CBC Kids News

The news on this kid focused site is interesting, but its lack of a search function can make finding content or stories that you're interested quite difficult. CBC Kids News presents Informative content mixed with more whimsical topics -- a typhoon hitting Japan and a pig that got surgery and became an internet sensation are examples of stories that might be next to each other on the home page. The combination provides a nice balance and keeps the coverage from seeming too serious. Also, having kid contributors write some items helps make the site feel like it was truly created for kids, instead of just a collection of watered-down versions of news articles that were written for adults.

Although a large number of posts are Canada-centric, kids don't have to live there to enjoy reading them; some topics, like animals, have universal appeal. The short, fairly simple sentences in articles are great for younger readers, but users toward the end of the site's intended 9-13 age range may find the tone a bit too juvenile. Offering articles for different age groups would help solve that issue; it'd also be nice if kids could view posts by topic -- or conduct a general keyword search to find similar items. Without that functionality, kids may need to hit the Load More button frequently -- which can get tedious -- if they're looking for something specific. While you might not get a comprehensive look at all of the day's hottest news items on the site, you can find out about some notable recent occurrences. You'll also come across a number of other interesting topics, which may help spark an ongoing interest in the world. It may also encourage some kids to start following the news, either through CBC Kids News' periodic current event round-up and other posts or a completely separate media outlet.