A Child's Picture Dictionary

School Library Journal

PreS-Gr 2 Not a dictionary so much as a bilingual alphabet book, with four or five items depicted for each letter. Both English and French terms are given for each item, and arrangement follows the English spelling, so that A is for apple/une pomme and ant/une fourmi. This format, rather than a grouping by topic, is potentially confusing. No pronunciation guide is given; there is no discussion of gender and what is meant by un or une (or by l', la or les, which are used inconsistently). A number of English words are translated incorrectly (nest is translated as une nichee rather than un nid); there are also several misspellings and incorrect gender assignments. Sheheen's illustrations are colorful and attractive, but they can't compensate for this poorly conceived and executed ``dictionary.'' Ann W. Moore, Lane Road Library, Columbus, Ohio