CHILDREN'S BOOKS: New dictionaries are the last word in learning

🔎Creators of the world’s most trusted dictionaries, Oxford University Press, have been busy updating their children’s dictionaries and thesauruses, and the brand new books – for both early and middle grade readers – will soon be hitting the shelves in a splash of vibrant colours. 

🔎The new editions include the Oxford Children’s Dictionary, the Oxford Children’s Thesaurus, the Oxford First Dictionary and the Oxford First Thesaurus, all perfectly designed and created to give youngsters the vital language tools for expanding and improving their spelling and comprehension.

Age 8 plus
Oxford Children’s Dictionary
Oxford Children’s Thesaurus

YOUNG readers will love the accessibility and style of the new Oxford Children’s Dictionary which contains thousands of words with clear and age-appropriate definitions, child-friendly examples, and full-colour images to help with their homework, and inspire them to use creative and interesting words.

Packed with new and updated words with example sentences, the inventive format helps children understand meaning, spelling and usage in context, and definitions are carefully levelled for young readers, enabling them to look up words independently and accurately. Created using the Oxford Children’s Corpus, a unique database of children’s writing, the dictionary ensures the vocabulary reflects real language used by children and supports modern English learning while alphabet thumb tabs allow quick and easy navigation, helping readers to confidently find the words they need. A robust jacket that can be gently wiped makes the book ideal for lots of handling and there is a helpful support section on spelling, punctuation and grammar, reinforcing key English skills taught at primary level.

And an ideal companion to the dictionary is the new Oxford Children’s Thesaurus which contains thousands of words, creative synonyms and child-friendly examples, improves word choice, and helps children take their writing and speaking skills to the next level. Perfect for home learning, homework support, or independent writing, the thesaurus inspires children to expand their language with thousands of exciting, creative, age-appropriate synonyms and makes it easier for them to understand and use new vocabulary independently.

Photographic images aid comprehension and visual learning and the easy-to-navigate design with alphabet thumb tabs helps children to quickly find the words they need for homework, school projects, or creative writing. There is also a full writing supplement covering fiction, non-fiction, reports and descriptive writing, letting children apply their new vocabulary in real tasks.

Add on Overused Word panels offering smarter, more interesting alternatives to hackneyed words like nice, good, big, and fun, Writing Tips panels to help children experiment with tone, detail and expression, Word Web panels showing related words and ideas to further develop vocabulary breadth and word choices, and your children have the perfect tool to make their writing come alive.
(Oxford University Press, paperback, £10.99 each)

Age 5 plus
Oxford First Dictionary
Oxford First Thesaurus

LEARNING to love – and use – a dictionary is all part of growing up and the beautifully produced and illustrated Oxford First Dictionary, compiled by Andrew Delahunty, is the perfect learning tool for use at both home and school. It helps children build strong early language skills by supporting vocabulary development, spelling, grammar (including nouns, verbs and adjectives) and reading comprehension. 

There are age-appropriate definitions and example sentences, pronunciation breakdowns for harder-to-say words, a clear, accessible alphabetical layout, with alphabet thumb tabs down the side of pages for ease of navigation, and full-colour and engaging 3D illustrations throughout. Explore lists of commonly used words, days of the week, seasons, colours and shapes, get help with definitions, and one thing’s for sure… youngsters will never be short of words!

And why not partner the dictionary with the excellent new Oxford First Thesaurus, a vibrant, child-friendly and invaluable thesaurus designed to help children build confident speaking and writing skills. Perfect for use at home or in the classroom, it supports early language development by encouraging children to explore new and adventurous vocabulary in a fun, accessible way. 

Age-appropriate example sentences help children understand synonyms in a real-life context and bright 3D artwork helps bring vocabulary to life and makes learning fun. Easy to navigate, and with a clear alphabetical layout and alphabet thumb tabs, the accessible index helps children to independently find the words they need. Team the First Thesaurus with the First Dictionary and you have complete early-language support. 
(Oxford University Press, paperback, £9.99 each)