The International Children's Digital Library <http://www.childrenslibrary.org/> is an online site with a collection of children's books from around the world.  ICDL's researchers have contacted the original authors for the works to include on the site's database.  The site's FAQ describes the background as:

The International Children's Digital Library (ICDL) is a research project funded primarily by the National Science Foundation (NSF), the Institute for Museum and Library Services (IMLS), and Microsoft Research to create a digital library of outstanding children's books from all over the world. The project was introduced at an international celebration at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. in November 2002. The collection's focus is on identifying materials that help children to understand the world around them and the global society in which they live. The materials in the collection, all presented in the original languages in which they were published, reflect similarities and differences in cultures, societies, interests, and lifestyles of peoples around the world. At the end of the initial research period, it is anticipated that the ICDL collection will include approximately 10,000 materials in at least 100 languages.

Since these are original scans from copyrighted works, you really shouldn't print these out, but they would be great to project in a classroom with an LCD project, interactive whiteboard or big screen TV.

 
 

As the name implies, Free Comic Book Day is a single day when participating comic book shops across North America and around the world are giving away comic books absolutely free to anyone who comes into their stores.

To see which stores in the Memphis area are participating or to find a store in your area, check out this link to a store locator.

 
 

AUTHOR:    Audrey Wood
AGES:    Preschool to Beginning Readers
REVIEW:    The Napping House is a rhyming tale of a house where everyone is sleeping on a rainy afternoon. The story begins with the napping granny, and one by one the other characters join her in the bed for a nap, each piling on top of the others until there is so many that inevitably, they will all be woken from their peaceful nap. When the energetic flea wakes the dog, chaos ensues and everyone is abruptly woken from slumber.  Throughout the story there is a repetitive rhyme that builds with each character that joins the pile.

What I enjoyed the most about this story is how the rhyme scheme built up the intensity of the plot while also making it very easy for a young child to follow. The book is simple yet charming and is a great book for nap or bed time of course!  However, I cannot discuss the book without acknowledging the illustrations. In my opinion, they are one of the best features of this book! The images are whimsical and dreamy, which goes along perfectly with the story. They really brought the characters to life in such a beautiful way.  For another short review, Family Reads offers this post on taking naps, and Lauren's World Literature for Children also comments on the building nature of the story.  Lauren also offers this teaching idea:

This book is a great way to get students involved in writing. They could write cumulative stories themselves, along with drawing the pictures. Students will enjoy that because it is a very simple method of writing. For younger students, there are great activity pages on Audrey Wood's website. There is one worksheet that students complete to find shapes inside the house.

This book was created by a husband and wife team, the wife Audrey writes and her husband Don illustrates. This book won several awards when it was published in 1984 including the New York Times Best Illustrated Children’s Book, the Golden Kite Award from the Society of Children’s Book Writers, a National Council of Teachers of English 1984 Teacher’s Choice, as well as several others.

Guest Blogger:  My name is Sara H.,  and I am a student at the University of Memphis. I graduated with a BA in history in December of 2007 and I am currently working towards my Master’s of Arts in Teaching. I hope to teach history at the secondary level and cannot wait to start!! I have a real passion for history, but I also enjoy spending time with my family, my boyfriend, and my feisty American bulldog puppy.