Over the last decade, a virtual explosion of scientific research on early brain development has made evident the importance of the early years to a child's long-term ability to thrive. An additional growing body of evidence has shown that children exposed to quality early care and education-whether at home with their parents, in child care or pre-school-develop better language skills, have better social skills and fewer behavioral problems, are less likely to require special education, less likely to drop out of school or to get involved with the juvenile and criminal justice systems, and more likely to be literate, employed, and enrolled in post-secondary education as adults. This new evidence has spurred new action across the nation on the part of parents, educators, business leaders, policymakers, and health care providers, aimed at better addressing the needs of young children and their families.
Child and Family Services of NH If you have young children and a life that requires you to place your child in childcare, you'll be concerned about a number of things: Will I be able to find an available space for my child? Will it cost me more than I can afford? Will it be a suitable place for my child? What will my decisions NOW do to my child's long-term development?
Biting
Gryphon House Books A wonderful early childhood publisher with fabulous books and hundreds of free activities to download. Its purpose is to provide teachers and parents with the best materials available to aid in the development and education of young children.
http://www.naeyc.org National Association for the Education of Young Children. The largest early childhood association in the country and full of important information.
http://www.npin.org The mission of NPIN is to provide access to research-based information about the process of parenting, and about family involvement in education. We believe that well-informed families are likely to make good decisions about raising and educating their children.
Looking for a reason to celebrate? These pages contain ideas to help you celebrate special and sometimes unusal days. By clicking on the names of the months, you will find ideas for crafts, games, and more. Enjoy! (all months are updated approximately 1 month ahead of time).
SITES for CHILDREN These sites are made possible by a good friend of mine. You can visit Liz's site at Lizkids Webpage For Parents, Child Care Providers and Educators:
http://Lizkids1.homestead.com/Lizkids_Webpage.html
The Arts
The following sites are recommended for children from preschool through age 14, their parents, and other caregivers. Recommendations apply only to sites listed, not to any sites that may be linked from these sites.
Inside Art. What if you were trapped inside a painting and had to solve a mystery to get out? An adventure inside art history. http://www.eduweb.com/insideart/index.html
Origami. Clear instructions and elegant models in the traditional Japanese art of paperfolding from Joseph Wu in Japan. Contains links to many other origami sites, including "How to Make an Origami Crane." http://www.origami.vancouver.bc.ca/
World's Tallest Building Page. Photographs of architectural height achievements with links to larger copies of the image and additional information on the building. http://www.worldstallest.com/94.html
Museums
Adler Planetarium and Astronomy Museum, Chicago. The Adler opened on May 12, 1930, as the first planetarium in the Western Hemisphere, and continues today to interpret the exploration of the universe for the broadest possible audience. http://www.adlerplanetarium.org
The Art Institute of Chicago. Includes activities for children. Excellent opening page with animated changes of the art images. Includes exploring "A Mysterious Mummy" and "Thousands of Dots" (about a painting by Georges Seurat). http://www.artic.edu/aic/kids/index.html
The Children's Museum of Indianapolis. The museum offers nontraditional learning opportunities for children and their families. Includes explorations of dinosaurs and visits to "Rex's Lending Library" http://www.childrensmuseum.org/
The Exploratorium, San Francisco. An online version of a hands-on museum in San Francisco that permits you to do your own cow's eye dissection or learn the science behind a home run. Be sure to visit the "Learning Studio." http://www.exploratorium.edu
The National Air and Space Museum Web Site, Washington, D.C. A part of the Smithsonian Institution, this museum contains resources about flight, airplanes, and space travel. http://www.nasm.si.edu/
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. The National Gallery of Art and its collections belong to the people of the United States of America. European and American paintings, sculpture, decorative arts, and selected works on paper. Full-screen views of whole paintings and details allow close study. The site also includes information on artists and on the museum's facilities and services. http://www.nga.gov/
National Museum of the American Indian, Washington, D.C. Part of the Smithsonian Institution, this museum is devoted to the protection and study of the life, languages, literature, history, and arts of Native Americans. http://www.si.edu/nmai/
Salem (Mass.) Witch Museum. Useful since kids study this area of history. "Haunted Happenings," a commercial part of Salem stuff, is very neat. http://www.salemwitchmuseum.com/
Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. Great site for gaining an understanding of the natural world and our place in it. http://www.mnh.si.edu/nmnhweb.html
Music
The Classical MIDI files. Listen to classical music right on the Web in different midi levels. Includes Bach, Beethoven, Brahms, Chopin, Debussy, Handel, Haydn, Liszt, Mendelssohn, Mozart, Scarlatti, and Schubert. http://www.prs.net/midi.html
