Libraries are wonderful places. We have a terrific one near us, and I go regularly with my kids. But now there's another library to visit. It's open around the clock and you'll never incur a fine. It's the Web! When looking for something new for story time, these sites are worth exploring. [Editor's Note: An updated version of this topic can be found here: Story Hour]
-
These four beautifully illustrated books were published simultaneously in print and on the Internet . My favorite is "Waking in Jerusalem" by Sharon Katz. It is the story of a young child who arises before his parents and watches the city of Jerusalem wake up
-
This page contains five illustrated stories. I enjoyed "Do Spiders Live on the World Wide Web?" which defines common computer terms by contrasting them with everyday words. "White mouse: Small squeaky furry rodent. Computer mouse: A way of telling the computer what to do without using the keyboard."
-
This site rates a perfect score for it's three original illustrated stories and the discussion topics before and after each story. Go for a "Jellybean Adventure" and see where your imagination and a bag of jellybeans can transport you. This is the only story at this site suitable for small children. "Rebel Cows" is a parable about being threatened by a gang of cows. "The steer must have been the leader because he wore his Raider's cap tilted to the left." It includes an audio narration of the entire story, but I don't have the patience to download such large audio files. "The Grindelstark" is a fairy tale about a horrible forest monster who eats townsfolk, but in the end is outsmarted by a small girl.
-
By Barbara J. Feldman. Originally written on Mar 26, 1996. Last Modified on Feb 08, 2009.
-
Honorable Mentions
The following links are either new discoveries or sites that didn't make it into my newspaper column because of space constraints. Enjoy!
-