Most of us find ourselves at home right now. Perhaps you are a teacher or librarian and your place of work has been closed and you now have to share learning ideas electronically. Or, maybe you are home with children in charge of their education during this time. The ripple effect keeps going and going. Independent bookstores have canceled storytimes. The authors have had to cancel author visits. And on and on… BUT, so many amazing people are taking their resources online and offering them free to all of us. Plus, there are some resources that have always been free or low cost that can be accessed digitally.
So, I’m helping out by creating a master list for you to access and making it easy for you to share this post with other teachers, librarians, and families around the world. See those social share icons at the top and bottom of this article? Click on one and share it with others. Let’s spread the word about this list!
Online Literacy Resources
Storytimes
Storyline Online is a wonderful read-aloud free resource. Professional actors read some great picture books. One of our favorites is Betty White reading Harry the Dirty Dog.—>Storyline Online
KidLit TV also has lots of storytimes available to access for free. Listen to authors read their books. You’ll find The Crayon Man, I Am Peace, and more.—>KidLit TV (Be sure to browse around the KidLit TV site because there are many more awesome videos to check out too.)
Romper invites authors and famous people to read stories on Twitter in #OperationStorytime.—>See the Twitter Event
Catch your favorite celebrities and stars reading aloud at #SaveWithStories.—>Save With Stories on Instagram
Feel the comfort of your own childhood with LaVar Burton from Reading Rainbow. He’s reading children’s books on Twitter. He started with Amazing Grace.—>See the Twitter Read Aloud
Dolly Parton of the Imagination Library shares her voice reading aloud. She’s planning 10 stories over 10 weeks.—>View Available Episodes Here
The voice of Olaf from Frozen, Josh Gad, is reading on Twitter with some amazing voices. —> Follow #GadBookClub on Twitter. So far he’s read The Day The Crayons Quit, Rosie Revere Engineer, and so many more.
Publishers also have several read-alouds of their titles.
HarperKids—>Read-Aloud Videos on YouTube
Little, Brown Young Readers has someone read aloud titles such as Thank You, Omu, Bear Came Along, And the Adventures of Beekle.—>Read Aloud Videos on YouTube
Penguin Random House—>Read Brightly Storytime
Penguin Random House also has the “Read Together, Be Together” initiative. Their Facebook page has a variety of story time read-alouds including Michelle Obama reading each month beginning April 20th.—>Penguin Random House Facebook Page
Brightly will be doing a daily story time read by a storyteller each day at 2 pm EST on IGTV.—>Brightly IGTV
#NosyCrowStorytime is the hashtag to follow on Instagram and Twitter to find Nosy Crow’s story time daily for a picture book read-aloud.—>Nosy Crow on Instagram Also, check out #NosyCrowBookatBedtime for a chapter book read aloud daily. An audiobook stream of a chapter each night is available.
SimonKids has Snack & Read LIVE time on their Facebook page Tuesdays-Thursdays in the afternoon at 2pm EST.—>SimonKids Facebook
Authors Who Read Their Books Aloud
Jerry Pallotta will also be reading some of his books aloud on his YouTube channel.—>Jerry Pallotta’s YouTube Channel
James Dean will do a few Pete the Cat read alouds on Instagram Stories.—>Pete the Cat Instagram
Doreen Cronin is sharing her books on her Facebook page.—>Doreen Cronin Facebook Page
Oliver Jeffers is reading his books on Instagram.
Peter H. Reynolds will be reading his books daily on Facebook.—> Reynold’s Facebook Page
Laura Numeroff read If You Give a Mouse a Cookie on Facebook.—>See it here.
Kevin Henkes reads several of his stories in this video below.
The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle
The Don’t Worry Book by Todd Parr (so needed right now)
We Are the Water Protectors by Carole Lindstrom
Where’s My Teddy? by Jez Alborough
Llama Llama Mad at Mama by Anna Dewdney
The Book with No Pictures by B.J. Novak
Check the YouTube channel of your favorite authors to see if they have read any of their books too. I’ve heard that Lauren Tarshis will be planning things soon too.
Sing-Alongs
One of my favorite singers for children, Emily Arrow, is temporarily doing a sing-alons.—>Emily Arrow’s YouTube Channel
JBrary has oodles of sing-alongs, rhymes, and storytime songs.—>JBrary YouTube Channel
Sing-along with Julia Donaldson in The Breathing Song.