Garden State Pops Youth Orchestra. Learn how to read music and listen to musical instruments. Includes a daily calendar of musical history and many useful links to other music sites. http://www.gspyo.com/
Piano on the Net. A complete set of piano lessons on the Web. Put a keyboard next to your keyboard and you're ready to go! With many links to other music sites. http://www.artdsm.com/music.html
Fun for Younger Children (ages 8 and under)
Apple Corps. This was the old Virtual Mr. Spud Head. You can stick puzzle pieces wherever you want. http://apple-corps.westnet.com/apple_corps.html
Build-a-Monster. Mix up creatures into a creature of your own; easy and fun to do! http://www.rahul.net/renoir/monster/monster.html
Carlos' Interactive Coloring Book. Kids choose the coloring tools they want to use and go to work coloring. http://www.coloring.com/pictures/choose.cdc
The Crayola Home Page. Everything you always wanted to know about crayons. http://www.crayola.com/home/index.cfm
Download-a-Dinosaur. Looking for a quick kids' craft activity (try saying that five times fast)? Look no further. http://www.rain.org/~philfear/download-a-dinosaur.html
Kaitlyn's Knock Knock Jokes and Riddles. Do you like knock-knocks and riddles the way we dothe worse the better? If so, here's your site; hooray Kaitlyn! http://www.bayne.com/kaitlyn/
Little Explorers. Click on a letter of the alphabet and connect to, not one, but many, many pictures of works with that letter and hot links to Web sites about that word. http://www.EnchantedLearning.com/Dictionary.html
Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood. Includes activities for kids as well as show-related information for kids and parents. http://www.pbs.org/rogers/
Sesame Street Central. The kids' activities page with your friends from Sesame Street. Play games with Prairie Dawn, Elmo, and the Cookie Monster. http://www.ctw.org/sesame/
Theodore Tugboat Online Activity Centre. This fun Canadian site shares stories and activities for younger children and their families http://www.cochran.com/theodore/
Thomas the Tank Engine Page. Calling all Thomas the Tank Engine fans! Stories, games, and fun. http://www.thomasthetankengine.com/
For Kids by Kids
Alex's Scribbles: Koala Trouble. Drawings by a five-year-old. They include the adventures of Max and Alex. http://www.scribbles.com.au/max/jump.html
The Kids' Stomping Ground. A family in Leicester, England, has created a mishmash of jokes, crafts, and other silliness. http://www.oink.demon.co.uk/fun/index.htm
Girls Can!
Distinguished Women. A collection of writers, educators, scientists, heads of state, politicians, civil rights crusaders, artists, entertainers, and others. http://www.DistinguishedWomen.com
4,000 Years of Women in Science. This site lists more than 125 names from our scientific and technical past. They are all women! http://www.astr.ua.edu/4000WS/
Girl Power! A national public education campaign sponsored by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to help encourage and empower 9- to 14-year-old girls to make the most of their lives.http://www.health.org/gpower/index.htm
Girl Tech. An opportunity for girls to read about and communicate with each other. Nice emphasis on providing women as examples of achievement in various categories. http://www.girltech.com/
Girls Incorporated. Girls Incorporated is a national youth organization dedicated to helping every girl become strong, smart, and bold. http://www.girlsinc.org/
An Income of Her Own. This site encourages entrepreneurship and offers imaginative and unique programs and products related to economic empowerment for young women. Check out the Frog Pages for exciting and useful links. http://www.anincomeofherown.com/
MS Foundation for Women. The MS Foundation program is to help prevent problems before they take root, by making girls' developmental issues widely known and understood, and by generating support for programs through which girls stay healthy, strong, and resilient. http://www.ms.foundation.org/
New Moon Magazine. New Moon challenges stereotypes by accepting girls as they are, listening to them, and honoring their diverse experience and dreams. http://www.newmoon.org/
Female Athletes in the 2000 Olympics. Profiles of three women who will compete in the 2000 Olympics. http://www.feminist.org/sports/olympics2000.html
Women of NASA. The Women of NASA resource was developed to encourage more young women to pursue careers in math, science, and technology. http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/women/intro.html
Games and Entertainment Sites
Big Nate. Nate's the star of Big Nate, the comic strip that follows this self-described "future great artist" as he doodles his way through Public School 38. But even a *ahem* genius like Nate can't do it alone. http://www.unitedmedia.com/comics/bignate/
The Boomerwolf. Join the Boomerwolf Detective Agency and help solve a case. Designed for children; amusing characters but sound science. http://www.boomerwolf.com/
Chateau Meddybemps. All kinds of fun for families with younger kids. http://www.meddybemps.com/index.html
Checkers. Will the black or the red pieces win this time? Simple directions provided. Requires Java/32-bit browsers. http://darkfish.com/checkers/Checkers.html
Chess Is Fun. Want to learn how to play chess? Want to learn how to play a bit better? Here are some fairly easy "lessons." http://www.princeton.edu/~jedwards/cif/intro.html
Children's Television Workshop. Your friends from Sesame Street! Check out the coloring pages in "Big Bag." http://www.ctw.org
Chinook. Computer generated Checkers. "A long-term objective of solving the game of checkers, i.e. determining the game-theoretic value of checkers." This is a very tough game. http://web.cs.ualberta.ca/~chinook/
Comic Zone. Your very own newspaper comics section! Includes Dilbert, For Better or Worse, Peanuts, Rose is Rose, and a lot more. http://www.unitedmedia.com/comics/
