Virtual School Library ~ Find a Great Children's Book

Virtual School Library | Supporting Literacy & Inquiry-Based Learning

"It is not enough to simply teach children to read; we have to give them something worth reading.
Something that will stretch their imaginations- something that will help them make sense of their own lives
and encourage them to reach out toward people whose lives are quite different from their own."
~ Katherine Paterson

Find a Great Children's Book

The following book selection tools will help you find just the right book. Happy reading!

SEARCH FOR BOOKS & CREATE YOUR PERSONAL BOOKLIST:

You can find many great books in your library catalog. To learn all about this important tool, take the Infopeople Library Catalog Tutorial.

Book Adventure's book finder allows you to search for books by grade/reading level, subject/genre, author or title.

For the best books about animals, check out Humane Education Teacher's Reading Compassion.

Boys will enjoy author Jon Scieszka's unique and motivating book selection site Guys Read. Girls may like it too!

And James Patterson recently launched Read Kiddo Read to promote reading.

Once you've compiled your personal booklist find out if your library owns the titles. If they do not, request the books through interlibrary loan. Many library catalogs are accessible online so you can work on your booklist from home.

STORY VIDEOS:

View videos of famous actors reading picture books on the Screen Actors Guild Foundation's Storyline web site.

READ A BOOK ONLINE :

The International Children’s Digital Library provides free access to many award-winning books from all over the world.

REVIEWS & READING LISTS :

Database of Award-Winning Children's Literature, created and indexed by a librarian, has over 7000 records from 79 awards across six English-speaking countries.

Peruse the NY Public Library’s 100 Picture Books Everyone Should Know to determine how well read you are.

Try Kids Reads for current book reviews and check out their books into movies and series books pages.

Visit librarian, author and readiologist Esme Raji Codell's unique PlanetEsme.com for book reviews, recommendations and "book a day" blog.

Sidekicks reviews children's graphic novels and has age level, type and genre categories to help guide your selection.

AUTHORS AND ILLUSTRATORS:

Visit the American Library Association’s Great Web Sites for Kids Authors and Illustrators page for links to many popular children's authors and illustrators categorized by age level.

FOR TEACHERS & PARENTS:

Book Links, Booklist, The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, The Horn Book, School Library Journal , Kirkus Reviews Online and Teacher Librarian offer a good amount of content online including selected book reviews. Picturing Books is another great resource.

LONG-LOST BOOK?

Are you looking for the title and author of a book? Find your long-lost book and help others find theirs! Join the Whatsthatbook.com community.