2009 Summer Reading

Kids can earn a free book with the 2009 Summer Reading Program from Barnes and Noble - LINK.

Here's How It Works:

1. Kids read any eight (8) books of their own choosing.

2. Kids use the Summer Reading Journal to tell us their favorite part of each book. A parent/guardian signs the journal when it's complete. You can also get a Spanish-language Reading Journal.

3. Children bring their completed Reading Journal to a Barnes & Noble store between May 26th & September 7th, 2009.

4. We'll give them a coupon for a FREE book! They choose from a list of exceptional paperback titles.*

* Eligible books will be listed on the coupon. Choices must be made from available stock. No special orders. Limit of one (1) form per school-age child (grades 1-6), please. Incomplete forms will be ineligible for free books.

Book Adventure Sylvan Learning 7000 Titles

Book Adventure is a FREE reading motivation program for children in grades K-8. Children create their own book lists from over 7,000 recommended titles, take multiple choice quizzes on the books they've read, and earn points and prizes for their literary successes. Book Adventure was created by and is maintained by Sylvan Learning.

http://www.bookadventure.org/qt/excelBookList.asp?type=html

Find a book at specific Reading Level

AudioBooks and eBooks Resource

http://www.carolinahomeschooler.com/books.htm#Free_Digital_Audiobooks

One More Story

A one-year home subscription is $44.00. Take the Tour.
What We Are
One More Story is an online library of the best of children's classic and contemporary literature. Through a simple point and click process, children can choose a book, see the illustrations and have the book read to them whenever they want.

Library
The One More Story library features the highest quality children's books (including Caldecott Medal winners) from ten different publishers. Books will be continually added to the One More Story library until we reach one hundred and eight books.
See a list of the books in the One More Story library >>

See a sample book

Hear and See a Book
A child can easily choose a book by clicking on the green button under that book. As the narrator reads, words are individually high-lighted in the text box at the bottom of the screen. Each story is professionally narrated, and original music has been written for each book.

See I Can Read It mode

I Can Read It
One More Story offers the I Can Read It mode for beginning readers. Clicking on the "I" button (in the upper right hand corner) mutes the sound, allowing the child to read the book. If a word is unfamiliar, the child can click on it and hear that word spoken by the narrator. This is available for every word in each book in the One More Story library.

MrsP.com Classic Children's Stories

www.MrsP.com is a fun storybook entertainment site that celebrates reading and books. Classic children’s stories are brought to life by TV star Kathy Kinney as Mrs. P.

Reviewed by Common Sense Media

What's the story?

Reviewed by Susan Yudt

Actress Kathy Kinney played cantankerous secretary Mimi Bobeck on The Drew Carey Show. But on MRSP.COM, Kinney -- one of the site's co-creators -- dons a pair of reading glasses as Mrs. P., a storyteller with an Irish brogue and a dry sense of humor. Mrs. P sits in her flash-animated study, surrounded by quirky, clickable objects. Click on her bookcase and Mrs. P will read whichever book you choose. There are fairy tales aplenty, along with other children's classics like "The Tale of Peter Rabbit." Older kids can check out Edgar Allan Poe's "The Tell-Tale Heart" (but maybe not right before bedtime).

Is it any good?

4 Stars

Though a high-tech endeavor, MrsP.com aims to preserve the very low-tech pastime of reading and storytelling. The sophisticated animation and high level of interactivity are undoubtedly digital age, but Mrs. P. also employs some delightfully old-fashioned touches, like prefacing her tales with personal anecdotes. The stories are light on illustration, compelling kids to use their imaginations to flesh out the tales. Well done overall, with the promise of more stories to come.

FactCheck.org reviewed by: Common Sense Media

What's the story?

