Website: Start with a Book

URL: http://www.startwithabook.org

Other Choices: Ready to Learn Reading, International Children's Digital Library, Starfall, You Are What You Read

Synopsis: Start with a topic, and site will you lead to a great book.

Common Sense Rates It:

Parents need to know
Parents need to know that Start With a Book is an exceptionally helpful site for parents and teachers who are looking for book suggestions, reading activities, and practical tips for teaching kids to read. Books are categorized by theme so you can choose subjects that you know interest your kid. This site is not really for kids to peruse, but rather for adults to find good reading resources to offer kids. (Make sure you're typing in ".org," as there is also a ".com" site with the same name.)

• Families can talk about taking time to read. Ask your kid what's good about turning off the TV, computer, and mobile devices for some quiet reading time? What's difficult about it?
• Set some reading time goals, and read with and/or alongside your child.
• Try some of the suggested activities to make connections between the books you and your kid are reading and hands-on learning.

What's the story?
START WITH A BOOK gives practical suggestions to parents who want to foster a love of reading in their kids, grades K-5. First, parents choose a topic that their kid is interested in from a long list of subjects -- art, animals, nature, dinosaurs, and more. Then, they can purchase the books directly from amazon.com or print a book list for the library. The site also lists ideas for extended learning activities, including related apps and website, and it provides information from many sources on teaching reading and reading comprehension.

Is it any good?
This site is a powerfully comprehensive resource for parents, teachers, and librarians who want to find great books in the topics that typically interest kids, and who want to teach good reading skills to kids. There's so much information here that it's almost overwhelming. It may be best at first to start with your kid's interest and gradually fan out on the site from there. It would be great if site creators would add a section just for kids; right now the site is generally for adults to find books, activities, and reading tips for kids, but not for kids themselves.