ALSC names more Great Websites for Kids

CHICAGO — The Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC), a division of the American Library Association, has added more outstanding websites to Great Websites for Kids, its online resource containing hundreds of links to exceptional websites for children.

The newly added sites are:

B.J. Pinchbeck's Homework Helper - www.bjpinchbeck.com
Common Core - State Standards Initiative - www.corestandards.org
Dav Pilkey's Extra Crunchy Website-O-Fun - www.pilkey.com
Engineer Girl - www.engineergirl.org/
Howtosmile.org - www.howtosmile.org
National Center for Learning Disabilities - www.ncld.org/
Start with a Book - www.startwithabook.org/
Tween Tribune - http://tweentribune.com
Tween Tribune en Español - http://tweentribune.com/spanish
Wonderopolis - http://wonderopolis.org

"Children in need of trusted online sources for reports or homework, parents and teachers looking for solid information about Common Core Standards, tweens after current news in Spanish OR English, budding scientists of any age---plus anyone who delights in amazing facts and rampant "Captain Underpants" style silliness will find it all just clicks away in this newest set of Great Websites,” according to 2013 Great Websites for Kids Committee co-Chairs John E. Peters, Bronx, N.Y., and Kimberly Probert Grad, library information supervisor, Brooklyn (N.Y.) Public Library.

Great Websites for Kids (GWS) features links to websites of interest to children 14 years of age and younger, organized into diverse subject headings such as animals and dinosaurs; games and entertainment; history and science; art and music; and much more. There is also a special section with sites of interest to parents, caregivers and teachers. Each site entry includes a brief annotation and a grade-level rating.

Members of the ALSC GWS Committee review potential sites for inclusion and vote on the sites to be included. They also regularly check the entire site to ensure currency and re-evaluate sites when necessary. The complete listing of recommended great sites with annotations and selection criteria can be found at http://greatsites.ala.org.

Members of the 2013 Great Websites for Kids Committee are: Kimberly Probert Grad, co-chair, Brooklyn (N.Y.) Public Library; John E. Peters, co-chair, Bronx, N.Y.; Paige Bentley-Flannery, Deschutes Public Library, Bend, Ore.; Lara Anne Crews, Forsyth County (N.C.) Public Library; Brandon M. Hines, Coffey County Library, Burlington, Kan.; Suzanne Gayetsky Kovach, Harford County (Md.) Public Library; Edward McCoy, Oakland (Calif.) Public Library; Lisa Taylor, Bamegat (N.J.) Branch Library; and Katherine Opal Scherrer, REFORMA Representative, Connected Communities, Lexington, Ky.

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