Reading Websites

Most of the sites listed here provide information about recommended literature. A few are specifically dedicated to project learning.

Children’s Literature Awards

American Library Association Book Awards
Collectively these pages give information about some of the most important book awards in children’s literature. The Randolph Caldecott Medal is awarded to the artist of the most distinguished American picture book, the Newbery Medal to the author of the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children, and the Coretta Scott King Award to authors and illustrators of African descent whose distinguished books promote an understanding and appreciation of the “American Dream.” The pages give background information on the awards and a comprehensive list of award-winning titles.

Caldecott Medal: www.ala.org/alsc/caldecott.html
Coretta Scott King Award: www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/rts/emiert/cskbookawards/index.cfm
Newbery Medal: www.ala.org/alsc/newbery.html

Children’s Book Committee at Bank Street College
The Children’s Book Committee at Bank Street College was formed 75 years ago with the purpose of selecting the best children’s books published each year. The site provides information on the committee, its book awards and publications, and its annual list of the 600 best children’s books.
www.bnkst.edu/bookcom/

Orbis Pictus Award for Outstanding Nonfiction in Children’s Literature
Sponsored by the National Council of Teachers of English.
www.ncte.org/awards/orbispictus

The Rebecca Caudill Young Readers’ Book Award
The Rebecca Caudill award was developed to encourage children and young adults to read for personal satisfaction. It is an Illinois award for outstanding literature for young people and is sponsored by the Illinois Reading Council, the Illinois School Library Media Association, and the Illinois Association of Teachers of English. Each year Illinois children from across the state read and vote for the winners from a list of 20 books.
www.rebeccacaudill.org

Outstanding Science Trade Books for Students K–12
The books that appear in these lists were selected as outstanding children’s science trade books. They were selected by a book review panel appointed by the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) and assembled in cooperation with the Children’s Book Council (CBC). The annotated listings include selector’s choices, reading levels and relevant national science content standards.
www.nsta.org/publications/ostb/

Choices Reading Lists from the International Reading Association
Each year, thousands of children, young adults, teachers and librarians around the United States select their favorite recently published books for the “Choices” booklists. These lists are used in classrooms, libraries and homes to help young readers find books they will enjoy.
www.reading.org/resources/Booklists.aspx

Notable Trade Books for Young People
The books that appear in these annotated book lists were evaluated and selected by a Book Review Committee appointed by National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS) and assembled in cooperation with the Children’s Book Council (CBC). Books selected for this bibliography are written primarily for children in grades K-8. Titles are arranged by broad subject categories and subthemes. Annotators have also indicated the thematic strand of Expectations of Excellence: Curriculum Standards for Social Studies to which the book relates. The Notable Trade Books for Young People list is published each year as an insert to the May/June issue of Social Education.
www.socialstudies.org/resources/notable

BookWeb: Literary Award Winners
Award lists from many awards, including the Book Sense Book of the Year Award, the Caldecott and Newbery medals, the National Book Critics Circle Awards and the Pulitzer. Most awards listed have a children’s or young people’s section or are specifically for children.
www.bookweb.org/btw/awards

Authors and Illustrators

Authors and Illustrators on the Web
This section of David Brown’s Children’s Literature Web Guide is dedicated to children’s authors and illustrators. Arranged alphabetically, Brown includes brief descriptions of the author sites and indicates those that are particularly comprehensive and useful.
www.acs.ucalgary.ca/~dkbrown/authors.html

Children’s Literature Web resources from ERIC Clearinghouse
This comprehensive website provides links to literature, authors, book lists, book reviews and more.
http://reading.indiana.edu/www/indexwr.html

Book Reviews

Children’s Bookwatch
Lists of children’s books reviewed since September 2001; arranged by genres.
www.midwestbookreview.com/cbw/index.htm

BookHive: Your Guide To Children’s Literature
Developed by the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Library in North Carolina, this site provides reviews categorized by genre and age level, with notes for parents. www.cmlibrary.org/bookhive/books/category.asp?category=win

World of Reading
Housed on the Ann Arbor (MI) District Library website, this site allows children to write and post short reviews about books they have read. Users can search by state and city to see if any reviews were written in their area. Teachers can submit reviews written by students.
www.worldreading.org

Cool-Reads
Covers books for 10-15 year olds, reviewed and started in 2001 by two brothers when they were 11 and 13.
www.cool-reads.co.uk

Spaghetti Book Club
Book reviews by kids for kids.
www.spaghettibookclub.org

KidLit.com
Recommendations and reviews by gender, age and keywords. You can search for recommended books that may appeal to 12+ year-old-boys who read at the sixth grade level, for example. The search will give a title and synopsis of the book as well as Kid-Lit star ratings.
www.kidlit.com