DangerMouse: The Greatest Secret Agent in the World. Danger Mouse is a wacky and hilarious adventure about a Secret Agent Mouse, and his trusty bumbling sidekick hamster assistant, Penfold. Penfold is lovingly daft, usually needs to be saved from one situation or another, and is the greatest straight man . . . er, hamster . . . ever known. http://www.dangermouse.org/index2.html
Enigma. This is a sliding puzzle site based on a toy of years ago. It offers interesting challenges and is totally addictive. http://www.stephen.com/enigma/enigma.html
Faces. A game that lets you "mixup" the faces of celebrities. Silly stuff. http://www.corynet.com/faces/
Five Field Kono. This beautifully designed strategy game is played on a Java board. It's worth the wait for the board to load up. Based on Chinese Checkers. http://www.darkfish.com/kono/FiveFieldKono.html
Garfield Online. Heard the latest? Garfield's the greatest! Check out what's happenin' with everyone's favorite fat cat! Jim Davis's official fat-cat site! Needs plug-ins. http://www.garfield.com/
GirlTech Game Cafe. A Web page just for girls. You can create stories or work in science and math games. http://www.girltech.com/Game_Cafe/GC_menu_frame.html
Humongous Entertainment. This site is mostly for younger children. Of course, the main purpose is to sell their fine software products, but they have free coloring pages and games to print out. Also, they held a coloring contest last Christmas, and the winner got to see his artwork animated and put up on the Internet for all to see! http://www.humongous.com
InteractiveWord Puzzle. From the Christian Science Monitor, this puzzle page changes every Thursday and requires a Java enabled browser to play. It is really for relatively good puzzle players, but the frustration level is moderated as the answers are there with a click of the mouse. http://www.csmonitor.com/puzzlers/crosswordj/crosswordj.shtml
I SPY. A collection of image-searching games for parents to play with young (or not so young) children. This is a simple game based on the traditional "I Spy" game parents play with their children to fill time while waiting somewhere. Heavily graphic site. http://www.geocities.com/~spanoudi/spy/
Joan Irvine: The Pop-up Lady. Joan Irvine is a Canadian author of children's craft books. Three of the books have instructions on how to make pop-up cards, a set of pop-up instructions, and a contest. Includes links to other pop-up sites. http://www.makersgallery.com/joanirvine/
Maze. "Get Those Dots"through a maze and against the clock. There are many puzzles to solve and you can change the time needed up to three minutes a game. Requires Java/32-bit browsers.http://www.hooked.net/users/rpaymer/index.html
Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood. Continues the soft approach of Mr. Rogers with all kinds of games and experiences. http://www.pbs.org/rogers/
Nickelodeon. Like to watch Nick? Here's where to click! http://www.nick.com
Official Disney Web Site. Movies, animationeverything Disney! http://www.disney.go.com
Official Star Wars Web Site. For Star Wars fans everywhere! Needs plug-ins. http://www.starwars.com/
OwlKids Online. This is a site based on the magazine for children in Canada. Nicely constructed site. The age breaks are helpful. http://www.owl.on.ca/
Pentalpha. Solve this challenging puzzle on a very cool board and then let your friends try solving it. More of a puzzle than a game, the rules are a bit arcane. Requires Java/32-bit browsers. http://www.darkfish.com/pentalpha/Pentalpha.html
Reading Rainbow. A great show about books! http://gpn.unl.edu/rainbow/
Snoopy's Doghouse. Visit with a favorite character. Personality profiles of the characters and Schulz's thoughts on why they behave the way they do! http://www.unitedmedia.com/comics/peanuts/
U.S. Chess Online! This is the Chess Federation site and does include beginning lessons in chess. Given the importance of chess in learning theory, this is a must! http://www.uschess.org/
World's Largest Roadside Attractions. Seeing these "largest" attractions, including the largest cow, catsup bottle, and cuckoo clock, will make you smile. http://www.infomagic.net/~martince/
Sports
The Ancient Olympic Games. In this exhibit, you can compare ancient and modern Olympic sports, tour the site of Olympia as it looks today, learn about the context of the Games and the Olympic spirit, or read about the Olympic athletes who were famous in ancient times. Part of the Perseus Project at Tufts University. http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/Olympics/
Black Baseball's Negro League. Learn about the origins of the Negro Baseball League: what they were, why they were founded, and why they no longer exist. http://www.blackbaseball.com/
International Tennis Federation. "It will also become a comprehensive library of current information including player biographies, results, rankings, Davis Cup, Fed Cup, and other team competition results." Excellent section of rules of tennis. Easy navigating. http://www.itftennis.com/
Judo Information Site. You've entered the lobby of the world's biggest virtual Judo club, with the most complete information about the sport and art of Judo on the Internet. http://www.JudoInfo.com
Little League Baseball. Useful information on Little League and gain access to the Little League Museum. http://www.littleleague.org
The Locker Room: Sports for Kids. Facts and tips on almost all popular sports, from volleyball to basketball to tennis. http://members.aol.com/msdaizy/sports/locker.html
Major League Baseball. The official site of Major League Baseball has an enormous amount of information, including details on both the National and American Leagues as well as statistics, photos, and league leaders. http://www.majorleaguebaseball.com/