And, of course, don’t forget Dr. Jean songs.—>Dr. Jean’s YouTube Channel
Drawing with Illustrators
Arree Chung is offering a creativity camp.—>Register Here
Author and illustrator, Jarrett J. Krosoczka, will be doing drawing tutorials on his YouTube Channel. He is the creator of Hey, Kiddo, Lunch Lady, Star Wars Jedi Academy, and more.—>Jarrett J. Krosoczka YouTube Channel
Ben Clanton is doing a Facebook Live —>Ben Clanton Facebook Event
Mo Willems will do lunch doodles—>Mo Willems Lunch Doodles
Other Author, Illustrator, and Publisher Resources
Quarto Publishing brings us Quarto Classroom featuring authors sharing lessons on a variety of subjects.—>Quarto Classroom
Barnes and Noble is hosting story time with some fun read-alouds.—>Barnes and Noble YouTube Page
Author, Grace Lin, has created a new podcast. If your child has a question for an author or illustrator she will take it to them and get it answered. She is also sharing book reviews by kids. The podcast is called Kids Ask Authors. Have the kids submit a question or review.—>Kids Ask Authors
Scholastic has put together a 20-day learning resource room. There is a category for Pre-K, Grades 1st-2nd, Grades 3rd-5th, and Grades 6+. There are online stories to read and corresponding activities.—>Scholastic Learn at Home
Tumble Books Library is temporarily offering free access to their read-along collection. Use the username: Tumble735 and password: books—>Access Tumble Books Library
Read Ranger Rick digital magazines for free online through June.—>Get the Ranger Rick Digital Magazine
Audible is offering free streaming on select titles in both English and other languages. The service will remain free during the school closures.—Listen to Audible
Other Technology Resources on Growing Book by Book
Did you know that your public library most likely has a digital download service that allows you to check out audiobooks? Perhaps it is Hoopla, Libby, and Cloud Library. For more information about how to listen to audiobooks check out our Everything You Need for Getting Started with Audiobooks.
Audiobooks for Young Listeners
Podcasts of Children’s Books and Other Great Listening
Best Apps that Build Literacy Skills
YouTube Channels That are Worth Watching to Build Literacy Skills
Songs That Build Literacy Skills
Books, Books, and More Books
Many libraries are decreasing services or closing. Our local library has now closed. You can request books and pick them up if your library is still offering services. Luckily, I have almost 200 booklists to help you with that book selection. And, if you would rather buy books, all of our books are linked to Amazon. But, please don’t forget about your local independent bookshops. They really need the business and many of them are offering curbside pick-up.
Click here to see our organized list of booklists to help you find what you need.—>Books for Kids
If you need further book recommendations, my friends Happily Ever Elephants, Fantastic Fun and Learning, and What Do We Do All Day? also have many to choose from too.
Also, follow the hashtag #PictureBookoftheDay on Instagram. And, follow me on Instagram for daily book recommendations. —>Follow Jodie on Instagram.
Now, is also a great time to start a Family Dinner Book Club. Growing Book by Book has over 50 free ones to chose from.—>Start a Family Dinner Book Club.
Reading Challenges
Now is a great time for reading challenges too.
#ReadtheRainbowChallenge—>See the Read the Rainbow Challenge
Did I miss something? Please leave a comment below.
Engaging Online Literacy Meeting Activities
And, if you are doing Zoom meetings with students, try our engaging online meeting activities. It’s a big list of ideas.
Stay safe and healthy!
marie says
I am so excited to share these resources with all of my families. Thank you so so much!
Tim Fox says
Hi Jodie,
I am an indie author of three upper elementary/middle school novels (journeys; an ice age adventure/a place for you/journeys 2; an ice age rescue) who does a lot of school presentations primarily focused on the ice age. I also have 2 non-fiction books available free on google docs about the giant animals of the ice age. Would you be willing to add my works to some of your lists? Kids and parents need lots of reading options during these trying times. 🙂 Thanks, Tim Fox
Susie says
My goodness. This post is quite thorough and exciting. Kudos to you, gathering so much information . I know my 2 pre-K granddaughters will benefit immensely.
Jodie Rodriguez says
I’m happy to help.