Portal to Reading Fun!

Here’s some awesome free stuff to make your reading adventure more fun.

Games

FunBrain
Fun educational games divided by age group.
http://www.Funbrain.com

Cranium
http://www.cranium.com

Starfall
Learn to read by playing games. Already know how to read? This site has games, plays you might like the books, too.
http://www.starfall.com

Kids’ Place from Education
Fun learning games; geography, spelling brain teasers, and more.
http://www.eduplace.com/kids

Mystery Net’s Kids
Mysteries to solve, scary stories, magic tricks and contest
http://kids.mysterynet.com

Fun puzzles, word games, language games, and more preschool to 6th grade
http://www.funschool.com

Books

Reading Rainbow
http://www.pbs.org/readytolearn/resources/rainbow

Scholastic Books
Captain Underpants , Goosebumps, Harry Potter, they all have games and fun stuff here.
http://www.scholastic.com/kids

Random House Children’s Books
http://www.randomhouse.com/kids/books/step/books

Reading is Fundamental
http://www.rif.org/readingplanet

Ramp to Reading Resources
http://www.richmond.k12.va.us

Hear a story online

Book Pals
http://www.storylineonline.net
TV and movie stars read books aloud. Listen to the story, see the pictures, and have a star read a book aloud to you!

Storyplace
http://www.storyplace.org
Listen to a story online. Play games and do activities based on a theme.

Zingertales
http://www.bookhive.org/zingertales
Listen to a story online. Each story has a list of book suggestions. If you like the story, you might like the books too.

Starfall
http://www.starfall.com
Learn to read by playing games. Already know how to read? This site has games, plays you can act out, and storys you can read and hear online.

Read a story online

Between the Lions
http://www.pbskids.org/lions
Read stories on line. Each story has games that go with it.

Story Hour from the IPL Kidspace
Read a book online and view illustrations.
http://www.ipl.org/div/kidspace

The International Children’s Digital Library
Online children’s books from Read books online from all over the world. Has books in English and dozens of languages spoken around the world.
http://www.childrenslibrary.org

2007 Notable Children’s Books

Each year a committee of the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC) identifies the best in children’s books.

Younger Readers

Armstrong, Jennifer. Once upon a Banana. Illus. by David Small. Simon & Schuster/Paula Wiseman, (0-689-84251-1).
A runaway monkey discards a banana peel, setting in motion a hilarious sequence of events in this nearly wordless picture book, punctuated by a series of rhyming street signs.

Bachelet, Gilles. My Cat, the Silliest Cat in the World. illus. Abrams. (0-8109-4913-X).
This silly cat doesn’t always act like other cats. Could that possibly mean it’s not really a cat? That's the question in a picture book that will have readers giggling.

Bateman, Teresa. Keeper of Soles. Illus. by Yayo. Holiday House. (0-8234-1734-4).
When Death comes calling for his soul, Colin the cobbler thinks on his feet and promises the Grim Reaper a new pair of sandals-then boots, then walking shoes-in a lighthearted variant of the traditional tale about outwitting death.

Beaumont, Karen. Move Over, Rover! Illus. by Jane Dyer. Harcourt. (0-15-201979-0).
Beaumont’s cumulative, patterned text is expanded by Dyer’s watercolors, which contain text clues to tell the story of creatures, from Squirrel to Skunk, that seek shelter by squeezing into Rover’s doghouse. Geisel Honor Book.

Chaconas, Dori. Cork & Fuzz: Short and Tall. Illus. by Lisa McCue. Viking. (0-670-05985-4).
Muscrat Cork, who is older, has serious problems when he decides that he should be taller than his possum friend, Fuzz.

Chodos-Irvine, Margaret. Best Best Friends. illus. Harcourt. (0-15-205694-7).
Two best friends have a fight that separates them--no more hugs, no more sharing toys until the fight is over. Preschoolers will see themselves in this loving story.

Crews, Nina. Below. illus. Holt. (0-8050-7728-6).
The world underneath the steps comes to life when Jack plans the rescue of action-figure Guy, who has fallen “below.”

