Encyclopedias for Kids

Encyclopedias for kids are educational and they usually appeal to children as they contain engaging images. They are also easy to read and easy to navigate. Encyclopedias can aid learning and they can be great tools for educators as well as for parents interested in the education of their children.

A kids encyclopedia can help children learn about topics such as history, arts, music, nature, science, etc. For example, children improve their knowledge in geography as they learn about continents, oceans and countries noting that these encyclopedias often include full-color maps.

Kids also find out about various historical events described through easy-to-read stories and beautiful illustrations. Furthermore, a kids encyclopedia emphasizes school subjects and children can use it to write an essay or complete a school project. Children often keep these encyclopedias for years and usually up until adult age.

Choice #1: DK First Encyclopedia

For younger children, we recommend the DK First Encyclopedia (ages 4-8). An excellent first kids encyclopedia, packed with simple but detailed information and nice illustrations. Really good to have at home. For school age children, there also is the Scholastic Children's Encyclopedia (for ages 8-12). This kids' encyclopedia contains more than 2,000 beautiful photographs, charts, maps, and diagrams. It is easy to read, and it includes boxes that highlight interesting information with key facts (for example about continents, countries or planets). It can also be used as a research tool for school.

Choice #2: DK Children's Encyclopedia

There are also non-print encyclopedias for kids. There are some benefits associated with non-print encyclopedias, one the greatest being that information is presented in visual and auditory formats. Kids can view videos that explain a certain subject or definition.
dk electronic encyclopedia

DK Children's Encyclopedia

We recommend the DK Children's Encyclopedia. We like this children’s encyclopedia as it really gives kids an interactive experience. The CDs cover nature, history, geography, science, etc. They contain over 100 videos and digital maps.

By the way, another highly recommended electronic encyclopedia for both adult and children is the Encyclopedia Britannica Ultimate Reference Suite 2011. In our view, the best electronic encyclopedia around with more content than any other software. It contains more than 100,000 articles, 30,000 images and illustrations, 1,800 maps, 900 videos and audio clips, three encyclopedias (including one for children) lots of multimedia and is very interactive. The wealth and breadth of information is really amazing.

There are also online encyclopedias for kids available. Encyclopedia.com is one of the best encyclopedias online and has lots of information on almost any topic. We also recommend the online Britannica which contains lots of image illustrations. For younger children, kidskonnect.com has content specifically designed for younger kids and includes beautiful illustrations.

Choice #3: World Book Encyclopedia 2005: Complete Set

But nothing can replace books full of images in which children can immerse themselves for hours. They are also benefits associated with reading books while long usage of the computer can have drawbacks (research has shown that exposure in the evening to the bright light of the computer screen can prevent sleep). For example, with print encyclopedias, kids learn to look things up in alphabetical order. Most of all, they get used to spending time with books. That’s why we also believe than an investment in a full kids encyclopedia set can be beneficial. We recommend the World Book Encyclopedia 2005: Complete Set. Designed for school children, the books are beautifully crafted and can be used as a resource. Kids can literally spend hours flipping through the pages and looking at the superb illustrations and drawings.

Encyclopedias for kids can open up children’s minds to new ideas, increase their knowledge and their vocabulary and even foster a passion (for instance children can become passionate about physics or history). And by the way, they can also really make great gifts that children will remember and keep for years!

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