Reviewed by Jacqueline Rupp

During election season, TV programs become awash in political advertising. With emotionally-charged music and images and dramatic voiceovers, these ads can be quite compelling. That is until you look at the facts behind the melodrama. But sorting through news reports, candidate Web sites, and editorials can be a lengthy process. That's where FACTCHECK.ORG comes in handy. This 2008 Webby Award-winning site provides daily analysis of U.S. political players, monitoring factual accuracy of what's said on TV and in debates, speeches, and interviews through detailed articles that provide both a summary and lengthy study of a specific subject. FactCheckEd, the educational section, interprets political lingo and catch phrases, and has a dictionary and a resource which helps kids sift through other sites by identifying them as partisan, public, or general.

Is it any good?

5 Stars

Like a breath of fresh air, FactCheck.org cuts through the political mudslinging and propaganda to provide real, factual information about the abstract claims made by political candidates. Just the Facts is a CNN-esque video report that dissects timely topics such as the creative video editing of campaign ads. With young correspondents and a clean look, the videocasts judiciously use news clips and commentary, making the videos easy to watch and understand. This is probably the department most accessible to kids.

Ask FactCheck is also a clever timely feature and allows visitors to ask the site's staff questions about the political campaign. As far as Web designs go, FactCheck is nicely organized and easy to navigate. It doesn't overwhelm the user with too many features, but instead presents deliberately detailed analysis that's hard to find these days.

http://www.commonsensemedia.org/website-reviews/FactCheck.html

Dance With Me Ages 7-12

A joyous collection of poems celebrates many kinds of traditional and original dances, from the classic waltzes and tap dances to a dance with the wind and a gardener's dance with her hoe.
Subjects

Nature, American poetry, Children's poetry, American

Dance with Me

By Barbara Juster Esbensen

Illustrated by Megan Lloyd

Published by Harpercollins, 1995

ISBN 0060228237, 9780060228231

32 pages Ages 7, 8, 9, 10

A lovely collection of 15 poems, graced ...

... with iridescent pastel illustrations. Everyday objects and events are given a new charm in these verses that capture a rhythmic dance, from the tap-dancing of raindrops falling on the roof in a ... more » summer storm to the hidden music as a baby dances with her reflection in the mirror. Even such unlikely ""dancers"" as a gardener and basketball make appearances. Esbensen (Baby Whales Drink Milk, 1994, etc.) has a talent for choosing subjects, using rhythms, and finding language with ready appeal for her audience. Sunny or dramatic, Lloyd's illustrations deftly capture the tone of the accompanying verse. The pacing of the book is particularly nice: It begins with an invitation to the wind and the wind's reply, and ends with the still dance of sunlight through a dusty room. A fine addition to poetry and picture book collections, this is simple enough for reading alone and strong enough for group sharing.

Kirkus Reviews Copyright (c) VNU Business Media, Inc.
"Gr 3-6, Ages 9, 10, 11, 12 -- In 15 poems, all manner of dancers move to all sorts of rhythms and reveal unexpected images in the most delightful ways. Introducing the book with an invitation to partner the wind, Esbensen highlights such diverse subjects as bubbles, waves, and dust, and sees surprising choreography in everyday experiences. Even the visual arrangement of words on the page reinforces the verbal images and cadences that explore movement. Trees '...lock crooked arms/ and step across the lawn.' Mirages '...slide on invisible feet.' Raindrops are '...high-stepping/hoofers of summer.' There are people here, too; a baby tapping a beat to her mirrored reflection, a woman dancing a staccato rhythm as she weeds the garden, two grandparents gliding to a melody of memories. Lightning takes the exuberant stance of swordsmen, and children shadow dance and race in the sun. Lloyd's lovely crayon and pastel drawings add a floating lightness to each page and suggest, rather than tell, what the poet imagines. (As in Esbensen's Cold Stars and Fireflies (1984), Who Shrank My Grandmother's House? (1992), and Words with Wrinkled Knees (1987), all Harper/Collins), readers will find new discoveries and fresh delight in repeated readings." -- School Library Journal by Barbara Kiefer, Teacher's College, Columbia University, NY City