Diakité, Penda. I Lost My Tooth in Africa. Illus. by Baba Wagué Diakité. Scholastic. (0-439-66226-5).
Amina loses her tooth while on vacation in Mali, but instead of a visit from the Tooth Fairy, she gets a chicken!

DiCamillo, Kate. Mercy Watson Goes for a Ride. Illus. by Chris Van Dusen. Candlewick. (0-7636-2332-6).
Mr. Watson’s pig, "the porcine wonder,” finally gets behind the wheel of a 1959 pink convertible. Van Dusen’s gouache illustrations add a retro appearance to DiCamillo's superb, dialogue-filled, 14-chapter story. Geisel Honor Book.

Gravett, Emily. Wolves. illus. Simon & Schuster. (1-4169-1491-9).
When Rabbit goes to the library and checks out a book about wolves, he learns things he would rather not know.

Grey, Mini. The Adventures of the Dish and the Spoon. illus. Knopf. (0-375-83691-8).
An irreverent look at the old nursery rhyme takes the dish and spoon off on a romantic getaway involving vaudeville, crime, and, of course, true love.

Henkes, Kevin. Lilly's Big Day. illus. Greenwillow. (0-06-074236-4).
When her teacher announces he is getting married, the irrepressible Lilly automatically assumes she will be his flower girl. That’s not quite what happens, but she does save the day.

Hills, Tad. Duck & Goose. illus. Random/Schwartz & Wade. (0-375-83611-X).
When Duck and Goose find a large, round, spotted “egg,” they both claim it. Then these rivals become friends as they care for and imagine a future for their mysterious charge.

Hopkinson, Deborah. Sky Boys: How They Built the Empire State Building. Illus. by James E. Ransome. Random/Schwartz & Wade. (0-375-83610-1).
In 1931, near their Manhattan home, a boy and his dad keep a close watch as the world’s tallest building is built in record time. Published in honor of the building’s seventy-fifth anniversary.

Howe, James. Houndsley and Catina. Illus. by Marie-Louise Gay. Candlewick. (0-7636-2404-7).
While Houndsley the dog tries not to discourage Catina the cat's authorial ambitions, Catina encourages Houndsley to enter a cooking contest. The two friends realize that their friendship is more valuable than elusive dreams of fame.

Kvasnosky, Laura McGee. Zelda and Ivy: The Runaways. illus. Candlewick. (0-7636-2689-9).
The popular fox sisters return in this book, which includes three adventures precipitated by the foxes' need to avoid the dreaded cucumber sandwiches Dad is preparing. Geisel Medal Book.

Look, Lenore. Uncle Peter's Amazing Chinese Wedding. Illus. by Yumi Heo. Simon & Schuster/Anne Schwartz. (0-689-84458-1).
Jenny struggles with her feelings when her family celebrates the marriage of Uncle Peter in a traditional Chinese way.

MacDonald, Margaret Read. Tunjur! Tunjur! Tunjur! A Palestinian Folktale. Illus. by Alik Arzoumanian. Marshall Cavendish. (0-7614-5225-7).
A childless woman prays for "a child, even if it is nothing more than a cooking pot!" She gets what she wishes for in this rollicking Palestinian folktale.

MacLachlan, Patricia and Charest, Emily MacLachlan. Once I Ate a Pie. Illus. by Katy Schneider. HarperCollins/Joanna Cotler. (0-06-073531-7).
“I am not thin, but I am beautiful,” says Mr. Beefy, a self-satisfied pug. Oil portraits of various canine breeds are paired with brief, humorous, and poignant first-person poems.

McClintock, Barbara. Adèle & Simon. illus. Farrar/Frances Foster. (0-374-38044-9).
As he makes his way home with his big sister Adèle, forgetful Simon manages to lose his hat, gloves, and more all over Paris. A whimsical pictorial ode to the City of Light.

McLimans, David. Gone Wild: An Endangered Animal Alphabet. illus. Walker. (0-8027-9563-3).
This black-and-white iconic alphabet book is sophisticated enough to intrigue and captivate readers of any age. A contemporary interpretation of an illuminated alphabet melds animals and letters into 26 unique and elegant graphic images. Caldecott Honor Book.

