This picture dictionary is divided into twelve units, each with thematically grouped one- or two-page categories for words. This version is lovingly dedicated to the memory of Norma Shapiro, who completed the original Oxford and started in on this one with Adelson-Goldstein but succumbed to cancer in 2004. There are even charts in the end to help English learners form the correct past tenses and past participles of verbs. Oxford has more words than ever before now at 4,000, and is quick to stress the rich selection of verbs in the new edition, verbs being the backbone of language. There were more verbs, and many new categories. Rather than teaching foreign languages to Anglophone folk, the focus was now on helping immigrants to the U.S. Then, in 1997, Jayme Adelson-Goldstein and Norma Shapiro put out a revolutionary new version of the dictionary. This was also notable for being more Americanized than the '70s version. This kept the winning thematic arrangement, yet added more verbs, and, as the authors themselves noted, "updated the hairstyles". Then in 1989, they published The New Oxford Picture Dictionary. It was thematically arranged, and there were only four pages of verbs. In the 1970s, Oxford put out a small picture dictionary for adults. Although there are also bilingual versions in such languages as Spanish, French, Korean, Arabic and Japanese, this is the monolingual edition that I am reviewing here. Adelson-Goldstein and Shapiro prove to have outdone themselves, as this is their best creation yet. The Oxford Picture Dictionary Monolingual: Second Edition is the fourth in a long line of picture dictionaries put out by Oxford. I probably know about 75% of the words in it, but that 25% I'm going to learn with this, that random 25% that gives me a headache sometimes when I'm trying to describe stuffs, will make me feel like a native speaker. The ones I found were either too easy or too abstract. I couldn't find an appropriate book to fill in some of the gaps I have in my vocabulary. So there was just this inconsistency between my knowing what a term like "wreak havoc" means and my not knowing what a "grasshopper" is. It surprises people because my English is so good and they don't hear the trace of an accent and I can write amazing philosophical essays. I am very articulate in English, but since it is my third language, there are sometimes random words like a c-clamp or a grasshopper or loafers that I just don't know. I mean the authors literally thought of everything! I just purchased the Oxford Picture Dictionary, second edition, and it is the most amazing picture book I have ever seen! I am in awe by how well-researched and thorough it is.
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