Major League Soccer. The official site of Major League Soccer includes statistics and information about teams. An excellent section of information for coaches that raises issues of behavior and skills development. http://www.mlsnet.com/index.html
National Baseball Hall of Fame. An outstanding site that provides a valuable history of the game of baseball. http://baseballhalloffame.org/index.htm
National Football League (NFL). Official site of the NFL provides the latest news and statistics. http://www.nfl.com
National Hockey League (NHL). Official site of the National Hockey League has statistics and information on players and games. http://www.nhl.com
NBA.com. The official site for all National Basketball Association (NBA) teams contains information on games and players. http://www.nba.com/
Racewalk.com. "Racewalk.com provides all the information you need to start and improve your walking program and increase your awareness of other events in the walking community." http://www.racewalk.com/
Sports Illustrated for Kids. Click here to get the latest issue online. http://www.sikids.com
Sports Science @ the Exploratorium. Learn about the game and the science behind it. Interviews with scientists and the NHL Sharks' hockey players and coaches! Learn the science behind a home run. http://www.exploratorium.edu/sports/index.html
Tennis Worldwide. Commercial site that provides sound tennis information, including information on Junior Tennis. http://www.tennisw.com/
USA Gymnastics Online. This site lists every top-level directory on USA Gymnastics Online, plus selected documents within each area. http://www.usa-gymnastics.org/index-text.html
U.S. Soccer Web Pages. Soccer fans gathered information from various sources in order to provide some general information for their fellow fans across the United States. http://www.Sams-Army.com
WebSwim. Brisk information on a range of swimming sports, including diving, synchronized swimming, lifeguard training, and water polo. Includes links to outstanding swimmers' biographies pages. http://www.webswim.com/index.htm
Woman' National Basketball Association (WNBA). Everybody knows the NBA, but do you know about the Women's NBA? http://www.wnba.com
Favorite Children's Stories
Aesop's Fables. This online version of Aesop's Fables includes the full public domain texts638 fables. There are images from the Dore illustrations and the beginnings of audio texts. http://www.AesopFables.com
Aesop's Fables Read. Aesop's Fables, in two versions for each tale, all with illustrations done by students in a computing art class. http://www.umass.edu/aesop
The Alice Fan Club. The characters in Phyllis Reynolds Naylor's Alice series endure all these dilemmasand more. This fan area is your chance to read all about Alice and her friends, make some new friends of your own, and hear from Phyllis Reynolds Naylor herself. http://www.simonsays.com/subs/txtobj.cfm?areaid=183&pagename=newalice
American Girls Series. An American Girl is a unique current girls' series by Valerie Tripp, Janet Beele Shaw, Connie Porter, Susan S. Adler, and Maxine Schur. The series title is American Girls Collection. The American Girls stories are told through the eyes of girls living in different time periods. This site expands on the stories and has a club for fans of American Girls. http://www.americangirl.com/
Animorphs Page. The home page for this popular paperback series of young people with the capacity to morph into animals of great power in order to fight alien enemies. Written by K. A. Applegate. http://scholastic.com/animorphs/
The Arthur Page. For Arthur fans everywhere! This site is maintained by PBS and features games and children's art. A very popular site for younger children who love the character created by Marc Brown. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/arthur/
Baby-Sitters' Club Page. What's happening at the Baby-Sitters' Club? Visit this site to learn about the characters and adventures. http://www.scholastic.com/annmartin/bsc/index.htm
Berenstain Bears. The official Berenstain Bears site, includes activities and lists of books. http://www.berenstainbears.com
Betsy-Tacy Homepage. Maybe this Web page is the first you have ever heard of the well-loved series about girls growing up in turn-of-the century Minnesota. http://www.geocities.com/Paris/Lights/4859/
HarperChildrens.com. A place to do fun things, learn about books, and meet authors. This is an exciting site maintained by HarperCollins for its children's books. http://www.harperchildrens.com/hch/
Children's Storybook Online. Read lots of exciting stories like "Round Bird Can't Fly," "Grow Your Own Gargoyle," and "The Wumpalump." http://www.magickeys.com/books/
Curious George. The Curious George Forum is a great way to meet and share stories with other George fans, and don't miss the tribute to the late Margret Rey. http://www.curiousgeorge.com/
Disney Book Factory. Interactive books with your favorite Disney characters. A graphics-heavy site. http://www.disney.go.com/DisneyBooks/
The Golem. This site explores the Caldecott winner Golem by David Wisniewski by offering a great deal of additional information on this legend. http://www.scils.rutgers.edu/special/kay/golem.html
The Goosebumps Page. Enter if you dare! Meet R. L. Stine and the many tales he has created for you in this scary place. http://place.scholastic.com/Goosebumps/index.htm
Hergé and TinTin. For intense lovers of Tintin and his adventures this site contains links to a large number of Tintin sites around the world. http://regiments.org/tfm.html
Kino's Storytime. And this is the place to visit if you like children's books, because it has THE BEST BOOKS with eye-popping pictures and terrific stories. http://www.pbs.org/kcet/storytime/
Magic School Bus Page. What are Ms. Frizzle and her class doing now? This site encourages you to work with many aspects of the Magic School Bus Adventures. http://scholastic.com/MagicSchoolBus/index.htm