Montes, Marisa. Los Gatos Black on Halloween. Illus. by Yuyi Morales. Holt. (0-8050-7429-5).
Spanish and English words blend perfectly in this original and spooky Halloween poem. ¡Delicioso!

Newman, Jeff. Hippo! No, Rhino! illus. Little, Brown. (0-316-15573-X).
An absent-minded zoo keeper places the Hippo sign in front of the rhino’s enclosure. Ignorant visitors mistake the rhino for a hippo even though the youngest reader can plainly see the truth, and say, “No, rhino!”

Pinkney, Jerry. The Little Red Hen. illus. Dial. (0-8037-2935-9).
Oh joy of joys! There is yummy bread to be made, but who will help the little red hen?

Portis, Antoinette. Not a Box. illus. HarperCollins. (0-06-112322-6).
Spare line drawings and minimal text show a personified bunny playing with, in, and on a cardboard box. Beginning readers will delight in discovering the rabbit’s unlimited imaginative play in this square, brown book. Geisel Honor Book.

Seeger, Laura Vaccaro. Black? White! Day? Night! A Book of Opposites. illus. Roaring Brook/Neal Porter. (1-59643-185-7).
A delightfully interactive concept book presents children with pairs of opposites in die-cuts that lead them from one element to another in a parade of happy contradictions.

Shannon, David. Good Boy, Fergus! illus. Scholastic/Blue Sky. (0-439-49027-8).
Shannon humorously portrays the daily antics of Fergus, a West Highland terrier, who gets into all kinds of trouble, but is always a “good boy.”

Sierra, Judy. Thelonius Monster's Sky-High Fly Pie. Illus. by Edward Koren. Knopf. (0-375-83218-1).
An endearing, fuzzy monster creates an appetizing tart made of hundreds and thousands of succulent flies. The irreverent, tongue-twisting verse is paired with squiggly black-and-white line drawings accented in bright lime green.

Watt, Mélanie. Scaredy Squirrel. illus. Kids Can. (1-55337-959-4).
Scaredy Squirrel’s safe life in his nut tree is insured by his emergency kit, which includes antibacterial soap, bug spray, and sardines (in case of sharks). When he loses the kit while evading a killer bee, something amazing happens.

Wheeler, Lisa. Mammoths on the Move. Illus. by Kurt Cyrus. Harcourt. (0-15-204700-X).
“Stepping, stomping, marching, tromping. Watch out, wooly mammoths!” The rhyming text sings as the dramatic scratchboard-and-watercolor paintings portray the migratory journey of these fascinating prehistoric creatures.

Winter, Jonah. Dizzy. Illus. by Sean Qualls. Scholastic/Arthur A. Levine. (0-439-50737-5).
From his difficult childhood through the creation of bebop, the jazz great Dizzy Gillespie’s life is told in syncopated rhythms in this swinging picture-book biography.

Middle Readers

Bardoe, Cheryl. Gregor Mendel: The Friar Who Grew Peas. Illus. by Jos. A. Smith. Abrams. (0-8109-5475-3).
Bardoe’s picture-book biography of the father of genetics describes his early life, his quest for education, and the research that resulted in his significant contribution to the world of science.

Barrows, Annie. Ivy and Bean. Illus. by Sophie Blackall. Chronicle. (0-8118-4903-1).
Bean knows she won’t like the new girl (“Next train for Boring is leaving now!”), but when Bean gets into trouble, Ivy is the one who comes to her rescue.

Brown, Susan Taylor. Hugging the Rock. Tricycle. (1-58246-180-5).
When her mother leaves home, Rachel learns to communicate with and to love her father, while adjusting to disturbing truths about her mother's past. A free-verse novel about loss and reconciliation.

Demi. Su Dongpo: Chinese Genius. illus. Lee & Low. (1-58430-256-9).
This richly illustrated biography illuminates the life of the eleventh-century Chinese poet, scholar, and statesman.

DiCamillo, Kate. The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane. Illus. by Bagram Ibatoulline. Candlewick. (0-7636-2589-2).
A self-important china rabbit finds himself on a journey that spans years and miles, bringing special people into his life and changing him forever.

