Start with a Book
By Dana Anderson,
Common Sense Media Reviewer
Common Sense Media Reviewers
Start with a topic, and site will you lead to a great book.
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What you will—and won't—find in this website.
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What’s It About?
START WITH A BOOK gives practical suggestions to parents who want to foster a love of reading in their kids, grades K-5. First, parents choose a topic that their kid is interested in from a long list of subjects -- art, animals, nature, dinosaurs, and more. Then, they can purchase the books directly from amazon.com or print a book list for the library. The site also lists ideas for extended learning activities, including related apps and website, and it provides information from many sources on teaching reading and reading comprehension.
Is It Any Good?
This site is a powerfully comprehensive resource for parents, teachers, and librarians who want to find great books in the topics that typically interest kids, and who want to teach good reading skills to kids. There's so much information here that it's almost overwhelming. It may be best at first to start with your kid's interest and gradually fan out on the site from there. It would be great if site creators would add a section just for kids; right now the site is generally for adults to find books, activities, and reading tips for kids, but not for kids themselves.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about taking time to read. Ask your kid what's good about turning off the TV, computer, and mobile devices for some quiet reading time? What's difficult about it?
Set some reading time goals, and read with and/or alongside your child.
Try some of the suggested activities to make connections between the books you and your kid are reading and hands-on learning.
Website Details
- Subjects: Language & Reading: discussion, reading, reading comprehension
- Skills: Thinking & Reasoning: asking questions, Communication: asking questions, listening
- Genre: Educational
- Topics: Book Characters
- Pricing structure: Free
- Last updated: November 5, 2015
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