Solid References Make Sure The Young Student In Your Family Has Appropriate Dictionaries, Atlases And Encyclopedias

By now, young students should be comfortably settled into the new school year. Their pencils and crayons have places in their little-bit-bigger desks. They’ve gotten used to their new teacher’s sense of humor (or lack thereof). And they know how much homework to expect this year.

It’s a good time to ensure the homework process runs smoothly by establishing a pleasant, well-stocked, consistent place to do it. At our house, even though there are desks in the bedrooms, everyone ends up working at the dining room table. This year we decided not to pretend any more. A small bookshelf in the dining room has become the homework center. On one shelf, labeled bins hold pencils, scissors, markers and other tools. On another shelf sits our growing reference library, with books appropriate to each child’s age.

Even in the age of CD-Roms and the Internet, every family needs some reference books. Who wants to boot up and sign on just to find out what year Eli Whitney invented the cotton gin? Besides, atlases make interesting browsing and many dictionary discoveries happen on the way to looking up something else.

Here’s a list of some fine reference books for elementary school students:

“National Geographic World Atlas for Young Explorers” - Hot off the presses in October, this graphically gorgeous atlas features photographs taken from satellites and on the ground. Pages are color-coded by continent, and packed with information, including geologic origins, animals, history and culture. There’s also a useful section on reading and understanding maps. (National Geographic Society, ages 8-14, 170 pgs., $24.95)

“DK Student Atlas” - A bit less beautiful, but more detailed and probably more useful to older students, this affordable and excellent atlas includes explanations of map-making and map reading, regional maps, terrain models, and maps describing industry, environmental issues, and land use. (DK Publishing, ages 10 and up, 160 pgs., $19.95)

“Macmillan Dictionary for Children” - A recently revised version of a fine dictionary for children ages 8-12. Includes more than 35,000 entries, clear, precise definitions, easy-to-understand pronunciation guides, word histories, synonym lists, notes about words that sound alike, and more than 1,000 vivid illustrations and photographs. (Simon & Schuster, ages 8-12, 864 pgs., $16.95)

“Scholastic Children’s Dictionary” - Another good dictionary, although containing fewer words, and less precise definitions. Contains 1,700 entries, with 600 photographs. Pronunciations are given phonetically. Includes computer, scientific and multicultural terms, parts-of-speech identification, maps, Braille and American Sign Language alphabets, flags and U.S. presidents. (Scholastic, ages 9-12, 224 pages, $14.94)

“Scholastic Children’s Thesaurus” - The best children’s thesaurus I’ve seen, lists 500 main words and 2,500 synonyms. In an innovative move that will truly expand a child’s vocabulary, the book defines each synonym and provides sample sentences for each one. An extensive index provides cross-references for all main words and synonyms. Lively illustrations. (Scholastic, ages 9-13, 256 pages, $15.95)

“Scholastic First Dictionary” - A dictionary to teach dictionary skills, this is for the youngest school children. Includes 1,500 words, color photographs, phonetic pronunciations, sample sentences, and age-appropriate language. (Scholastic, ages 6-9, 224 pages, $14.95)

“Scholastic Treasury of Quotations for Children,” by Adrienne Betz - First of its kind I’ve seen for elementary school children. Organized by topics often found in school curriculum, includes 1,200 quotes on more than 70 subjects. Also features 700 short biographies. (Scholastic, ages 9 and up, 254 pages, $16.95)

“DK Children’s Illustrated Encyclopedia” - This one-volume, vibrantly illustrated encyclopedia is great fun for browsing and useful for obtaining succinct information about an array of subjects. For more in-depth reports, this will provide a good place to start. (DK Publishing, ages 7-10, 644 pages, $39.95)

Valuable for the same purposes are DK’s “Science Encyclopedia,” “Nature Encyclopedia,” “History of the World” and “Geography of the World.”

“The Internet Kids & Family Yellow Pages,” by Jean Armour Polly - The Internet is a remarkable research tool - if you know where to look.

Having this book on a reference shelf is like having your own private Internet librarian. Polly, a mother, public librarian and Internet expert, enlisted a team of librarians, teachers and Internet experts to locate the best sites for children and families. The book includes more than 3,000 sites for children, divided into categories, plus a parenting and families section. Polly also keeps a Website to provide updates on the book. (Osborne/McGraw Hill, all ages, 576 pages, 19.95)

“Scholastic Explains Reading Homework” - At the risk of sounding like a marketing representative for Scholastic, this is one title in another terrific new reference series. Aimed at second and third graders, this book packs in an astounding amount of information about books and reading. Parts of a book, fiction and nonfiction, poetry, reading a map, reference sources, plot, characters, writing a book report, and much more are explained on attractively designed and illustrated pages.

A small criticism about the subtitle appearing in big letters on the cover: “Everything children (and parents) need to survive 2nd and 3rd grade.” Some older children who could benefit from this material won’t want to use the book because of that.

The other two titles in the series are “Scholastic Explains Math Homework” and “Scholastic Explains Writing Homework.” (For older students and parents, Scholastic has a paperback series “Everything You Need to Know About …” topics include geography, math, American history, English, world history and science.

(Scholastic, ages and prices vary)

“The New York Public Library Student’s Desk Reference” - An extremely useful reference for quick facts, this is the younger sibling of the heavily used “The New York Public Library Desk Reference.” It includes information on earth sciences, biology, times and dates, signs and symbols, math, chemistry, art and music, words, literature, religion, etiquette, sports, history and much more. (Macmillan, ages 9 and up, 513 pages, $14.95 paper)

“How to be School Smart: Super Study Skills,” by Elizabeth James & Carol Barkin - This is one of four easy-to-read, helpful little books for 4th to 8th graders in the “School Survival Guide Series.” Others in the series: “How to Write Super School Reports,” “How to Do Your Best on Tests,” “How to Write Terrific Book Reports.” (Lothrop, ages 9 and up, 96 pages, $15)

“The New York Public Library Kid’s Guide to Research,” by Deborah Heiligman - Well-organized and useful, this includes choosing a report topic, taking notes, evaluating sources finding visual resources and more. (Scholastic, ages 9 and up, 134 pages, $14.95)

“Scholastic Encyclopedia of the United States at War,” by June A. English and Thomas D. Jones - The latest in a series of excellent encyclopedias about specific topics on which students often need information. Covers each major war from the American Revolution to the Gulf War with maps, biographies of major figures, and timelines. Also look for Scholastic encyclopedias about presidents, women in the United States and Native Americans. (Scholastic, ages 8-12, 192 pages, $18.95)