descriptions of episodes pertaining to their discoveries. Scattered throughout are 62 black-and-white diagrams, a few charts, and more than 160 photographs. The third volume provides a list of the Nobel Prize winners in chemistry, medicine, and physics from 1901 until 2005, a list of useful Web sites, a time line of events from 585 B.C.E. through September 2005, and category, personage, and subject indexes. This clearly written, plainly laid-out resource, on topics ranging from Greek medicine to the Human Genome, is suitable for student researchers as well as laypersons.–Maren Ostergard, Bellevue Regional Library, WA

Gr 8 Up–A well-executed, fact-filled set. Double-page articles on specific topics such as the invention of the wheel and the discovery of penicillin are combined with time lines describing general categories such as life science, technology, space exploration, and math. Volume one provides information on the contributions of ancient peoples such as the Arabs, Celts, and Chinese, and each volume contains a section describing the work of key people of the era. Color illustrations, archival photographs, charts, maps, and sidebars add interest and content. “See also” references are included at the top of each article. Each volume contains a thorough set index. The glossaries seem haphazard at times, including words that are not specific to the volume. Coverage can be uneven–for example, in discussing evolution, much of the space is used to describe Darwin’s journey on the Beagle, while the theory itself is only briefly outlined. Although most sciences are covered, geology is given short shrift. In spite of minor limitations, this is an excellent work.–Eva Elisabeth VonAncken, Trinity-Pawling School, Pawling, NY

Gr 8 Up–The history, development, and celebrations of religious, political, and secular holidays are highlighted. Those unique to the United States, as well as information on American ways of celebrating international holidays are included. Individual holidays or events are covered in 29 signed chapters that conclude with further-reading suggestions. Curiously, six chapters interspersed among them are unsigned. Super Bowl Sunday, Gay Pride Day, Hanukkah in America, Powwow, and Emancipation and African American Slave Festivals are some of the events discussed. Information is well documented, authoritative, and readable, and the bibliography and “About the Editors and the Contributors” sections are a boon. However, there is no listing of the holidays by month. Entries are arranged chronologically, but this might not be clear to students as no months or dates appear in the table of contents. Poor-quality and indiscriminately sized black-and-white illustrations of photographs, historical documents, magazine covers, and cartoons are intermittent, and add little to the readings. Libraries needing a comprehensive, ready-reference title might choose Stephen G. Christianson and Jane M. Hatch’s The American Book of Days (H.W. Wilson, 2000) with its voluminous, but abbreviated entries; those with a niche on U.S. history are wise to include this newer set.–Tina Hudak, St. Albans School for Boys, Washington, DC

Gr 9 Up–This set illuminates all 43 presidencies and contains extensive information on the office. Authoritative essays, ranging in length from 20 to 40-plus pages, open with fast facts and a black-and-white portrait. In addition to biographical information, unbiased appraisals of events during each administration (“September 11 and the War on Terror,” “The Iraq War”), and excerpts from speeches, the entries convey a sense of the president as a person. New to this edition are sidebars on the First Ladies and vice presidents that provide insight on their influences and relationships. For example, in reading about Louisa Adams, readers are offered a window into the personality of the ambitious John Quincy Adams and his wife’s increasing loneliness and estrangement during their marriage (which paralleled Adams’s frustration during his political life). Volume two includes 155 pages of extras including the text of the U.S. Constitution and “Presidential Election Returns, 1789-2004.” Average-quality, black-and-white photos and reproductions illustrate the volumes. This updated set is more comprehensive than Martin W. Sandler’s Presidents (HarperCollins, 1995) and David Rubel’s Scholastic Encyclopedia of the Presidents and Their Times (2005). While students can find facts about the presidents and primary documents through numerous subscription databases and online sites, the depth and breadth of coverage in American Presidents will give researchers a strong advantage.–Tina Hudak, St. Albans School for Boys, Washington, DC