Merriam-Webster’s Visual Dictionary: Second Edition - Newest Edition: Second Edition

What is it, daddy? What is it for, mommy? These two primary questions, or some semblance of these questions have probably been asked millions of times by millions of children about millions of things in our world, and form an ever-expanding nexus of knowledge, ideas, and associations that fans out well into adulthood. Adults still ask these same basic questions that they did as children about the identity of things and the function of things around them, albeit in a more sophisticated, complex fashion perhaps, but the goal is essentially the same--to better understand the visual world of the thousands and thousands of things that surround them. We seem to never tire of asking those fundamental questions of what something is and what something does. This superb, highly-organized, detailed reference book brings the best of two worlds together--the visual, concrete, pictorial world of the sights, colors, shapes, and images that inhabit our physical world, and the more abstract world of words and language that shape and define our mental world that houses our thoughts and ideas. The text, explanations, definitions, and descriptions in conjunction with the pictures, drawings, diagrams, and illustrations create an interesting and informative learning tool that enriches and enlivens the world of things.

This is a great book. Its BIG. I bought this to help with my Read to Learn Students who are trying to improve their English. One of my students originally from Siberia, loves the pictures and how you can relate to the picture and the words in English. He is studying nerves, muscles and ligaments and a whole section of this book is devoted to the human body. The book is impressive.

Great Quality, I'm really happy with it.

Reading and Learning book.

The delightful cure to “What’s it called?”

This is an excellent visual dictionary.

A bit more text could have made the book much more enjoyable! Although the picture are wonderful, discussions with the kids at home tend to be richer when there's some short but enlightening text next to the pictures. Still, at this price, the book remains a good investment.

This book earned 5 stars because the quality of the information and the presentation of the material exceeded my expectations. I had looked through the book briefly at a book store before making the purchase, so I was aware of what it consisted of. However, I was still surprised by how conclusive and detailed the book is. The artwork in the book is clear and detailed. The book is quite hefty, but you should be able to take it with you just about anywhere. It could fit easily into a backpack without feeling awkward. I would recommend this book to anyone who loves words and their meanings and has a mind for minutiae.