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Monday, August 10, 2009

20 Places to Find Free Children's Books Online

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The following is a guest article from Karen Schweitzer of About. com.


20 Places to Find Free Children's Books Online

The local public library isn’t the only place to find free books for kids. There are many different sites online that offer free children's books to read or listen to. Here are 20 places to read, create, and share free children's books online:



International Children's Digital Library - The ICDL hosts many different reading resources for children, including a wide range of illustrated books that can be read for free online. Books are easy to locate using the ICDL search features and are often available in multiple languages.


The Baldwin Online Children's Project - This amazing resource provides one of the best classic book collections that can be found online. Many of the books include illustrations and can be read on the web using a customizable reader.


Big Universe - This award-winning site is devoted entirely to children's books. Kids can read free books online, create and print their own books, and share reading recommendations with other Big Universe members.


Magic Keys - Magic Keys offers illustrated books for younger children, older children, and young adults. All books can be read for free online.


Children's Books Online - This volunteer-driven project provides a large online library of illustrated antique books for children of all ages. New books are added to the site each week.


ByGosh.com - ByGosh.com provides a modest collection of illustrated classics for younger children (Three Little Pigs, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, etc.) and classic novels (Huckleberry Finn, Peter Pan, etc.) for older children.


Mighty Book - Might Book offers a hodgepodge of animated stories, songs, jokes, and puzzles that can be enjoyed for free online. The site also has a paid membership service that opens up more resources.


Hans Christian Andersen Online - This site features a complete collection of stories from Hans Christian Andersen--nearly 170 stories in all.


Zelo - Zelo offers a large collection of free nursery rhymes for children.


Page By Page Books - This free online library features hundreds of free classic books sorted by title and author.


Classic Book Library - The Classic Book Library offers a wide range of free classic books that can be read online. More than 30 free books are available in the children's literature category.


Classic Reader - Classic Reader provides hundreds of the best-loved classics for young readers. All of the books can be read for free online and may be reviewed after reading.


PublicLiterature.org - This site offers two features for young booklovers: a modern books blog, which features new works and new authors, and a classic books section, which offers an easy-to-use interface for reading classic books online.


The Literature Network - The Literature Network is a great place for older children to find free books to read online. The site hosts classic books as well as author biographies and quizzes.


Online Books Page - The Online Books Page does not host children's books exclusively, but the site does provide more than 35,000 books that can be read for free online. Many of the books are classic stories that would be appropriate for older children and young adults.


Read Print - This free online library serves both children and adults. It is an excellent place to find classic novels, poems, plays, and short stories.


Lil Fingers - Lil Fingers offers a small collection of story books for young children. Books can be read online and include sounds and graphics.


Starfall - This site offers free books and other material that can be used to teach small children how to read. Most of the books are suited for kids in kindergarten through second grade.


Librivox - Librivox volunteers record books that are in the public domain. Children will enjoy many of the audio books in Librivox's extensive catalog.


Storyline Online - This site from The Screen Actors Guild Foundation features videos of famous people reading books to children.



Guest post from education writer Karen Schweitzer. Karen is the About.com Guide to Business School. She also writes about online college courses for OnlineCourses.org.


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