Sorrow

I just have no words other than to say my heart hurts for those poor babies and the amazing educators who did their best in the most horrifying of situations.  I am praying for you all.

We Give Books!

I know.  I was back, and then I was gone!  So swamped (in a good way) with work and holiday stuff.  Hopefully you will bear with me and my erratic posting for a bit longer!

Just popping in today to share an amazing web site.  It is AMAZING with all capitals!! :-)  The site is called We Give Books  and is geared for children ages 0-10.  It is a nonprofit site that allows you to read current, popular, and interesting picture books online.  And, for every book read online they donate a book.   That's great and I love that they do that, but I am touting this site for purely selfish reasons!  Let me show you some screen shots of the site before I tell you why I love it so much.

Here is shot of what the bookshelf looks like.  I'm in the "Read" tab you see at the top of the page.  As you can see, they have known books like The Snow Day.  There are a lot of familiar books available on the site.

I also like that there are books for your older readers.  I cropped this picture a bit so you could see the titles a bit better.  They have graphic novels for the 8-10 year old readers that are not boring!  The graphic novels also seem very boy-friendly.  Have to hook those boys into reading!!

Another plus, there are a lot of holiday books available.  Frosty the Snowman, Snowmen at Night, and Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer to name a few.  But, even if you don't do the Christmas books, there are great winter themed books like The Mitten, Three Snow Bears, and of course The Snowy Day!

As I wrote before, the nonprofit, book donating part of this site is amazing.  But, I also love this site because:

• The books are great!
• There is a great mix of fiction and nonfiction available.
•  It's a wonderful resource for shared reading, especially if. . .
•  If you have a Smart Board or a Promethean Board, you can project them on your screen for all to see.
• You can bring it up on an iPad or computer screen for guided reading groups or just for a student to read independently.
• The fact that the book is on a screen rather than a book form will be a sure hook for some reluctant readers.
•  Reading a book online can be a literacy center.  Easy peasy!
• When you open the books, with a click the pages turn just as they would in a real book.
•  The age range of books, the varied levels, makes it friendly for most elementary grade levels.

Just some tips: 

• When you go to WeGiveBooks.org, you will need to register in order to read the books.  However, it is a free site and you won't have to do much more beyond registering. 
• When you open a book, go to full screen mode.  The book will be easier to read and more engaging.
• When you finish and want to exit full screen mode. . . well, for some reason I can never find the exit button!  I just hit the "escape" button on my computer and it takes me back to the bookshelf.

By the way, I am not affiliated with this site in any way, but I know a gem when I see one and wanted to share.  Happy Reading!!!  I'm off to do some more Christmas shopping today.  Have a great day!