Faller, Régis. The Adventures of Polo. illus. Roaring Brook/Neal Porter. (1-59643-160-1).
A wordless picture book in graphic-novel format depicts the fantastic voyage of a dapper dog above and below the water, then across the ocean floor.

Goodman, Susan E. All in Just One Cookie. Illus. by Timothy Bush. Greenwillow. (0-06-009092-8).
Have you ever thought about where that chocolate-chip cookie came from? As Grandma bakes her cookies, Cat and Dog learn about each ingredient, from butter to chips.

Hatkoff, Isabella and others. Owen & Mzee: The True Story of a Remarkable Friendship. Illus. by Peter Greste. Scholastic. (0-439-82973-9).
When Owen, a baby hippo, loses his mother in the 2004 tsunami, he bonds with Mzee, a giant Tortoise.

Henderson, Kathy. Lugalbanda: The Boy Who Got Caught Up in a War. Illus. by Jane Ray. Candlewick. (0-7636-2782-8).
Derived from one of the first recorded stories on earth, this tale of Ancient Iraq introduces Lugalbanda and his heroic deeds to assist the kingdom of Uruk during a war.

Jenkins, Emily. Toys Go Out: Being the Adventures of a Knowledgeable Stingray, a Toughy Little Buffalo, and Someone Called Plastic. Illus. by Paul O. Zelinsky. Random/Schwartz & Wade. (0-375-83604-7).
Three friends have wonderful adventures, explore their world, and learn more about themselves in this tale. Illustrations by Caldecott Medal-winner Paul O. Zelinsky add to the story’s charm.

Kuklin, Susan. Families. illus. Hyperion. (0-7868-0822-5).
American families from many different cultures and backgrounds share their love, laughter, and challenges.

Kurlansky, Mark. The Story of Salt. Illus. by S.D. Schindler. Putnam. (0-399-23998-7).
Two poisons chemically combine to make salt-a substance necessary for all mammals to survive. Kurlansky tells the story in lucid text, decorated with whimsical illustrations.

Lin, Grace. The Year of the Dog. Little, Brown. (0-316-0-6000-3).
During the Year of the Dog, Chinese-American Grace makes new friends, learns more about her family, and finds her place in the world.

Look, Lenore. Ruby Lu, Empress of Everything. Illus. by Anne Wilsdorf. Simon & Schuster/Atheneum. (0-689-86460-4).
In this second Ruby Lu book, a new cousin’s emigration from China brings changes-some good and some challenging-into second-grader Ruby Lu’s life.

Lord, Cynthia. Rules. Scholastic. (0-439-44382-2).
“A boy can take off his shirt to swim, but not his shorts.” Twelve-year-old Catherine creates rules for her younger, autistic brother, David in an attempt to normalize his life and her own. But what is normal? Lord’s heroine learns to use words to forge connections with David, her workaholic father, and a paraplegic friend. Newbery Honor Book and a Schneider Family Book Award Winner.

Marrin, Albert. Oh, Rats! The Story of Rats and People. Illus. by C.B. Mordan. Dutton. (0-525-47762-4).
Marrin takes us on an icky, scary, and fascinating exploration of the life of rats, and considers why we are so afraid of them.

McCarthy, Meghan. Aliens Are Coming! The True Account of the 1938 War of the Worlds Radio Broadcast. illus. Knopf. (0-375-83518-0).
This is the radio broadcast that sent listeners into a panic. This dramatic picture book introduces young children to a fascinating piece of history. The art is reminiscent of the comics of the 1930s.

Montgomery, Sy. Quest for the Tree Kangaroo: An Expedition to the Cloud Forest of New Guinea. Photos by Nic Bishop. Houghton. (0-618-49641-6).
Biologist Lisa Dabek and her multinational team search for the beautiful, elusive Matschie’s tree kangaroo in the cloud forests of Papua New Guinea. Dramatic color photographs vividly portray their quest through the mysteriously foggy forest. Sibert Honor Book.

Myers, Walter Dean. Jazz. Illus. by Christopher Myers. Holiday. (0-8234-1545-7).
Stunning paintings and thrillingly musical poems bring jazz to life for young readers. King Illustrator Honor Book.

