Brittanica was the best by far, but so expensive that I only saw them in the library. World Book was profusely illustrated, had bigger and more readable type, and was lots better for a young kid. That was their selling point. About 15 years ago I picked up a set of 1947 Encyclopedia Britannicas at a used book sale for $24 and I still have them. It was the last edition produced in the old style with all of those detailed copper-engraved illustrations and formal, kind of archaic language. It's cool as hell and I still consult it. Sadly, my 1936 Webster's unabridged dictionary, which is about a foot thick, hardly gets cracked anymore. The goddamn internet is just too handy for looking up definitions. I still have the World Books, too, but they are boxed up in storage. I'll take them to the LSU Book Bazaar and donate them some day.
Britannica stopped printing in 2012 and World Book had a set out in 2013. I think libraries might still find them useful. Not every kid has a computer/internet connection. Hopefully their parents take them to the library. I do know that places like Good Will and the public library don't accept encyclopedia sets. Book collectors and internet sellers do but it's a hassle to get them to people.
I have this one as well as Chronicle of the World, Chronicle of the 20th Century. They take up a lot of room and now they come in CD-rom format. Books are going out of style it seems.
My experience exactly...Brittanica was a fantastic resource in our house growing up. My parents gave them to me when we had our son, and he never used them....didn't need them, thanks to the 'net.
If you go to bookscouter.com and enter a book's ISBN number bookscouter will search its database of book buyers and tell you how much each buyer will pay for each book. The buyers even pay the postage. And there is a phone app so you can check the worth of a book from wherever you find it.
The DK books seem to be more popular with kids. They are short magazine-like articles with tons of vivid color illustrations. The type is very small to pack a lot into them so old farts have to do a lot of tromboning to read them or get reading glasses. Which is another good reason people get the digital versions . . . you can zoom in and make it bigger.
the real problem is most parents dont teach their kids how to comprehend and solve problems. something I do actively with my sons, my son is 3 and can read on a second grade level but what we work on the most is how well he is comprehending what he is reading and how to solve common problems math or common sense problems. those are academic lessons but life lessons as well. stand on your own, learn how to think and solve your own problems.
My classroom has three encyclopedia sets that I have purchased (used) with my own money. Britannica, World Book, and Encyclopedia of American History. When my students do a report they are required to have an equal number of print sources and digital sources (number depending on breadth).
