Online Resources
Fairlee Public Library's selection of
useful online resources for public library patrons. Your comments and
suggestions regarding the design, content, and organization of these links are
welcome. e-mail us.
Evaluating Internet Sources: Usually, it's
not finding Internet sites that's hard.
Learn how to sort and sift through all those web pages
Looking for something on the web? Check out these sites designed just for kids. Due to the unregulated nature of the Internet, the Library cannot monitor the sites to which it links, nor any subsequent links, and cannot accept responsibility for the content or availability of those sites.
Book Stuff
Computers and videos are great, but nothing beats
a good book. Check out some of these sites for suggestions on what to read and
fun activities related to your favorite books and characters.
Author Sites
- Jan Brett
- Betsy Byars
- Eric Carle
- Children Authors/Illustrators Web Sites
- Roald Dahl
- Tomie De Paola
- Kevin Henkes
Click on Books for Younger Readers and you can meet the characters. There are also printable games, puzzles and coloring sheets.- Anna G. Hines
- Stephen Krensky
- Jean Marzollo
- Mary Pope Osborne
- Gary Paulsen
- Dav Pilkey
- Peggy Rathmann
- Margret Rey
- Audrey Wood
Award Winning Books
- Dorothy Canfield Fisher Book Award Winners
The Dorothy Canfield Children's Book Award, first given in 1957, is co-sponsored by the Vermont State PTA and the Vermont Department of Libraries. These books, to be read during the school year, comprise the master list for the award to be made each spring. Voting forms for this master list will be mailed to all Vermont schools and public libraries in spring, so children can vote for their favorite book. The master list titles have been selected to satisfy the reading interests of children in grades 4-8; The grades listed should be regarded more as maturity levels than reading levels. The Dorothy Canfield Fisher books are carefully selected and highly recommended by a committee of eight. For your convenience, we have included annotations of the books.- Newbery Medal Winners
- Ralph Caldecott Medal Award Winners
- Red Clover Award List
Picture book version of the Dorothy Canfield Fisher Award
Children's Literature & Booklists
- 100 Favorite Children's Books from New York Public Library
- Bookhive
- Booklover's Den Girls' and Boys' Series Books, etc.
- Boston Public Library Kids' booklists
- Camel's Hump Radio
- Children's Book Council
- The Children's Literature Web Guide - Includes book awards.
- Classics for Kids
- CLiF - Children's Literacy Foundation
- Fairy Tales
- Folk and Fairy Tales
- Kids Reading List Oprah's Book Club
- Literate Living Room
- Online Stories
- Reading Is Fundamental Reading Planet for Kids
- Reading Rainbow PBS Kids
- Recommended reading for children
- Sci-Fi and Fantasy for Younger Readers
- Tales
- US Board on Books for Young People Index
- Vermont Center for the Book Resources and Links
- Vermont NEA
- VPR Presents Camel's Hump Radio Have You Read…?
- Don't know what to read next? Check these lists for suggestions. Waterboro Public Library's list of lists
Comic Books
Poetry
- Classic Children's Stories
Read classic children's stories and poems by authors such as Robert Louis Stevenson Hans Christian Anderson with illustrations created especially for the stories by famous artists.- Edward Lear's Nonsense Works
Do you think poetry written long ago is boring? Then check out these poems with pictures - They'll crack you up!- Giggle Poetry
Do you like to laugh? Then check out these funny poems - You can read school poems, try out poetry theater, or enter your poems in a contest.- KidzPage!
Read funny or sad poems, written by famous poets and kids like you.- Mama Lisa's World
Children's Songs and Rhymes of All Nations. Find out what nursery rhymes and songs are sung by or to children in cultures around the world.- Mother Goose Nursery Rhymes
- Mother Goose Rebus Rhymes
"Rebus Rhymes is designed for children who are learning how to read. Preschoolers and Kindergartners enjoy picking out the words they can read in their favorite nursery rhymes." Children can read a nursery rhyme or tongue twister, make a nursery rhyme coloring book and color, experience a nursery rhyme scavenger hunt, or make other arts and crafts with popular Mother Goose nursery rhymes.- Nursery Rhymes
- PlanetOut Poetry for Children
- A Pocketful of Rhymes
Read rhymes about baseballs, school lunches, and different kinds of jobs. You can play guessing games and finish off some of the poems yourself.- Poetry for Children
- School Bell Language Arts Poetry
Popular Books and Characters
- Berenstain Bears
Contains tours, puzzles and quizzes, printable paper dolls, signs, games, and kites, fun facts about science and nature.- Captain Underpants
- Curious George
- Dear America, My name is America, Royal Diaries
- Harry Potter
- Harry Potter
- Harry Potter
One of the many Harry potter sites, this one, from the British publisher, offers cards, screensavers, interviews, news and a message board.- I Spy
- Little Critter - The official website of Little Critter. It offers jokes and printable puzzles and coloring pages.
