READ!
Fun Resources for Readers

Games & Activities For Readers Games based on your favorite books, plus other fun activities to boost your reading skills and enthusiasm!	Read an Online Magazine       RESOURCES FOR PARENTS	Visit Your Favorite Authors Online Learn more about your favorite authors and their books!  Surf their favorite links, discover some fun activities, and send them some mail!
Read Books Online Need something to read?  Try these great online books!  Each one is a beloved children's classic -- but best of all, they're totally free and you don't even have to go to the library!   Learn About the Library Online links to the New York Public Library, Library of Congress, as well as some tips on getting more out of your local library.		Awards & Reviews Trying to decide what to read?  Check out this these lists of award winning children's books.  You're sure to find a winner!   EARTH'S KIDS BOOK SHOP Browse our selection of highly recommended children's literature, including science and nature books selected by the National Science Teachers Association.

Online Games & Activities Arthur Games & Activities Play online games with Arthur and D.W., then print out a maze, a matching game, a coloring page, and more. Babymouse Play the Munch Mouse game.  Baby Mouse is trapped in a video game and being chased by her own locker! Create your own comic strip and more!   Curious George Games & Activities Tons of stuff to print and do here!  Coloring sheets, mazes, connect the dots, how to draw George, and so much more.   If You Take a Mouse to School After reading If You Give a Mouse a Cookie, you may want to play this fun online coloring game. Junie B. Jones Activities Printable games, coloring pages, and crafts.   Goosebumps!  Games and activities.   Graveyard Panic Play Graveyard Panic and help Nicky and Tara scare away ghosts.  There are also printable games and activities and downloadable screensavers.   Magic School Bus  Games and activities with the Friz!   Magic Treehouse Activities Fun quizzes and worksheets to print and do about dinosaurs, Greek gods, knights, and more.   Molly Moon Stops the World Trivia game for readers!

Nate the Great Printable activities about this great kids' mystery series.   Scholastic Kids Games and puzzles based on such favorites as Harry Potter, Captain Underpants, and the Magic School bus.   A Series of Unfortunate Events Visit the Awful Arcade.    Seussville This site is the home of the One Fish, Two Fish  and Fox in Sox matching games, the Mr. Brown Can Moo print and play,  and various other silly fun.  Don't miss the Seussville Storymaker!  Site also includes a brief biography of the real Dr. Seus.  Sponsored by Random House publishers.  Don't miss Random House's main FUN STUFF s ite!  Features fun things to download, plus author interviews and book excerpts.   Shredderman  This site has a language arts activities tied to each book.  Whack-a-bubba

Even More Fun...

 Online Games and Activities from Harper Collins

Educational Games from Houghton Mifflin

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Books Online   Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Mark Twain's classic follow-up to Tom Sawyer .  Set sail down the Mississippi for adventure.   The Adventure of the Speckled Band Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson in a classic mystery adventure from Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.  See if you can solve the mystery before Holmes explains it all.   Alice In Wonderland Alice goes looking for that darned White Rabbit and ends up finding much more than she bargained for.  Taking a journey through the wild imagination of Louis Carrol.   Anne of Avonlea L.M. Montgomery first published this story in 1909 and girls have been devouring it ever since.  The plucky orphan has even had her tale told in recent made for TV film and animated film.  You may better know her as Anne of Green Gables.   Animated Fairytales, Online Grimm's Fairytales & Andersons.. and other features tales.  Fun!   Aesop's Fables (& others) An excellent collection of myths and fables from Aesop, Hans Christian Anderson, Ambrose Bierce, and more.   Children's Stories Includes Nesbit's "The Five Children & It", Lewis Caroll's "Through The Looking Glass", Kenneth Grahame's "The Wind In The Willows", plus more by Rudyard Kipling, J.M. Barrie, William Thackeray, and more.   Collected (Vintage) Fairy Tales   Includes fairy tales from England, Hungary, Japan, the United States, and from such famed authors as L. Frank Baum, Rudyard Kipling, the Brothers Grimm, and Louisa May Alcott.   The Jungle Book Rudyard Kipling's story of Mowgli the man cub and his friends Baloo the bear, and Baghera the panther.   Jungle Tales of Tarzan By Edgar Rice Burroughs.   Little Women (pdf) The classic tale by Louisa May Alcott.          Don't forget, online fun is nice... but taking a book outside is great!

