accurate but more elementary than I expected
590119
highly hyped, but not quite what I was hoping for. perhaps it's what today's youth need - a little more dumbed-down and 'entertaining' than I would have wanted.
1110393
The Amazon description of the format differences from those of more traditional dictionaries was very accurate. I have always used  dictionaries frequently. The aforementioned description gave me pause. So, I bought this one ; but offered  two aspects that I hope will be useful. First, it ought to be first rate ( given the Oxford University scholarship connection) on current and contemporary meanings and usages. Second, it ought to give more thorough treatment of modern and new words that are likely to remain in use for decades to come (i.e., discounting words that will likely fade from use because they are merely fashionable or trendy.

With those caveats  it likely won't meet my usual needs. I am often looking for alternate or archaic meanings and uses of a word. Too, I rely heavily on comparisons to synonymous and antonymous words to arrive at the precise shade of meaning I wish to convey when writing essays or important communications. The Oxford doesn't really lend itself well to that. I also find it satisfactory but mediocre in learning about the origins of a word from other languages like Greek or Latin.

I recently discarded my old Webster's that was nearly 50 years old. It was outdated and the binding was shot. I'll be getting a large Traditional dictionary like that or a Merriam's soon. However, for a thorough treatment of the most current and contemporary usages, I find this dictionary does its designed job very well indeed
4614846
The basic information here is clinically accurate and it's presented in a light-hearted way that emphasizes feeling comfortable talking about it.

I give it four stars because the information and pictures are sometimes several pages apart, such that I had to keep flipping back and forth to read the material about a part of the anatomy, and then flip 10 or 20 pages earlier to show him what was meant. Since this was an issue during the puberty chapters, which is when I imagine most kids would be reading this book, it seems like a weird way to organize. No set of words is as valuable as a picture in this case.

As to everything else, this is a good choice for families who value honesty and diversity. The book does not deal with morality particularly, which has pros and cons. On the plus side, it doesn't espouse morality that may clash with yours as a parent (unless, as noted, you prefer your children not know the facts). On the other hand, this is def. a book you want to read with your child first so that you can imbue the facts with your particular ethics and morality. I have two spots in the book bookmarked and the book sits on our kids' shelves. They are aware they are not to share the book with other kids, especially kids under 12. And they know I prefer that they only read between the bookmarked pages. Could they read beyond that? Sure. But we've also discussed why I'd prefer they not, and let them know that I'll read it to them whenever they wish. It's been important to our family that they feel trusted and secure and that sex and change is normal, but that it is in all of our best interest to treat our experiences with care.

But, I really wish the pictures and text were organized in a more effective way.
2477139
Accurate and it had good suggestions.  The issue of the electronic tolls could have been explained better.
502120
Seems to be very accurate and serves the purpose.
4930261
This weather station gives accurate, basic information. The two criticisms I have are, you cannot see it clearly when it is at an angle from you. And it doesn't have an indoor or outdoor humidity reading. These are disappointing. Otherwise, I'm satisfied with my purchase.
2520377
Seems quite accurate. My only issue is that the "buttons" do not seem incredibly sensitive to the touch. If I ever buy another kitchen scale, I will probably buy one with physical buttons that you can press in and feel.
424661
while this thermometer seems to be accurate, the resolution of the readings is in whole numbers only, making its use somewhat limited. but what would you expect for the low price.
ergonomical, easy to read and operate, this is well worth purchasing for any number of reasons related to measuring temperature.
421033
This was a bit more simplisitc than I expected. However, this would be good for the elementaryt age set. Not complex enough for what middle school kids are going through.
1015824
Not quite instant, but pretty quick and pretty accurate.
1405834
I love the simplicity of this. Stick it in and turn it on. Done and done. I don't need bells and whistles and alarms and lots of buttons, I just need to easily and quickly check the temp and that's what this does. I had wanted to get the kind that has a cable to the probe and the read out remains on the counter so you don't have to repeatedly take the meat out of the oven to test it, but I read too may reviews that complained the cable melted or got damaged and could not be replaced, effectively making it junk.
I wish this was more accurate, though. I have found it to be about 4 degrees above the actual temperature. I understand there is probably some production tolerance, and based on all the reviews I've read, inaccuracy isn't exclusive to this model, but 4 degrees either way should not be an acceptable tolerance. Still, this model seems the lesser of all evils out there so for the price it's a keeper and I'll just adjust for the tolerance. No biggie.
691800
Like many others, I question the accuracy of these monitors.  They read within about 1% and 1degree of one another when installed in the same location, so that's good.  However, I have another inexpensive humidity meter that shows 10-15% discrepancies compared to these.  The temperature portion is accurate to about 3 degrees total, which is acceptable for my use (monitoring reptile enclosures).  I'd like to compare the readings from these meters against some sort of high-accuracy device; if that ever happens, I'll update my review.  In the meantime, four stars total - fairly accurate, fairly easy to read, and the peak tracking is a nice bonus.
357479
This is fun and easy to read, but I'm not convinced on the accuracy of the temp readings!
1632526
I bought this because of the numerous five star reviews. It sets up and calibrates easily and quickly. What bothers me is that it doesn't appear to be that accurate or precise. An example is that when trying to weigh 42.0 grains, I may pour 42.4. Using a chemical spatula to remove a few grains was my technique. Occasionally, when I would remove powder, the scale would indicate that the weight of the powder increased as opposed to decreasing.
4585055
There were some good organizing tips in the book, but not as much as I expected. Many of the tips would work better for elementary or reading/English teachers. Still, I have used several ideas in my class, so it was useful.
2996808
This book is pretty neat.  I was expecting it to have very in depth information and maps of cities.  What it has, instead, is a very basic statistical outline of a slew of cities around the world.  The layout for each city's page is the same, which is helpful for locating and comparing info.  However, many cities have a good amount of data missing.  The data seems to be pulled from a couple of sources exclusively.  I was hoping for a more comprehensive guide/ref book.  This isn't everything I was hoping for, but I still enjoy it a lot.
4671282
It is accurate, but not all that instant. I get a good ballpark reading at the 5 second point, but have seen it go up another 5 degrees in the next 10-20 seconds.