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"Hi, my name is Josie and I'm 8.
This is where my dad shares what he knows about
playful learning and communication, so HAVE FUN,
because the best way to learn is through play!"

It Takes an Web Community to Raise a Literate Child:
Learning from Each Other
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Helpful (and sometimes even fun) resources for parents... because parents are people too.


For you and the home
  • The Call of the Story: why do families tell stories? Because every life is a story.
  • Child & Family WebGuide: evaluates and provides links to hundreds of sites containing child development research and practical advice; topics are selected on the basis of parent recommendations; they cover all ages, from early child development through adolescence.
  • Hoagies' Gifted Education Page: 900+ pages of information on gifted children and adults, recommended by parents, teachers, psychologists, and / or gifted kids themselves.
  • KidSites.com: searches the Web for the best kids sites on the net.
  • Spacify: store with fun and artsy furniture for kids.
  • Spaghetti Book Club: book reviews written by kids for kids from grades K-6; created as a way to support and encourage kids' love for reading by giving them an opportunity to connect, on a personal level, with the books they are reading and then share their reactions, thoughts, and opinions with family members, friends, and kids around the world.
  • Starfall: a family friendly web site with free interactive books and rhyming games for comprehension, phonemic awareness, and vocabulary building.

Listen to the voice inside your head (storytelling podcasts)
  • 7th Son: love your children, but need a break from their stories? Perhaps you want to hear something a little crazier in your head. Then enjoy this suspenseful and free podcast novel by J.C. Hutchins that tells the story of seven strangers (with identical childhood memories) brought together by the assassination of the U.S. president. [NOT appropriate for children]
  • Billibub Baddings Podcast: looking for a hard-boiled detective story about a four-foot-one dwarf from another dimension that eats pasta with Al Capone? Then listen to Billibub Baddings and the Case of the Singing Sword by Tee Morris. This incredible fantasy book mixes The Lord of the Rings color with Humphrey Bogart's black-and-white world. [parental discretion advised]
  • Dare to Danish: learn about the Danish (Dansk) culture, language, and sense of humor through a series of phrases not usually found in foreign language books. [NOT appropriate for children]
  • Griddlecakes Radio: explore the lost art of audio storytelling with Ron and "the other Ron" (the little voice in his head) as they go on a journey through time and space.
  • It's Jerry Time! are you prepared to see an animated documentary of a bug-eyed, schlub? If so, then enjoy these award winning, slice-of-life. mini movie, stories.
  • Just One More Book!! finding the best books to create happy memories for children and the adults that read to them. All about children's books we love and why we love them.
  • Theory Of Everything: an ongoing attempt at understanding the many diverse and seemingly unrelated threads that make up human experience. Benjamen Walker employs monologues, drama, telephone conversations, interviews, reported pieces, and investigative fiction in this ongoing adventure.
  • TMBG Podcast: this might be the official podcast of They Might Be Giants... famous for measuring the distance between the Earth and Moon and the discovery of hydrogen... this might just be the band best known for making imaginative music.

Gain insight through words (blogs)
  • Big A little a: focuses on children's books, writing, and life... always something new.
  • A Boy and His Blog: home of Daycare 90210 and the Society for a Pants Free America.
  • Flagrant Disregard: poignant blog about kids and their vomit.
  • Schuyler's Monster: the story of a unique and ethereal little girl who floats through the world without words, and her earthbound father. It is more than the story a parent dealing with a child’s disability (Bilateral Perisylvian Polymicrogyria), it is the tale of a little girl who silently teaches a man filled with self-doubt how to be the father she needs.

Free children's books and stories
  • Aesop's Fables: free story resource with 656+ Aesop fables, includes morals.
  • E-books for Young Readers: collection of free electronic classic story books.
  • International Children's Digital Library: hundreds of free illustrated books in their original languages from 45 different cultures; selected by authors, publishers, and national libraries for children 3-13 years old.
  • KidSpace: a collection of free resources inclusive of books, magazines, and newspapers for children from around the world (a service of the Internet Public Library).
  • Tales of Wonder: archive of folk and fairy tales from from around the world; a cultural sampling of the storytelling art.
  • Thinker Thinker Little Star: a space for like-minded people to come together and share their talent (contains children's art and moral stories for kids).
  • World Wide School: dedicated to the collection, preservation, and presentation of educational material, this e-library contains everything from fairy tales and poetry to mathematical dissertations and reference material.

Quality reading for kids (lists of children's books and stories)
  • Best Children's Books: 100 of the best books for kids (selected by National Education Association, USA)
  • Best Children's Books in Spanish: 10,000+ recommended books for Spanish-speaking children, and those learning Spanish
  • BookHive: created by public librarians, list and reviews of books for children up to 12.


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