Which online encyclopedia is written simply enough for a 9 yr old but
has enough depth for a 13 yr. old?  My sister favors Britannica, but I
seem to recall that years ago in the paper world, Brittanica was hard
to understand and didn't have a lot of illustrations (maps, flags,
natural resources, etc.).  I'm interested in something that is easy to
use and preferably doesn't have pop-up ads.  Inclusion of a dictionary
doesn't matter, but resources for a younger child (6 yr old) would be
a plus.   Thanks.

Hi beth,

Good day and thanks for your question. While you're right about
Britannica not having many illustrations in it's paper edition, the
online edition reflects a very different layout. There are numerous
illustrations and references to external sites.
[ http://www.britannica.com/ ]

However, the best encyclopedia for kids is the World Book
[ http://www.worldbookonline.com/ ] It is a pay service which costs
$49.95 per year

The best free online encyclopedia is http://www.encyclopedia.com

Your could also opt to buy the Microsoft Encarta CD, which can be used
in offline mode and best of all, no ads.

If you have any clarifications regarding this answer, please don't
hesitate to ask. Thank you for using this service and have a nice day

Warm regards,
aditya2k

Search Terms : children encyclopedia, online children encyclopedia
free

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Request for Answer Clarification by bethw-ga on 15 Dec 2002 12:36 PST

Thanks for your answer; it's a good start.  However, I'd like a bit
more detail.  Since you only mentioned no pop-ups for Encarta, does
that mean that Britannica and World Book do have them?  When you say
WB is best for kids, does it have enough depth for the 13 yr old?   I
appreciate your assistance.

---

Clarification of Answer by aditya2k-ga on 16 Dec 2002 04:26 PST

Britannica and worldbook have no popups.

Encarta is a software which is available on CDs, and updates can be
downloaded from the internet. It is in that context that I meant there
are no ads since it is software.

WB has enough depth even for adults. The language is lucid and clear,
and there are a number if illustrations.

If you have any more clarifications, please don't hesitate to ask.

I was mostly trying to see what this service was all about and see how
helpful it might be.  The only new link was the encyclopedia.com
(which I appreciate), but two pieces of key information I found myself
after searching the sites: (1) Britt. and WB both have free trial
periods, and (2)  Britannica will display "adult content" (although
not porn).

My basis for the rating is that the info given first time around would
be a great $2 answer, the clarification good for $3, but for a $5
great answer, I would have expected the free trial and mature content
data, thus my rating of average.  I still appreciate the service and
don't intend to reflect negatively on anyone; I'm sure we all expect
more for less money than perhaps we should.  ;-)

I think your comments were totally justified Beth

The best free online encyclopedia is http://en.wikipedia.org - far
more than other free encyclopedias (actually, some are copies of
wikipedia).

However, it is not really suitable level reading for most 9-13 year
olds (examples which they might look up:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soap_bubble
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McDonald's_Corporation
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_Potter ). You could try the
Wikipedia in Simple English, although information on it is sparse
(examples which they might look up:
http://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soap_bubble
http://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Kingdom
http://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tony_Blair ).