Freekidsbooks.org

One of my students showed me a really great site. This student was a life skills student. Our high school library did not have a large number of books for a student with a lower reading level. Free Kids Books to the rescue!  My student was excited about the book she was reading. As we talked she told me she was able to log into freekidsbooks.org and select a variety of free books that were at her level.

A little research on the site revealed the site is run by Danielle Bruckert, a pilot who has written books about aviation. She allows submissions from other authors. Books can be read online or printed as a pdf.

The site allows a search by topic and filtered by age. Toddler books are  largely pictures with just a few words. Children’s books have a few pictures and lots of words. Although the site has a tab for young adult books, those books are aimed for kids under 12 and are “G” rated. In this section you will find chapter books.

Storyline Online

The same student also introduced me to another source Storyline Online.  When I first went to this site I clicked on Hey, That’s My Monster and to my surprise, Lily Tomlin appeared on my screen reading the book!  A quick review of the site revealed almost 40 titles read by a variety of authors including Kevin Costner and Betty White (among others).  Viewing is possible using SchoolTube or YouTube.

Clicking on All Books at the top brings you to a menu which will show the book, the artist who reads the book and the running time.  Most books also include a teachers guide with a suggested grade level, synopsis, common core standards, themes, before, during and after reading activities. The step by step instructions would be a great source for leaving this for a substitute if necessary.  There is also an option to buy the book which will open the book in a third party site. There is no charge for the guides or videos.

Need a resource for independent reading task cards? Click on the graphic below to visit Tpt.