My Little House on the Prairie Home Page. From Jennifer Slegg, a fan of Laura Ingalls Wilder's books, this site explores a classic series of books by Wilder. http://vvv.com/~jenslegg/index.htm
The Phantom Tollbooth. Information on this favorite book by Norman Juster, including bibliographies and other things. http://www.lpl.arizona.edu/~bcohen/phantom_tollbooth/
Random House Kids. Explore online with your favorite books and characters; you can even submit your own book reviews for online publication. http://www.randomhouse.com/kids/
Reading Rainbow. You can find good books, discover information on your favorite show, and even explore exciting segments in more detail. http://gpn.unl.edu/rainbow/kids/mainfs.htm
Seamonkey Oz Home Page. Here you will find Oz-related links, philosophical musings, creative writing, and lots of artwork by the inhabitants of Oz created by Baum. Many of these Ozians are very young, but they have e-mail addresses and would like to hear from you. http://seamonkey.ed.asu.edu/oz/
Seussville. The Cat in the Hat, Sam-I-Am, Horton and the Whos, and the rest of the Seuss characters welcome you to Seussville, Dr. Seuss's playground in cyberspace. You can play games, chat with the Cat in the Hat, win prizes, find out about new Dr. Seuss books and CD-ROMs, and much, much more! http://www.randomhouse.com/seussville/
Treasure Island. An informative site very neatly designed for children by a librarian in Britain. Learn all you can about this novel by Robert Louis Stevenson. http://www.ukoln.ac.uk/services/treasure/
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz Web Site. Oz first started as a book by Frank L. Baum, then a series of books. The incredible world of Oz is explored in these pages. There is much to know about this wonderful land, and on these pages you will be told quite a lot about it, and helped to find out where to find out more. http://www.eskimo.com/~tiktok/index.html
Expanding the Classics
Louisa May Alcott Web. Who was born on the 333rd day of the year, has had books on the bestseller list more than 100 years after her death, and has a crater on Venus named after her? Excellent collection of resources on this treasured author of Little Women. http://www.alcottweb.com
Jane Austen Information Page. An electronic text of Pride and Prejudice is available, as is information and links to other sites with details on Jane Austen. http://www.pemberley.com/janeinfo/janeinfo.html
The Brontë Web Site. This site is from Japan, and offers excellent photographs and links to all kinds of resources on the Brontë family. http://lang.nagoya-u.ac.jp/~matsuoka/Bronte.html
Julius Caesar. This paraphrase of Shakespeare's play Julius Caesar is intended as a supplement to the original work. Read it along with the original as an aid to comprehension. This includes a number of links to relevant materials. http://members.tripod.com/~lklivingston/caesar/
The Camelot Project. The Main Menu lists Arthurian characters, symbols, and sites. You may move from any highlighted element to a submenu of basic information, texts, images, and a bibliography about that subject. http://www.ub.rug.nl/camelot/
The Complete Works of William Shakespeare. Welcome to the Web's first edition of the Complete Works of William Shakespeare. The original electronic source for this server is the Complete Mobytm Shakespeare, which is freely available online. There may be differences between a copy of a play that you happen to be familiar with and the one of this server: Don't worry, this is a very common phenomenon in the world(s) of Shakespeare and Shakespearian scholarship. Includes a search engine. http://tech-two.mit.edu/Shakespeare/works.html
The Charles Dickens Information Page. A very complete site from Japan on Charles Dickens, including links to a large number of additional resources.
http://lang.nagoya-u.ac.jp/~matsuoka/Dickens.html
Project Bartleby. Featuring 48 authors, this online literature project concentrates mainly on poetry and includes works by Robert Frost, William Shakespeare, and Walt Whitman as well as poetry anthologies. Authors such as F. Scott Fitzgerald, W. E. B. DuBois, Carl Sandburg, and, of course, Herman Melville also are represented. http://www.bartleby.com/index.html
Nathaniel Hawthorne. One of the largest sites on Hawthorne, including resources and links to his life and his work. Also has links to electronic texts of his books. http://eldred.ne.mediaone.net/nh/hawthorne.htm
Invisible Ink: Books on Ghosts & Hauntings. Read reviews and excerpts of more than 500 ghostly titles from around the world. Learn how to write your own ghost book. Educator pages feature activities using ghost books, where to find ghost stories, and a bibliography. http://www.invink.com
KidzPage. Opportunity to read poetry from Ogden Nash and other famous poets. Contributions from young readers, too! http://web.aimnet.com/~veeceet/kids/kidzpage.html
The Many Faces of Alice. A fully illustrated (by students at the Dalton School in New York), full-text version of Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, accompanied by student essays and teaching packet. http://www.dalton.org/ms/alice/
To Kill a Mockingbird: Then and Now. A site on this work of Harper Lee created by students for a ThinkQuest Project. Most useful for the study of the novel and the film. http://library.thinkquest.org/12111/
Robin Hood Project. The Robin Hood Project is designed to make available in electronic format a database of texts, images, bibliographies, and basic information about the Robin Hood stories and other outlaw tales. http://www.ub.rug.nl/camelot/rh/rhhome.htm
Shakespeare and the Globe. This Web site provides information on the reconstruction of the Globe and an archive on Shakespeare in Performance at the Globe, featuring illustrations and texts on the building of the original Globe, staging at the original Globe, and staging at the New Globe. Check their Quick Guide for help in navigation. http://www.rdg.ac.uk/globe/