The Marvelous Land of Oz Dorothy, Toto and all their pals take another journey through the land of Oz.   A follow up to the better known L. Frank Baum novel,  The Wizard of Oz     Moby Dick Herman Melville's famous tale of the great white whale and Captain Ahab, the man obsessed with finding and killing it at any cost.  A rare insight into the life of the men aboard the great whaling ships.  Best for advanced readers.   Oliver Twist Charles Dickens's tale of an English orphan who must scrape by in London's East End while searching for a better life.  An engaging story that shows the real challenges and adventures of children of earlier times. Peter & Wendy (Peter Pan) J.M. Barrie's beloved tale of the lost boys, their leader Peter Pan, and the Darling children who come to brighten their lives with the stories and tenderness of home and a mother's remembered love.   Robinson Crusoe Daniel Defoe based this popular classic on a true story of a man stranded on an island for years, with only the goats for company.  Defoe is kinder, he gives his hero a man servant named "Friday".  Read it and think about what you would do to survive on a wild, deserted island.   The Tales of Beatrix Potter The tales of Beatrix Potter Include such favorites as Peter Rabbit and Squirrel Nutkin, plus other adorable illustrated stories.  Also offers versions in Japanese.   The Time Machine By H.G. Wells.   A man travels through time, getting a strange glimpse into humankind's possible future.    Treasure Island First published in 1883, this grand classic by Robert Louis Stevenson has been entertaining young people since... well, since 1883.  Young Jim grows from boy to teen crossing the great seas, battling pirates, and hunting for the treasure coveted by Long John Silver.   Great Spiritual Texts Check here for our links to online (children's) versions of the Bible, the Life Of Buddha, the Qur'an, the Ramayana, and the Torah.   Greek Myths, Monsters, & Heroes Check this page for our links to a great selection of myths, epics, and fables -- read about Hercules, Zeus, Hera, Athena, Achilles, Odysseus, Jason & The Argonauts, and much, much more!       More.. For even more free books online, including many suitable for teens and young adults, visit  Arthur's Classic Novels.  You'll find authors like Edgar Rice Burroughs, P.G. Wodehouse, Jack London, Rudyard Kipling, H.G. Wells, and dozens of other outstanding classic authors.

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 Learn About The Library

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Choosing a Library -- Some Pointers

If you love books, you might wish you had your own bookstore or library -- right in your own home. But most people don't have the money or the space for that (although some of us try anyway). Instead, try visiting your local library.

You might just use whichever library is closest to your school or home. While this is usually best -- as it will make it easier to return books on time -- you may want to find out what other libraries are available to you.

Why?  Well, some libraries may have a bigger selection of books to choose from. And still other libraries pride themselves on having a great selection of certain kinds of books -- like children's books, resource books for teachers, history books, or books by a certain author. (And don't forget magazines -- bigger libraries tend to keep a bigger selection of magazines.) Also, some libraries have great activities or special cozy areas or kid-sized restroom facilities that can make visiting more comfortable and enjoyable -- especially for younger children.

So check your phone book to see what other libraries are available in your area. Then plan a visit -- set aside time to drop by each one and see what they're like.

When you visit, ask the librarian or library assistant if their library has a web page. Ask if you can renew the books you check out there online or over the phone. Nowadays many libraries do let you renew over the phone or online! Renewing your books this way, means you can hang onto them a bit longer -- in case you need them for a class project or you just like to read them over and over! (It's also a great way to renew videos -- which usually have to be back to the library more quickly than books.)

Be sure to find out how long you can borrow your books for. What about cds and videos? Find out what fines they charge for these items when they are returned late.

Next, get yourself a library card there and go to it! (Note: some libraries will only let you check out a few books on your first visit. Sort of like a test to see if you can be trusted to return the books on time!)

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EVEN MORE RESOURCES FOR PARENTS OF READERS....

Book Spotlight You may have seen this wonderful television program, starring Levar Burton on PBS.  Now you can visit Reading Rainbow online to download the free app that let's you and your child watch fun virtual "field trips" that extend the learning of the wonderful  books.      Teacher's Guides @ ThinkBright Explore educational resources and activities from PBS with their library of Activity Packs. Each one focuses on a curricular theme and includes links to great PBS resources and supplemental activities.

List of Children's Book Publishers Surf these publisher websites to get a sneak peek at next season's books, find out more about your favorite book and authors -- or to  order a hard to find book direct from the publisher.     Help Kids Become Great Readers! Read tips from top literacy organizations that will help parents and teachers nurture a love of reading in young children.           Reader Rabbit Learn To Read Success System Preschool-2nd Grade Available from Amazon.com

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