Scholastic Dictionary of Idioms
by Marvin Terban

This title is exactly what it says it is: a dictionary of idioms. Covering 600-700 idioms, each entry includes the origins of the idiom and a kid-friendly sentence using the idiom.

Given that this book was written by Marvin Terban, were expecting more silliness, more cleverness, and especially some fun illustrations. Nope, this is a straightfoward dictionary-- useful as a teaching resource, perhaps interesting for individual student perusal, but certainly not a read-aloud.

Reading Levels:  4th grade and up

See inside
Below is a sample spread from inside the Scholastic Dictionary of Idioms.  Each idiom entry has:
- a sample of how it would be used (sample sentence)
- a short explanation of the meaning
- details on the origin of the idiom (how it came to be used in that way)