Snow White. This site examines the Snow White story in text and images over the last 100 years. http://www.scils.rutgers.edu/special/kay/snowwhite.html
Mark Twain from about.com. A thoroughly long list of links to Twain and more Twain. http://marktwain.about.com/arts/marktwain/index.htm
Mark Twain and His Times. This site focuses on how "Mark Twain" and his works were created and defined, marketed and performed, reviewed and appreciated. The goal is to allow readers, scholars, students, and teachers to see what Mark Twain and others from his times said about each other, in ways that can speak to us today. http://etext.virginia.edu/railton/
Tales of Wonder: Folk and Fairy Tales from Around the World. An archive of folk and fairy tales. The stories in this collection represent a small sampling of the rich storytelling art that is the common heritage of humanity. http://members.nbci.com/darsie/tales/index.html
Sites With Many Authors and Illustrators
ACHUKA. News, reviews, interviews, and author profiles of British authors and poets. Interviews with authors/illustrators like Anthony Browne are a special treat. http://www.achuka.co.uk/index2.html
Authors and Illustrators. An extensive list of links to author/illustrator information. http://www.dalton.org/libraries/fairrosa/cl.authors.html
Authors & Illustrators (Simon & Schuster). If it's information on an author or illustrator that you require, this site has just what you need. http://www.simonsays.com/subs/txtobj.cfm?areaid=183&pagename=authors_illustrators
Birthdates of Children's Authors. This site is a list of author and illustrator birthdays. gopher://lib.nmsu.edu:70/11/.subjects/Education/.childlit/.authors/.birthdates
Children's Literature Web Guide: Authors. Information about children's authors and illustrators, and their books. http://www.acs.ucalgary.ca/~dkbrown/authors.html
Learning About the Author and Illustrator Pages. Many readers are curious about the creators of the books they like. The more than 500 links to author/illustrator sites included here will help to satisfy that curiosity. http://www.scils.rutgers.edu/special/kay/author.html
Individual Author Sites
Avi's Home Page. Avi, author of such stories as The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle, Nothing But the Truth, and The Fighting Ground, answers questions and talks about his books.
http://www.avi-writer.com/
Haemi Balgassi. She is the author of Peacebound Trains and Tao's Sonata. http://home.sprynet.com/~balgassi/homepage.htm
John Bellairs. Bellairs is the author of The House with a Clock in Its Walls and The Curse of the Blue Figurine. http://www.compleatbellairs.com
Ludwig Bemelmans. Enjoy the fun of getting to know the creator and his books about Madeline. http://www.martinburks.com/allison/madeline.html
Enid Blyton. Visit and learn about the author of the Famous Five, Secret Seven, Malory Towers, and St Clares series. http://www.blyton.com/index.htm
Jan Brett's Home Page. You'll find everything from trolls to armadillos on this author/illustrator's page. She has created The Mitten, That Hat, Armadillo Rodeo, The Trouble with Trolls, and Berlioz the Bear. http://www.janbrett.com/
Official Eric Carle Web Site. For fans of the famous author/illustrator and his books such as The Very Hungry Catepillar, Do You Want To Be My Friend, and Papa, Please Get the Moon for Me. http://www.eric-carle.com/
Lewis Carroll Collection. For lovers of the author of Alice in Wonderland. http://www.dalton.org/libraries/fairrosa/carroll.html
Beverly Cleary Sculpture Garden, Portland, Oregon. There are sculptures of Henry Huggins, Ramona Quimby, and Ribsy in a park only a few blocks from the real Klickitat Street! http://www.multnomah.lib.or.us/lib/kids/cleary.html
Karen Pederson's Beverly Cleary Home Page. A fun page by a big fan of this famous author who wrote Henry Huggins, Ramona the Pest, and Dear Mr. Henshaw. http://www.teleport.com/~krp/cleary.html
The Roald Dahl Home Page. This is a treasure house of information about the author of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, James and the Giant Peach, Matilda, and Fantastic Mr. Fox http://www.roalddahl.org/index2.htm
Virginia Hamilton. A wonderful author who wrote The House of Dies Drear and The People Could Fly. She also won the Newbery Award for M.C. Higgins the Great and was awarded the Newbery Honor for The Planet of Junior Brown and Sweet Whispers, Brother Rush. http://www.virginiahamilton.com
Deborah Hopkinson. Author of Sweet Clara and the Freedom Quilt and Birdie's Lighthouse. http://people.whitman.edu/~hopkinda/
Official Brian Jacques Home Page. If you're a fan of the Redwall books, here's the site for you! It includes information on the author of Redwall, Mattimeo and The Long Patrol. http://www.redwall.org/dave/jacques.html
The Paul Jennings File. Try out Jennings' Gizmo! Visit all of the portions of this Australian writer's site. He wrote Unreal! and Sink the Gizmo. http://people.enternet.com.au/~jennings/
Jane Kurtz. Welcome to the site of the author of Fire on the Mountain and Pulling the Lion's Tale. http://www.geocities.com/Athens/5232/index.html
Astrid Lindgren. Visit and learn about the author of the Pippi Longstocking adventures. http://www.interlog.com/~wings/jane/a_lindgren/a_lindgren.html
The Mary E. Lyons Den. Learn about the author who wrote Sorrow's Kitchen and Letters from a Slave Girl. http://www.lyonsdenbooks.com
Suse MacDonald. Learn about the author/illustrator of the Caldecott Honor book Alphabatics. http://www.create4kids.com/
Ann McGovern. Look at actual photos showing the author swimming with sharks and sitting on a camel. She is the author of many books including Lady in the Box and If You Grew Up in Colonial Times. http://www.scils.rutgers.edu/special/kay/mcgovern.html
