Seen On

3 On Your Side: Online Book Sites For Kids

PHILADELPHIA (CBS 3) ― Recent reports found kids and adults spend an average of just seven minutes a day reading for pleasure. As children head back to school next week, 3-On Your Side's Jim Donovan found a way you can get your kids to read without having to twist their arm, now technology may be stepping in to help.

Debora Hoard and her daughter Georgia love to read.

Debora says, "I will pretty much talk about books with anyone."

While she loves traditional book clubs, Georgia gets her fix at online book sites.

"It's so easy to find information about the book and so easy to find other people are who talking about the book," says Georgia.

There are more online book sites than ever, many of them for kids.

The sites contain everything from best seller lists to reviews and message boards. Some, like teenreads.com also share author interviews.

Boys of all ages can visit guysread.com for a list that includes comics and you can see what kids in other countries are reading at encompassculture.com. You may even find online books at some sites.

Kylene Beers of the National Council of Teachers of English says, "Kids may not be spending as much time reading a novel, but they're spending a lot more time reading things online."

The sites are free, but keep in mind, many are run by educators and publishers also looking to sell products. They only offer their own book lists, which may be limited.

According to Beers, "If they're going to an online book club site, look at it carefully, see if you can figure out who's promoting that book club."

The sites keep changing too. Just last month Scholastic launched 'The Stacks', which it says is a unique 'Facebook'-type site for kids who love books.


RELATED LINKS:

Teenreads.com
Guys Read
en Compasss - The Global Bookclub
Scholastic

(© MMVIII, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)

---