The Sesame Street Dictionary

Overview

The Sesame Street Dictionary contains definitions for around 1300 words, with each definition being accompanied by a sample sentence and relevant illustration depicting a character from Sesame Street. The text was written by Linda Hayward and the illustrations were drawn by Joe Mathieu. The illustrations and example sentences are often intended to be humorous, featuring jokes and amusing situations. For example, the definition for "above" is accompanied by an image of Grover flying an aeroplane above some trees, which leads into an illustration for the next word, "accident", which depicts Grover parachuting to the ground, his plane having crashed into the tree. Homonyms are highlighted by The Amazing Mumford, the Muppet magician, who draws them out of a hat. No pronunciations are included with the definitions.

The book is designed for children between the ages of 3 and 8, Depending on the age and educational level of the reader, the book can expand a child's vocabulary, help with "reading readiness" and function as a first dictionary.

Publishing history

The dictionary was first published in 1980 by Random House, in conjunction with Sesame Street producers Children's Television Workshop, in both a hardback edition and a special library binding. The original one-volume dictionary was reissued in 2004, again by Random House, as part of the Sesame Street franchise's 35th anniversary. This version was accompanied by an audio CD containing songs from the television program, including "The Cookie Rhyming Song", "Elmo's Rap Alphabet" and "Off To School".

Reception

When it was first published, the dictionary received praise from reviewers, and became a standard work in school libraries. Barbara Safford's Guide to Reference Materials for School Library Media Centers listed it as "highly recommended". Kenneth Kister, in his reference source guide Kister's Best Dictionaries for Adults and Young People, was also positive about the work, although he was critical of the fact that the 8-volume edition published in 1986 retailed at a significantly higher price without adding much worthwhile new material.

References

References

1. Chujo, Kiyomi. "Creating E-Learning Material to Teach Essential Vocabulary for Young EFL Learners". Proceedings of IWLeL 2004 : an interactive workshop on language e-learning, December 10th, 2004, Waseda University, Tokyo.
2. In 1981, it was republished by the [[Encyclopædia Britannica Educational Corporation]] under the title ''Big Bird's Sesame Street Dictionary''. This edition featured an additional 100 pages of illustrations, and was packaged as an 8-volume set, with 45 pages per volume.Kister, ''Kister's Best Dictionaries'', p. 312.
3. Kipnis, Jill. (3 April 2004). "'Sesame Street' Turns 35 With Vids, Merch".
4. Kouzel, Daisy. (December 1980). "The Sesame Street Dictionary". School Library Journal.
5. Courtot, Marilyn. "The Sesame Street Dictionary". Children's Literature.
6. Hayward, Linda. (1980). "The Sesame Street Dictionary". Random House/Children's Television Workshop.
7. Kister, Kenneth F.. (1992). "Kister's Best Dictionaries for Adults and Young People: A Comparative Guide". Oryx Press.
8. Lang, Jovian. (1992). "Reference Sources for Small and Medium-Sized Libraries". American Library Association.
9. Rupp, Rebecca. (1998). "The Complete Home Learning Source Book". Crown Publishing Group.
10. Safford, Barbara. (1998). "Guide to Reference Materials for School Library Media Centers". Libraries Unlimited.
11. Simpson, Mary Jett. (1986). "Reading Resource Book: Parents and Beginning Reading". Humanics Publishing Group.