Must-Haves

You can purchase the must-have home library for your child for under $100

The NY Public Library Desk Reference (ISBN 0786868465; $24.81)

A compendium of some of the most frequently sought information on a wide range of topics, grouped in twenty-six subject areas, under the main categories of the physical world, the world of ideas, communication, daily life, recreation, and the political world; with charts, maps, tables, illustrations, and cross references.

Scholastic Atlas of the World (ISBN 043952797X; $10.36)

Breaks the world into eighty regions, describing each one's land and water features, size, populations, life expectancies, standards of living, and cultures, providing maps, "Search and find" location lists, and hundreds of color photos and diagrams; and also covers physical geography and how to use maps.

The World Almanac and Book of Facts, 2007 (ISBN 0886879957; $10.39)

Presents thousands of facts, stories, and statistics about a variety of subjects such as economy, business, energy, health, entertainment, science and technology, history and elections, U.S. cities and states, world nations, and sports, and includes a review of the top ten news stories and other highlights of 2006.

American Heritage High School Dictionary, 4th Edition (ISBN 0618714871; $17.16)

A general dictionary of the English language adapted for high school students (without including obscene words or offensive slurs), including etymologies, biographical entries, geographical entries, usage notes, and synonyms.

Roget's International Thesaurus, 6th Edition (ISBN 0060935448; $12.03)

Revised edition contains more than 330,000 words and phrases organized into 1,075 categories. An indispensable work for anyone who wants to use the English language with clarity and precision.

The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy: What Every American Needs to Know (ISBN 0618226478; $19.77)

Alphabetically arranged entries provide information on a variety of topics related to the people, places, ideas, and events that have shaped American culture.

Highly Recommended Resources for Math

The Usborne Illustrated Dictionary of Math (ISBN 0794506623; $10.78)

This colorful reference is packed with over 500 math terms, 300 diagrams, and 100 worked examples. Alike topics are grouped together into 4 main sections (numbers; algebra; shape, space and measures; and handling data) and extensively cross-referenced at the bottom of each 2-page spread.

Highly Recommended Resources for Science

The Usborne Illustrated Dictionary of Science (ISBN 0794500641; $19.77)

This richly illustrated reference guide is more a condensed, advanced high school course in physics, chemistry and biology than a traditional dictionary. Each topic - listed by subject and not alphabetically - is explored through colorful, detailed charts, graphs and tables; cross-referencing links the major branches of the natural sciences.

Audubon Field Guides

More than 18 million nature-lovers have chosen the Audubon Field Guides as the ultimate nature reference. Twenty different guides cover birds, wildflowers, trees, mammals, insects, fish, and much more. With a durable vinyl binding, each field guide features brilliant full-color photographic identification pictures, arranged for quick access, and definitive text by authorities.

The Audubon Society field guide to the night sky (ISBN 0679408525; $13.57)

The Audubon Society field guide to North American rocks and minerals (ISBN 0394502698; $13.57)

A field guide to eastern trees: eastern United States and Canada, including the Midwest (ISBN 0394507606; $13.57)

National Audubon Society field guide to North American wildflowers. Eastern region (ISBN 0375402322; $13.57)

National Audubon Society field guide to fishes. North America (ISBN 0375412247; $14.16)

National Audubon Society field guide to North American insects and spiders (ISBN 0394507630; $13.57)

National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Birds: Eastern Region (ISBN 0679428526; $13.57)

Highly Recommended Resources for

Language Arts

Scholastic Rhyming Dictionary (ISBN 0590963937; $8.95)

A resource for writers of poems, songs, and other rhymes that presents groups of rhyming words arranged by alphabetized base sounds, such as "-arious," "-ism," and "-oodle," and includes a cross-referenced index of all words included.

The Oxford Dictionary of Idioms (ISBN 0198610556; $10.85)

Contains more than five thousand idioms, metaphorical phrases, similes, familiar sayings, and proverbs, explaining their meanings and tracing their origins.

Scholastic Dictionary of Spelling (ISBN 0439144965; $8.95)

Ever wonder how to remember that dessert has two s's? Think of Something Sweet! This and more than 150 other clever tricks will help kids spell with ease. With an alphabetical listing of over 15,000 words, useful rules, and an index of commonly misspelled words, this guide can help any student conquer the spelling dilemma.

Write Source 2000 (ISBN 0066946774x; $23.00)

Presents a comprehensive writing handbook that offers the basic elements of writing, revising, and editing, forms of writing such as journaling, short stories and poetry, summaries and research  papers, and provides instruction in grammar, language, and sentence structure.

Highly Recommended Resources for

Foreign Language

Merriam-Webster's Spanish-English Dictionary (ISBN 0877799164; $6.95)

A bilingual, bi-directional guide to Spanish and American English with extensive coverage of Latin-American Spanish. More than 80,000 entries and 100,000 translations. Abundant examples of words used in context.

501 Spanish Verbs (ISBN 0764179845; $11.55)

The book presents the most important and most commonly used Spanish verbs arranged alphabetically with English translations in chart form, one verb per page, and conjugated in all persons and tenses, both active and passive. The accompanying CD-ROM gives students practice exercises in verb conjugation plus a concise grammar review.

Merriam-Webster's French-English Dictionary (ISBN 0877799172; $5.99)

A bilingual, bi-directional guide to French and North American English with extensive coverage of Canadian French. More than 80,000 entries and 100,000 translations. Abundant examples of words used in context.

501 French Verbs (ISBN 0764179837; $11.55)

The book presents the most important and most commonly used French verbs arranged alphabetically with English translations in chart form, one verb per page, and conjugated in all persons and tenses, both active and passive. The accompanying CD-ROM gives students practice exercises in verb conjugation plus a concise grammar review.

The Bantam New College Latin & English Dictionary (ISBN 0553573012; $5.99)

Text in English and Latin. Presents over seventy thousand words and phrases in Latin and English and includes mythological, geographical, historical, and biographical references.

501 Latin Verbs (ISBN 0812090500; $13.48)

These fully conjugated verbs will prove an essential reference for any studying Latin or English, presenting an alphabetical arrangement of verbs and indexing their forms and parts. Included are irregular, regular and defective verbs as well we usage notes.