Robin McKinley. The official site for this fantasy author who wrote Blue Sword and Beauty and won the Newbery for The Hero and the Crown. http://ofb.net/~damien/mckinley/
Learning About Jim Murphy. This site should answer your questions about the author of The Great Fire and A Young Patriot as well as offer some special insights into his work. http://www.scils.rutgers.edu/special/kay/murphy.html
Katherine Paterson Web Site. The official site called Terabithia that explores the work of the author of Bridge to Terabithia, The Great Gilly Hopkins, Lyddie, and Jacob Have I Loved. http://www.terabithia.com/
Dav Pilkey. Great fun wondering through this site created by author and illustrator Dav Pilkey who wrote The Paperboy, Kat Kong, and Dogzilla. http://www.pilkey.com/
Gary Paulsen. Here is the author of Hatchet, Dogsong, The Crossing, The Winter Room, and other great reads. http://www.scils.rutgers.edu/special/kay/paulsen.html
Patricia Polacco. Information on the author/illustrator of Pink and Say, The Keeping Quilt, and The Bee Tree. http://www.scils.rutgers.edu/special/kay/polacco.html
Robert Quackenbush. This site presents the author, his books, school visits, and workshops. His books include Henry Babysits, Sherlock Chick and the Giant Egg Mystery, and the Miss Mallard Mystery Series. http://www.rquackenbush.com/
Maurice Sendak: A Western Canon, Jr. He's been called "the Picasso of children's books" and "one of the most powerful men in the United States." Here is a great deal of information about Sendak, the author/illustrator of Where the Wild Things Are. http://homearts.com/depts/relat/sendakf1.htm
Janet Stevens. She is the illustrator of To Market, To Market and Gates of the Wind, and she wrote and illustrated From Pictures to Words (A Book About Making a Book). http://www.janetstevens.com/
Colin Thompson. Australian author/illustrator of wonderful stories like Tower to the Sun. http://www.colinthompson.com
Megan Whalen Turner. Includes reviews and analysis of this author's Newbery Honor winning book The Thief. http://home.att.net/~mwturner/
Learning about Laurence Yep. He is the author of many novels set in both China and the United States such as Child of the Owl, Dragonwings, Sweetwater, and Dragon's Gate. http://www.scils.rutgers.edu/special/kay/yep.html
Look It Up!
ARTFL Project: Roget's Thesaurus Search Form. Find synonyms (words that mean the same thing), antonyms (words that have the opposite meaning), and similar words and phrases. http://humanities.uchicago.edu/forms_unrest/ROGET.html
A Basic Dictionary of ASL Terms. Learn sign language online!
http://www.masterstech-home.com/ASLDict.html
Encarta Concise Free Encyclopedia. A free abridged version of Microsoft's CD-ROM encyclopedia. http://www.encarta.msn.com/
English Grammar. A dictionary of English grammar. http://andromeda.rutgers.edu/~jlynch/Writing/
KidsConnect: Ask a Question. Are you a K12th grade student looking for information on the Internet for a report or project to do for school? Let KidsConnect, the online question answering and referral service, help you out! http://www.ala.org/ICONN/AskKC.html
KidsConnect Favorite Web Sites. Point-and-click your way to the Web sites our KidsConnect school library media specialists have found most helpful for K12 students! http://www.ala.org/ICONN/kcfavorites.html
Internet Citations. Designed for use by school kids, this is very helpful site for adults as well. http://www.connectedteacher.com/newsletter/citeintres.asp
Kids Zone. A collection of Web sites and activities that range from teaching the ABC's to researching homework topics. Also includes resources for parents and teachers. Requires plugins. http://lycoszone.lycos.com/
Merriam-Webster Online. Aside from the wonderful access to the dictionary, this site offers words games and a word for the day. http://www.m-w.com/
Online ASL Dictionary. Watch the sign language gestures and learn! http://dww.deafworldweb.org/asl/
The Quotations Page. Search for a quote or read the quote of the day! Great links to other quotation sites. http://www.quotationspage.com/
Researchpaper.com. One of the Web's largest collection of topics, ideas, and assistance for school-related research projects. They show you how to make the most of your time online. http://www.researchpaper.com/
Resources for Writers. Learn more about grammar and punctuation. http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/grammar/index.html
Semantic Rhyming Dictionary. You can use it to write bad poetry or even good poetry. Using the three query functions described in this site, you can find words that rhyme with, almost rhyme with, or sound exactly the same as a certain target word. http://www.rhymezone.com/
A Spelling Test. Test yourself and learn some techniques to improve your spelling. http://www.sentex.net/~mmcadams/spelling.html
The Super Sitter. Being a babysitter is a lot of fun, and it's a nice way to make some money. It's also a great way to learn about responsibility. The Super Sitter is a guide that can come in handy not only for babysitters but parents as well. And be sure to check out the Baby Safety Checklist, which has valuable pointers on how to keep children safe. http://www.parenthoodweb.com/articles/phw16.htm
A Web of Online Dictionaries. Provides an easy-to-use search engine for words and the results are quite detailed. Also offers 400 different language dictionaries. http://www.facstaff.bucknell.edu/rbeard/diction.html
Writing a Basic Essay. An essay can have many purposes, but the basic structure is the same no matter what. You may be writing an essay to argue for a particular point of view or to explain the steps necessary to complete a task. Steps to guide you in writing an essay. http://members.tripod.com/~lklivingston/essay/
Writing by Children
Cyberkids Connection. A virtual place for young people from all over the world to share their thoughts and ideas with each other. http://www.cyberkids.com/
