The Firefly French/English Visual Dictionary

I am a teacher of Spanish and own a number of visual dictionaries, including the Firefly Five Language Dictionary, the Firefly Spanish/English Dictionary, the Firefly Mini Spanish/English Dictionary, and the DK Five Language Visual Dictionary. I prefer the Firefly dictionaries because they tactfully include the gender of words as a superscript after the word rather than as an indirect article, as in the DK dictionary. The latter has the ill-effect of creating ambiguous genders in instances where the indirect article is truncated: For example: garlic - l'ail - der Knoblauch - el ajo - l'aglio The size of this hardcover edition make it more appropriate for use as a desk dictionary rather than a pocket edition. It does not contain any more information than the Mini edition, but the Firefly Five Language Dictionary contains almost twice as many pages and words. Given that the image layouts used in all of the Firefly dictionaries are from a common master, the page count is a very good indication of the word count. Frankly, the quantity of the words in the hardcover edition is ample for even most advanced students of Spanish. And the absence of the extra three languages makes it less cluttered and confusing. As with any visual dictionary, this one focuses on nouns. Students of the Spanish will still want to have a quality pocket bilingual dictionary like the Larousse: Larousse Student Dictionary Spanish-English / English-Spanish (Larousse School Dictionary) And a quality Spanish-only dictionary like the Dictionario Practico del Estudiante: Diccionario Practico del Estudiante/ Student Dictionary

If you are trying to learn Spanish, and not just enough to order a drink in Cancun, then this is a tool I would recommend. I have been studying this language for over seven years and I continue to learn every day. I have just completed a Spanish major at the university, which is no guarantee of fluency. I also lived in Mexico for over a year. Granted, these experiences have greatly improved my Spanish--but do not be fooled. A language is not learned in a few months, (a claim many language programs and books suggest on their covers). One of the best examples I can think of that would illustrate what I am trying to say would be to ask someone learning Spanish if they can describe how to ride a bicycle in Spanish. This is not hard to do in a native language, but for a learner of a foreign language such a request is a true challenge. Someone like me who has read dozens of books in or about spanish still can't do it. This book has a detailed diagram of a bicycle and with its assistance I believe I could do it. I feel strongly that in the United States foreign language instruction focuses too much attention on grammar and not nearly enough on vocabulary. Who cares if you can conjugate most verbs in the past subjunctive if you don't even know what the word for elbow is? I enjoy looking at this book in my spare time. The pictures are lovely and clearly labeled in both Spanish and English. My girlfriend, who does not speak Spanish, even enjoys paging through the book and learing words in English that she does not know, such as the names for different types of hats. She is a doctor and she tells me that the anatomy section is very good. One drawback of the book is that it uses formal names for things and not the common ones. This can result in an overly academic-sounding Spanish. But I suppose slang is beyond the scope of the book. This is a book that I would recommend for people at any level of language learning.

This is an amazing book. It has "everything" in the world around us in this dictionary on almost 1000 pages. It is stunning. It even covers the universe. There are 6,000 color entries which cover much of our world with 35,000 terms. It is heavy. Don't try to read it in bed. The Firefly Visual Dictionary is an unparalleled reference to the world around us. From the parts of a honeybee to the parts of a bulldozer, its scope and depth is immense. The illustrations are grouped into one of 17 subject areas for quick reference and browsing. It is a beautiful book. Speaking as an American, I am sorry to say that it is not printed in America because it would cost too much. It is printed in Slovakia.

"The Firefly Visual Dictionary," by Jean-Claude Corbeil and Ariane Archambault, is full of detailed, full-color illustrations and extensive textual labels. Looking at the world around us, the book has a scope that ranges from the inner structure of an atom to the shapes of galaxies. The cover boasts that the dictionary contains 6,000 color entries and 35,000 terms. The items pictured include pure symbols, tangible man-made items, natural objects and living entities. At more than 900 pages long, the book is a hefty achievement.This book is divided up into 17 chapters: Astronomy, Earth, Vegetable Kingdom, Animal Kingdom, Human Being, Food and Kitchen, House, Do-It-Yourself and Gardening, Clothing, Personal Adornment and Articles, Arts and Architecture, Communications and Office Automation, Transport and Machinery, Energy, Science, Society, and Sports and Games. An index is included.Yes, I'm sure people could complain about things that are left out or not covered in great enough detail, but overall this book is ambitious and comprehensive. If I could only give one book to an extraterrestrial visitor to help him/her/it become oriented to Earth, this would be it. Among the specific things covered are types of mushrooms, the inner parts of a toilet bowl, the anatomy of an umbrella, the structure of a Greek temple, the flags of the world, major North American road signs, the parts of a volleyball court, and much, much, more. This is one reference work which is not only informative and well organized, but a genuine work of art.

This visual reference will appeal to entire families, as well as reference library holdings, revamping a popular visual dictionary originally produced by Macmillan over a decade ago. Thousands of new updated entries have been added for this edition, while a presentation by picture and an organization by subject makes it easy to look up such diverse topics as different sock lengths and carpentry tools. An unusual, exceptional approach to defining over 35,000 terms.