photo by D’Arcy Norman www.flickr.com
Today is one of those days when I can’t get caught up. That’s the reason why I am writing this blog post after dinner instead of this morning, and why it is going to be short. 
But I do have an idea that I want to share with parents, teachers, and librarians that I don’t think we do as much as we could–use author’s and illustrator’s websites with the books we share with children. I know I’m usually talking about “using books” on here, but today I just want to remind you that it is also important to use the free resources readily available to you. One of those great resources are the authors’ and illustrators’ websites.
For example, take award-winning author Kenneth Oppel’s website. WOW! It is super cool. If you don’t know who Kenneth Oppel is, he has written several books for kids including The Silverwing Saga ( a series) and Airborn and Skybreaker. On his site, he has a special link just for teachers, which includes novel studies for his books. Take a few minutes and explore his site (especially if you are an aspiring or published author and are looking for some website ideas).
So, my suggestion to you is when you are sharing a book with your child or your students that they really love or you are looking for some lesson ideas–and I haven’t covered the book yet on here, then do a Google search for the author’s name and check out their website. Authors will often post interviews and bios on their websites, too, in case your child has to do a report on the author. Finally, if your child or students are interested in art or you love a particular illustrator’s work, then Google that artist to see if they have a website where you will be able to discover more about their work. I L-O-V-E illustrators’ websites.
Do you happen to have a favorite author website? Let us know!
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