You don't have to wait until your child is in middle school, or even until your child is a fluent reader, to create a reference library. There are excellent reference books available for various age groups.

Difficulty Level: easy      Time Required: 2 hours

1. When you select your child's first reference books, your child might still be a preschooler or might just be learning to read.
2. When purchasing reference books for very young children, put the emphasis on illustrations as well as on on text.
3. A visual dictionary of some kind makes a great first reference book for a young child.
4. Make sure that the illustrations are clear and that the dictionary is in alphabetical order, preferably in columns like an adult dictionary.
5. Some of the best visual dictionaries use color photographs as illustrations.
6. In addition to a visual dictionary, you may want to get your child one or more special interest reference books.
7. A visual encyclopedia of animals, for example, would make sense for the child who is crazy about animals. Why not capitalize on your child's enthusiasm by giving him the resources he needs to learn more?
8. Make sure that you like any book as much as your child does before you buy it. After all, you and your child will be spending a lot of time together with that book.
9. As your child gets older, you may want to buy a children's dictionary.
10. If you have a very curious child who loves books, you might also want to buy a single volume, illustrated children's encyclopedia. DK Publishing has a nice one.
11. There are a number of reference books geared to the 8 to 14 year old. You will want to purchase a student's dictionary and a student's thesaurus. I recommend Webster's for the first and Roget's for the second.
12. A world almanac for kids would be another excellent tool for research and information.
    

1. An online encyclopedia is an excellent reference tool.
2. In addition to using books at home, your child should know how to use the public library and the Internet as reference resources.
3. As you use the visual dictionary, teach your child about the importance of alphabetical order in finding information.
   

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