Library Blog

Logging in those reading minutes? Mix in some digital titles for fun!

Reading.  For some of us it is a joy and a pleasure, for others, a tiresome struggle.  But we know well that practice makes better, if not perfect, and that time spent reading pays off in increasingly improved comprehension and skill.  So every night we encourage our munchkins to complete assigned minutes of reading practice, waiting for that moment when they pick up a book and begin to read independently, not because we said so, but because they want to!  If you add some digital storybooks into the mix of titles they are reading, some children who are not mesmerized by the printed page might just perk up and read along happily.


If you’d like to add some spice to your story time; whether to pleasantly log in all your reading minutes each evening with an “I’d rather be spinning cartwheels” child, or to rest your sore throat during cold season, one of these online children’s storybook sites might be just what you need!  All are free; reinforce good language and reading skills, and are attractive and fairly simple to navigate for you and your child.  Some provide extra tools in support of the beginning or struggling reader, and one even offers selections in languages other than English.  Please click on the links below for a reading treat!


We Give Books  Reading enjoyment and service learning at the same time!  If you read a book at this site, you can select from a list of charities to receive a printed book for each digital title you read!


Story Time for Me   Scroll down to “Choose a Series to Explore.”  These stories are particularly well done with attractive illustration and text highlighted as the reader progresses through the story.


Speakaboos!  Choose from some cute free Arthur stories, fairy tales, etc.


MightyBook  This site has five free titles for children – select by age group.  You can subscribe for a wider selection.  Music, highlighted text and sound effects are incorporated into each story.


International Children’s Digital Library  Select and read stories from countries and cultures around the world in multiple languages, also for older readers.

Summer Reading

If you are looking forward to lazy summer days at the beach or in the mountains, book (or Kindle) in hand, there is a lot of great reading to be done!  Our MYP students (entering grades 6, 7, and 8) all have some required reading over the summer break.  Click the links below or at the right for your grade level to access these documents for your child.

Our PYP Lower School students can read for the fun of it... and if they happen to be entering 4th or 5th grade... Whoopee!  They can start reading this summer to join our BOB Club at St. Mary's in the fall.  To get in on the excitement, come to the LMC on Tuesday, May 31 at 3:15 with your book-loving child about to move up from 3rd or 4th grade.  We'll tell you all about the club and how to make the most of it. 

Entering 8th Grade Required Summer Reading Document

Entering 7th Grade Required Summer Reading Document

Entering 6th Grade Required Summer Reading Document

PYP Suggested Reading List

BOB Reading List and BOB Book Log

Reading for Pleasure... Try It!

Much has been written about the benefits of reading for pleasure, and Oxford University published a study this spring showing a correlation between recreational reading as a teen and attaining a professional career. More than 17,000 individuals born in 1970 were asked what they did in their spare time when they were 16 years old. Those who chose to spend time reading were more likely at age 33 to have a profession than those who did not. It’s not news that children who love to read have found the golden ticket, but for our children on the cusp, who might enjoy reading with a little encouragement and organization on the part of their significant adults, we should remember that it takes time and space, a great story, and sometimes a bit of cuddly company to start the ball rolling. There is a book out there for everyone and a great joy of being a librarian is matching a child with the book that woos them into the world of the passionate reader.

This year some of our fourth and fifth grade students joined in the Battle of the Books experience, a giant book club, where reading for fun is fiercely practiced, hoarded, mulled, conversed, and then brandished in a multi-school competition of retention and inspiration. It is a wonderful program, creating serious recreational readers who before just dabbled on the surface of a story. Good to know we are on the right track!

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