Spanish Picture Word Book

c1994, 0486277798, "Spanish Picture Word Book". Books don’t get much thinner than this, at only 32 pages. While the cover probably makes obvious the target audience of the book/author, this is a very useful volume for anyone just starting Spanish studies, from point zero. It is not an illustrated dictionary, nor a substitute for one. Editor Hayward Cricker selected the words and children’s book illustrator Barbara Steadman created the “scenes”. Each gatefold (the book opened, each “scene” is a setting printed in both, facing 8x11” pages) locale is loaded with people, objects, etc., each of which is clearly labeled in Spanish. Life in the city, or on a farm, in the house, in the supermarket, etc. The book covers nearly 600 words, and does so visually, in a useful way. The book is North American based and targeted, and I suspect this is its only liability, even though it is not much of a drawback. What this means is that in some of the “scenes” you see items common in North America, but hardly so in many Spanish-speaking countries (for example, I am not sure I ever needed to know the Spanish word for bathrobe or fireplace poker, while here in Central America, etc.). But, uncommon words are few and far between in the book. There is a word-list dictionary Appendix in the volume. It is a nice supplement for people starting out, regardless of age. Especially useful if you are a “visual person”. There are English and French equivalents to this work, from the same publisher. Over the years we have brought countless copies of this book to Central America. It fills a gap in the education book trade with is usually pathetic down here. Like several of the other Dover Publications I have posted here, this one too seems to have a very recent price change. All my copies have a price of $2.25 or $2.75 printed on the back cover, and these are titles bought new as recently as 2005. Online the price is now listed as $3.95. I mention this because some more expensive Dover books ($5-9, usually), might also soon have a price which is 50-90% higher.