Authors and Illustrators Who Visit Schools

Authors and Illustrators Who Visit Schools is a directory service that lists 15 authors and illustrators who will make a school visit. Useful information includes a photograph, awards, description of the program, fees, and how to contact the individual.

BINGO Card Generator

A slick tool for creating BINGO games. Select from either 3x3 or 5x5 cards, insert words or math problems, and click on a button. The cards are ready for printing. You can also shuffle the items.

BookRead

The Bookread project is designed to allow teachers and students to discuss the books they are reading with a partner classroom.

Caldecott Award Page

Cover art, reviews and lists of the Caldecott award winners.

Carol Hurst’s Children’s Literature Site

Reviews of books, curriculum ideas, and professional resources are featured.

The Children’s Literature Web Guide

Starting point for children’s authors, illustrators, and publishers.

Edward Lear

Complete illustrated text of Lear’s works.

Handwriting for Kids

This website clearly explains the foundational skills required for handwriting acquisition to teachers and parents. The site provides worksheets as well, for the development of tracking and visual motor skills.

The House of Usher: Edgar Allan Poe

Poetry, movie tie-ins, and sounds abound on this dramatic site.

International Children's Digital Library

Read over 500 children's books online. The International Children's Digital Library (ICDL) is a five-year project funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the Institute for Museum and Library Services (IMLS) to create a digital library of international children's books. The books consist of both old and new titles that must meet a specified criteria. The site is user friendly for adults and children.

Internet Picture Dictionay

The Internet Picture Dictionary is a completely free, online multilingual picture dictionary designed especially for ESL students and beginning English, French, German, Spanish and Italian language learners of all ages.

Newbery Award Page

Cover art, reviews and lists of the Newbery award winners.

Poetry 180

Billy Collins, Poet Laureate of the United States, has selected poems to read each day. The site is designed for high school students and contains poetry by a variety contemporary writers.

Seussville

Lots of activities and games along with who is Dr. Suess.

TeachingBooks

TeachingBooks promotes the spirit of and enthusiasm for quality children's books by giving educators convenient access to authors, activities and valuable resources via the technology of the Internet. This is achieved by:

• Creating audiovisual programs that provide glimpses into the lives of nationally renowned children's book authors and illustrators. Each program enables educators to see and hear authors talk about their books while revealing the individuals and techniques behind their work.
  
• Organizing hundreds of existing materials on the web into anaccessible and sortable database - including discussion guides, classroom activities, and updates on awards and new books.
  
• Customizing electronic communications to inform educators when resources relevant to their interests are available and making them only one click away. This use of technology saves educators valuable time while informing them about useful material they might not have known about otherwise.

Authors

Jan Brett

Enter the world of Jan Brett and you won't want to leave. Not only does she share her beautiful artwork for printing, but complete background information about her books like Armadillo Rodeo and Comet's Nine Lives. Listen to her monthly hedgigram designed as a response to the email letters she receives from students. Watch a delightful streaming video of Jan as she demonstrates how to draw a hedgehog. Still haven't found enough to engage your students? Then, print out the colorful masks from her books like The Mitten or The Hat and have your students act out the stories or browse through the lessons in Piggybacks for Teachers. Jan Brett is truly a teacher's dream come true.

Betsy Byars

Wikipedia provides information about the author, including a list of her books.

Lois Duncan

Although tragedy struck Lois Duncan's family in 1989 when her daughter Kaitlyn was brutally murdered, she has continued to write. Anyone who has heard her speak at conferences has learned about the parallels between the book she had just completed and her daughter's murder. Duncan kept a journal that became the book, Who Killed My Daughter, as the family attempted to solve the murder. Because it had no ending, her agent didn’t think it could be published. When it was printed, many students thought it was fiction even without an ending. Now, there is a Website, Who Killed Kait Arquette, devoted to solving this real life mystery.

Jean Craighead George

Your welcome message on this page is from the author and her Alaskan Malamute, Qimmiq, via a QuickTime movie clip. In another movie segment George describes how she approaches her writing in the morning. You can listen to a couple of audio clips taken from One Day in the Woods, a release by Harper Children's Audio and based on George's book of the same title. For students she gives hints on how to work through the writing process. Her entire book list is linked to Amazon.com for easy ordering.

Virginia Hamilton

Did you know Virginia Hamilton collects frogs? Visit her Web site and contribute a frog joke or listen to hers. Hamilton’s personality certainly shines through as she tells her own story and describes a picture taken of her at age five. You can also find the latest about her books and upcoming publications. Be sure to e-mail her at bodeep@aol.com.

D.B. Johnson

Learn about Henry and his journey to Fitchburg. Play a matching game and discover the wildlife illustrated in the book. This is the first children's book D.B Johnson has written, but you would not know it. His illustrations are fabulous with so much depth. In fact, you will want to studey each one carefully so as not to miss any details. Hike over to this Website and enjoy the walk.

Daniel Pinkwater

At The (sort of) Official Daniel Pinkwater Web, tongue-in-cheek humor rules. Outrageously funny, Daniel Pinkwater responds to forum mail, a good place to follow all kinds of dialogue. There are RealAudio excerpts from Dog essays, sound clips for your Macintosh or Windows computer, and a list of Pinkwater’s books.

Edgar Alan Poe: Knowing Poe

Maryland Public Television has produced a highly interactive and media rich site with information about Poe the person and writer.

R. L. Stine

Graves come to life as you roll your mouse across the foreboding tombstones. It is a clever navigation trick for Stine’s Website. His immensely popular scary stories serve as the backdrop for some great activities at the Goosebumps fun house. You’ll never look at your hand in the same way after you engage in palm reading. Kids will love whipping up a batch of slimy stretchy stuff to squeeze and bounce. A brief biography about the author and a comprehensive list of his books round out the page.

Mark Twain

A one stop resource to material about Samual Langhorne Clemens including famous quotes, historic photographs, and his biography.