The World Book Encyclopedia

by World Book

An encyclopedia designed especially to meet the needs of elementary, junior high, and senior high school students.

Genres: Reference, Nonfiction

40000 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1952

About the author

As a leader in education publishing for over 100 years, World Book’s mission continues to focus on developing a collaborative digital learning platform that is backed by editorial excellence, invaluable resources, and effective tools that support personalized teaching and learning—serving over 100 million students across 65+ countries.

Reviews

[Evan · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was the Pepsi Generation and The World Book Encyclopedia was not your grandad's old Britannica sassafras soda. The World Book was tricked up with glossy paper that was like velvet to the touch (unlike that dry paper ol' unglossy Britannica), lots of dynamic snazzy photography and new American English writing. It was my favorite of all our encyclopedia sets. Hell, I read the thing for fun, and might be doing so now if it weren't for this darned internet.

kr/eg '19

[Francesca Williams · Rating 4 out of 5]

I haven’t read the World Book encyclopedias cover to cover, but I have read many, many articles from as soon as I learned to read until the grown-ups gave my set away.

I made mazes with my encyclopedias for the mouse that lived under my bed. I poured over the photos of famous paintings and everything else of interest.

Encyclopedias have been neglected in this new age of the internet, but they are precious. It is a lot easier to read about a topic if you can just flip to it rather than having to type it into a search bar.

[Matt Ortman · Rating 5 out of 5]

For it's time, 1978 World Books were the greatest set of books an information starved nine year old boy could ask for. I devoured this entire set, including both A-K & L-Z dictionaries and the yearly updates from 1978 to about 1984. Thanks to these books and others, I am now a 50 year old who STILL can't get enough information. Thank you World Book, in all sincerity.

[Tonya Saylor]

Word Book Encyclopedia 2016. (2015). Chicago: World Book, Incorporated.

Citation by: Tonya Saylor

Type of Reference: Encyclopedia

Call Number: Ref 031.02

ISBN: 978-0-7166-0116-6

Content/Scope: A 22-volume set of illustrated general encyclopedias ranging from A-Z for students of all ages. This set includes sections on using World Book, in addition to other research aids, a pronunciation key, a student guide to better writing, speaking, and research skills, and comprehensive index.

Accuracy/Authority/Bias: World Book is a global publishing company known for its educational materials, specifically encyclopedias. These encyclopedias were created in collaboration with expert contributors, editors, researchers, and advisers to ensure the material is easy to read and accurate.

Arrangement/Presentation: Arrangement is alphabetical. It also includes more than 25,000 photographs, illustrations, and maps designed to keep the attention of even the youngest reader. This newest edition also has QR codes which link readers with related videos and additional content.

Relation to other works: There are various encyclopedias available; this comprehensive set meets the needs of students of all grade and ability levels

Accessibility/Diversity: The illustrations include a diverse population which will be of specific interest to students who are visual learners.

Cost: $1099.00

Professional Review:

[Ellen Niehoff]

World Book, Inc. (2008). The world book encyclopedia Chicago: World Book.

Ellen Niehoff

Call number: AE5 .W55 2008

This is a twenty-two volume set of encyclopedias that includes not only information but also a guide on research skills and better writing.

This book fills in a big information need in the library and with the guides on research skills and writing skills, it will definitely help out lower level learners and ESL students.

[Steve · Rating 5 out of 5]

After 57 years since our set was printed, it’s still an excellent source for learning about almost anything. The photography, illustration, and writing were top notch, and the printing, materials, and binding are extremely high quality. One thing I found fascinating is the number of times I read the word “sirup,” never “syrup.”

[Neptunalia · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great encyclopedia and is quite useful for all ages -- even adults. The only reason I gave 4 stars instead of 5 is because World Book uses apostrophes to pluralize years, e.g. "1970's" instead of "1970s." Gah!

[Slim · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you can read one book series, read this one.

[Andie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was our encyclopedia set growing up. We had the 1968 edition set. Loved looking up whatever I became interested in.

[Jimmy · Rating 5 out of 5]

While not as detailed as extensive as Wikipedia, the World Book set is still great when a quick fact check is needed. (Plus, it is not dependent on electricity and an internet connection.)