Hit: Encyclopedia

[Sylvia Mallette <malbren@sympatico.ca>]

I received many responses to my query about which type of encyclopedia
to buy for a new library. World Book was by far the most respected
encyclopedia for a variety of reasons and was endorsed by all
respondents. I will post only a few responses here. Thank you, everyone!
My choice is made!

"I wouldn't do without a relatively current set of World Book.  Graphics
are great for kids needing pictures of stuff for their own interest or
for projects.  Text is written at reading levels that generally match
school curriculum grade levels:  if students in grade 4 do animal
research, articles on animals are written at grade 3-5 reading level, at
least at the beginning of the article."

"If you buy nothing else, buy a set of World Book.  They are written
with
younger students in mind.  I would not be without one in any library
that
serves youth."

"World Book, World Book, World Book!!  Grolier is too tough for the
little kids, (*personally* I find the WB just plain more inviting the
Grolier, too).  We've just purchased the WB Student Discovery
Encyclopedia,
aimed at grades 3 & 4, but grades 1 & 2 got a hold of it too; all four
grades, students and teachers, flipped out over it.  I purchased it on a

high recommendation from an associate, and it's at the top of my
purchase
list for my other K-8 school."

"We have several encyclopedias, but if you can only buy one, I'd suggest
the
World Book.  We just got our new one, and it is the source I  would take
to
a desert island...useful for both 8th graders and little ones.  But I
also
like the Compton's.   Good luck!"

"I've had all the different brands, but I've always found World Book to
be my first choice. I can use it to help students learn how paragraphs
are organized with the first sentence being the main idea.  The outlines

at the back of longer articles, the volumes being divided by the
alphabet and so many other features make it the best as far as I'm
concerned.  The new one even spells World Book on the spine so it is
easy to see which volumes are out or out of order."

"I really like World Book for elementary school, especially the
intermediate
grades.  They also have encyclopedias designed specifically for the K-2
kids
that I have never seen in any of Grolier's print materials.  You might
want
to spring the approximately $150 CAN for a single machine copy of the
Grolier's CD for use in the Media Center.  I have World Book, Grolier's,

Compton's(another good choice for 6-8 in print) and Britannica on
separate
machines.  It is vital that we have a variety of CD-Rom resources for
those
kids whose parents refuse to sign the AUP for their child to have
Internet
access.


Sylvia Mallette
Teacher Librarian
Baxter Central Public School,
Baxter, Ontario, Canada
malbren@sympatico.ca

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