- Magic School Bus
- Magic Tree House
- Nancy Drew
- Redwall Abbey - The Official Redwall Web Site
Crafts & Activities
- Activity Village
- DLTK's Printable Crafts for Kids
- Disney Online - Crafts and Activities
- Enchanted Learning Crafts for Kids
- Fun & Games
- Girl Scouts of the USA Official Web Site
- GIRLS GO TECH - A Girl Scout Initiative
- Hike Safe - Hiker Responsibility Code
- Kaboose Crafts
- Mazoons Mazes
- PBS Kids
- ReadWriteNow! - Activities for Reading and Writing Fun
- Redwall Main Course Recipes
- TV-Turnoff Network
- Valley Quest
Valley Quest is a series of more than 150 treasure hunts stretching across 50 towns in the Connecticut River Valley in Vermont and New Hampshire. Quests, making use of hand-drawn maps and riddle-like clues, lead to hidden special places, such as remote lakes, old cellar holes, favorite trees, and forgotten cemeteries. Quests are exciting adventures that gently share and teach the natural and cultural history of the region.
Directories, Search Engines and Homework Help Sites (see also Homework Helps)
- Ask Jeeves Kids - A junior search engine that allows you to type your questions just as you would ask them and get a response.
- Awesome Library - There are 18,000 carefully reviewed sources linked to this site.
- B.J. Pinchbeck's homework help - This site, begun in 1996, is maintained by a 16 year old.
- Children's Resources
- Cyber Sleuth Kids
- Discovery.com - Along with homework help, this site includes teacher resources and parent information.
- DOL reference sites - Marj Zunder's guide to helpful reference links.
- Enchanted Learning Home Page
- Fact Monster - From Information Please, this atlas, almanac, dictionary, encyclopedia includes a "Homework Center."
- Find Your School
- FirstGov for Kids
- Great websites for kids - These sites have been evaluated and recommended by ALSC, the children's section of ALA.
- Homework Spot - Sites are divided by grade level (elementary, middle school and high school).
- Information Please Almanac
- Internet Public Library Youth Division
- Johnson County Library Kids Page
- Kid Info - The Web's Best Student Homework Reference
- Kids and Teens
- Kid's Castle
The Smithsonian Institution's site for kids is full of interactive looks at many of the museum's treasures and educational programs.- KidsConnect - Online question and answer service for students
- KidSpace at the Internet Public Library
Reference, subject links, an excellent section on presidents (POTUS) as well as fun and games.- Kids Click - Web searches on 600 subjects in 15 different categories were compiled for kids by librarians.
- The Library Spot
A free virtual library resource center for educators and students, librarians and their patrons, families, businesses and just about anyone exploring the Web for valuable research information.- Multnomah County Homework Site
This homework site from Multnomah County Library in Oregon has multiple links for every major homework topic.- Online Educational Resource Links
- Outline Maps
- Searchopolis
- Social Studies for Kids
- http://www.studentquestions.com is educational Q&A homework website.
- A Student's Index to the Internet
- U.S. Government websites for kids - Arranged alphabetically by general subjects, (e.g. animals, the environment).
- Vermont Kids Homepage - Vermont Secretary of State's Kid's Page
- Vermont-NEA Hot Links for Kids
- Yahooligans - One of the best-known directories for kids.
- Zoom Dinosaurs
An "interactive online hypertextbook" about dinosaurs, this commercial site is a good one to be used by younger children, their parents, and their teachers.
For younger kids
- ABC123 - Geared towards preschoolers.
- Ben and Jerry's
- Berit's Best Sites for Children - Great sites for kids, evaluated by a children's librarian
- Disney
- HarperCollins - This site has printable activities, e-cards, and screensavers.
- Mr. Men - A fun site that has jokes, puzzles, silly facts, and lets you create your own characters.
- Peter Rabbit If you click on FUN there are games, e-cards you can send, and printable coloring pages.
- Pre-School Links
- Seussville - An awesome site where you can click and play games, print and play games, create your own story.
- Vermont Teddy Bear Company
Games
- Crayola Kids
- FunBrain.com - A site full of fun educational games
- Funschool.com
- Kids Hub
- PBS Kids - A wonderful site with games and information about all your favorite t.v. characters...
- Prongo.com
- Sesame Street
- Thunk.com
- http://www.uptoten.com
Holidays & Special Events
Just-for-fun sites
These are not necessarily recommendations, but rather some of the sites that tweens spend hours at. Many have a lot of advertising, and many require plug ins and registration.
Magazines
Songs
- Becky's Campfire Songbook!
- Kid Songs
- KIDiddles Song Lyrics - Children's Music ~ Lyrics ~ Nursery Rhymes
- Sing Along - Midis and Lyrics for the NIEHS Kids pages
A tiny sampling of some individual sites
- African-American Almanac - This site presents an historical perspective of a nation, its people, and its cultural evolution.
- American Memory - Research American history through primary sources. There are more than 7 million digital items here.
- Brooks Memorial Library, Brattleboro's games site - Brooks has gathered together dozens of games sites, and arranged them by type, such as word games, board games and animal games.
- Insectclopedia - All kinds of insect information, including an identification guide.
- Oregon Trail - An amazing amount of information about the Oregon Trail, including full text diaries from the time.
- Sounds of the World's Animals - Hear the animals' sounds, and see how they are written in languages around the world.
- Think Quest - This website contains educational websites built by kids. You can search for a topic or use their topical directory.
- Washington National Zoo - If you like animals and you like "web cams," you'll love this look at our nation's zoo in the Capital. If you tune in at 11:30 am, you can watch them feeding the elephants!
- The Yuckiest Site on the Internet - More than you ever wanted to know about barfing, belching and blackheads. Plus more great gross stuff.