Patron, Susan. The Higher Power of Lucky. Illus. by Matt Phelan. Simon & Schuster/Atheneum. (1-4169-0194-9).
In the California desert community of Hard Pan (population 43), 10-year-old Lucky Trimble eavesdrops on 12-step program meetings from her hiding place behind Hard Pan’s Found Object Wind Chime Museum & Visitor Center. Eccentric characters and quirky details spice up Lucky’s life just as parsley embellishes her guardian Brigitte’s French cuisine. Newbery Medal Book.

Pennypacker, Sara. Clementine. Illus. by Marla Frazee. Hyperion. (0-7868-3882-5).
Perceptive text and animated line drawings bring to life third-grader Clementine, who is not an easy child. Despite good intentions, things often go wrong for her; she pays attention, but not to the things that grownups think are important.

Raczka, Bob. Here's Looking at Me: How Artists See Themselves. illus. Lerner/Millbrook. (0-7613-3404-1).
Photographer Cindy Sherman asks, "How much of your real self can be captured in a painting, or even in a photograph? And what exactly is a self-portrait anyway?" Raczka analyzes 14 self-portraits by well-known artists from the fifteenth to the twentieth century.

Rubin, Susan Goldman and Weissberger, Ela. The Cat with the Yellow Star: Coming of Age in Terezin. illus. Holiday. (0-8234-1831-6).
Rubin and Weissberger (who portrayed the cat in the original production of Brundibar in the Terezin Ghetto) describe the hope offered imprisoned children by caring adults and the theater they created.

She's All That! Poems about Girls. Ed. by Belinda Hollyer. Illus. by Susan Hellard. Kingfisher. (0-7534-5852-7).
This collection of more than 70 poems about girls celebrates their yearnings, challenges, and triumphs.

Sidman, Joyce. Butterfly Eyes and Other Secrets of the Meadow. Illus. by Beth Krommes. Houghton. (0-618-56313-X).
Readers are challenged to guess the answers to pairs of lyrical, thematically-connected riddles in verse about meadow phenomena, plants, and animals.

Siegel, Siena Cherson. To Dance: A Ballerina's Graphic Novel. Illus. by Mark Siegel. Simon & Schuster/Richard Jackson. (0-689-86747-6).
Siegel dramatizes the struggle and fulfillment of becoming a professional ballerina-lifting the curtain on a dream shared by many young dancers. Partnered by husband Mark Siegel’s evocative, elegant illustrations in graphic-novel format, her memoir leaps off the page. Sibert Honor Book.

Singh, Vandana. Younguncle Comes to Town. Illus. by B.M. Kamath. Viking. (0-670-06051-8).
When the eternally childlike Younguncle breezes into the life of one Indian family, he brings with him stories, a touch of magic, and a zest for life that makes for an utterly refreshing read.

Thimmesh, Catherine. Team Moon: How 400,000 People Landed Apollo 11 on the Moon. illus. Houghton. (0-618-50757-4).
With heart-stopping prose and stunning NASA photographs, Thimmesh's book celebrates the men and women who solved a series of unfolding crises that threatened the mission of Apollo 11. Personal interviews and oral histories recreate the immediacy of the event for a new generation. Sibert Medal Book and a YALSA Best Book for Young Adults.

Tingle, Tim. Crossing Bok Chitto: A Choctaw Tale of Friendship and Freedom. Illus. by Jeanne Rorex Bridges. Cinco Puntos. (0-938317-77-6).
A Choctaw angel leads seven slaves to freedom by walking on Bok Chitto, a river in Mississippi, which was a boundary between freedom and slavery before the Civil War.

Weatherford, Carole Boston. Moses: When Harriet Tubman Led Her People to Freedom. Illus. by Kadir Nelson. Hyperion/Jump at the Sun. (0-7868-5175-9).
Nelson’s dramatic renderings evoke the spiritual and physical journey of Harriet Tubman. Emotionally powerful images combined with poetically evocative text portray a strong woman who followed her star to an extraordinary destiny. Caldecott Honor Book and King Illustrator Book Winner.