Cyberteens. Mountain Lake publishes educational software as well as the CyberKids and Cyberteens Web sites. Their goal is to create and promote youth community worldwide and to give teens a voice and an interactive place to express their creativity. Young people all over the world make Cyberteens a sharing, caring space. http://www.cyberteens.com/ctmain.html
The Diary Project. It is a way for young people around the world to share their personal thoughts, feelings, and dreams with one another near and far . . . to ask questions and find answers about growing up at the turn of the 21st century via the Internet. Requires plugins. http://www.diaryproject.com/
KidNews. This is a free news and writing service for students and teachers around the world. Anyone may use stories from the service for educational purposes, and anyone may submit stories. It invites comments about the news gathering, teaching, and computer-related issues in the Discussion sections for students and teachers. A tremendous source of all kinds of magazines for student-published work. http://www.kidnews.com/
Kids Cornfield Kidworld Magazine. A good example of kids' writing on the internet, including particularly good games and puzzles in an online format. http://www.bconnex.net/~kidworld/CORN.html
Kid's Space. The site has rapidly developed into many sections, including creative activities communication pages and sections for learning basic computer skills. Good audio clips of music by kids are available in three options. http://www.kids-space.org/
Midlink Magazine. This electronic magazine was created by kids, for kids in the middle gradesgenerally ages 10 to 15. Browse through the interactive space to enjoy art and writing that will link middle school kids all over the world. http://longwood.cs.ucf.edu:80/~MidLink/
New Moon. This is a site for the magazine for girls writing of their dreams and aspirations. Provides a set of guidelines for writers. http://www.newmoon.org/
Scriptito's Place. Especially for young people ages 715. Vangar publishes things that people your own age have written to spotlight young talent, and to show you that you can do it too. http://members.aol.com/vangarnews/scriptito.html
Writing Den. This is designed for students grades 612 who want to improve their English reading, comprehension, and writing skills. Writing Den is divided into three levels of difficulty: Words, Sentences, and Paragraphs. Includes plugins. http://www2.actden.com/writ_den/
Young Writer Online. Young Writer is a magazine that publishes creative writing from children aged 616 from around the world. Fun, instructive, and designed to build a writer's confidence, Young Writer is a forum for young people's writingfiction and non-fiction, prose and poetry. http://www.mystworld.com/youngwriter/index.html
The Young Writers Club. This club aims to encourage children of all ages to enjoy writing as a creative pastime by getting them to share their work and help each other improve their writing abilities. The online magazine is called Global Wave. http://www.cs.bilkent.edu.tr/~david/derya/ywc.html
Young Writer's Clubhouse. Created by Deborah Morris, the author of the Real Kids, Real Adventures series. This site offers a great deal of sound information and opportunities for young people through writing. http://www.realkids.com/club.shtml
Children's Book Awards
Awards for Children's Books. This project deals with the award origins, criteria, medal descriptions, and award books for Newbery and Caldecott Awards. In addition, it gives more information on the Web for those people who are interested in these award books and other kids' information. This project is limited to Newbery and Caldecott Awards from 19851994, although the Newbery and Caldecott Awards started in 1922 and 1938, respectively. http://ils.unc.edu/award/home1.html
The Caldecott Medal Home Page. Read about the award books and their illustrators in the Official site. This medal is awarded annually by the Association for Library Service to Children, a division of the American Library Association, to the artist of the most distinguished American picture book for children. http://www.ala.org/alsc/caldecott.html
The Carnegie Medal Page. Given by the Library Association, Youth Libraries Group, in England, this award was established in 1937. Presented annually to an outstanding book published in the United Kingdom. This site lists award winners. http://www.la-hq.org.uk/directory/medals_awards/medals_1.html
Children's Book Awards. The most comprehensive guide to English-language children's book awards on the Internet. http://www.acs.ucalgary.ca/~dkbrown/awards.html
Children's Literature Award Winners. Explanations of a number of national and international awards for children's books with links to lists of winners. http://www.eduplace.com/rdg/links/rdg_4.html
Kate Greenaway Medal Page. Given by The Library Association in England, this award was established in 1956. It is presented annually for the most distinguished work in the illustration of children's books published in the United Kingdom. This is a list of award winners. http://www.la-hq.org.uk/directory/medals_awards/medals_1.html
Coretta Scott King Awards. Presented annually to an African American author and an African American illustrator for an outstandingly inspirational and educational contribution published during the previous year. http://www.ala.org/srrt/csking/
The Newbery Medal Home Page. Read about the best books and their authors in their official site. The award is given annually by the Association for Library Service to Children, a division of the American Library Association, to the author of the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children. http://www.ala.org/alsc/newbery.html
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