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Login as you would for your computer sign in.

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Stevens Point Area School District - Sign In

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🤣

What superhero are you? Let's find out!

3/17

You are: SPIDER-MAN!

Fearless, funny and a faithful ally - you never crack under pressure. Nice result, webhead!

You are: WONDER WOMAN!

You're caring, strong and an all-round superhero!

You are: BATMAN!

Intense, brooding and tough as rubber tights, you're a symbol of courage and totally unshakeable. Nice work!

You are: SUPERGIRL!

With super-strength and super-speed, you are, in a word - super!

Re-take the Quiz!

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What Superhero Are You Quiz! | Beano.com

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🤣 Fearless, funny and a faithful ally - you never crack under pressure. Nice result, webhead! You're caring, strong and an all-round superhero! Intense, brooding and tough as rubber tights, you're a symbol of courage and totally unshakeable. Nice work! With super-strength and super-speed, you are, in a word - super!

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Grade 7-12 ebook database
Username: tumble2020 (if needed)
Password: A3b5c6 (if needed)

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New Graphic Novels

New YA/Teen Books

Kate DiCamillo

Shakespeare

Gareth Hinds Graphic Novels

Must Read Classics

Fan Favorites

Graphic Classics

Graphic Novel Biographies

"We are using and loving Tumblebooks and TeenBookCloud more than ever. We are 1:1 in grades 6-12, and have many, many devices at the elementary level. Students are using it for their free reading, class novels and we really love the audiobooks, especially for our students who need some assistive help with reading.

Products continue to work well with all our devices and our network, keep up the great work and adding more content."

Connie Deutsch
Fargo Public Schools

"I love TeenBookCloud. It is such an amazing site that offers unlimited access to several classic readings like "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" and "Romeo & Juliet." The enhanced eBooks are one of the best features. To have the text highlighted as read is a necessity for our struggling readers. We are 1:1 with Chromebooks and TeenBookCloud works great on them. It is a great value for the price."
Emily Dittmar
Muskego High School

"We LOVE TeenBookCloud at our school for use during the Listen to Reading component of Daily 5. The wide variety of books gives students the opportunity to select engaging good-fit books."
Jade VanDamme
Imperial School

"One of my favorite things is that you have included some of the classics like Pride and Prejudice, Romeo and Juliet, The Scarlet Letter and many others! With TumbleBooks we no longer have to purchase class sets of novels which get worn and then tossed!! Great way to get kids interested in reading again!!"
Tina P. Bullington
Stokes County Schools

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"We are using and loving Tumblebooks and TeenBookCloud more than ever. We are 1:1 in grades 6-12, and have many, many devices at the elementary level. Students are using it for their free reading, class novels and we really love the audiobooks, especially for our students who need some assistive help with reading.

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All ages audio book database
Username: tumble2020 (if needed)
Password: A3b5c6 (if needed)

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AudioBookCloud: Your Online Audio Library - is an online audio book library collection.

A subscription to AudioBookCloud gives unlimited streaming access to the entire collection.

No downloads. No software. No holds. No waiting periods. Unlimited access to all the books, all the time.

Just click and listen.

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AudioBookCloud: Your Online Audio Library - is an online audio book library collection. A subscription to AudioBookCloud gives unlimited streaming access to the entire collection. No downloads. No software. No holds. No waiting periods. Unlimited access to all the books, all the time. Just click and listen.

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K-6 children's ebook database
Username: tumble735 (if needed)
Password: books (if needed)

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What a treasure. This site is extremely useful for non readers of all ages. My children just love it. I have shared this site with many of our special needs teachers across our county. Thanks so much for providing such a fun, affordable, and worthwhile product.
Renee
Special Education Teacher, MI
We love TumbleBooks!!! I should add the kids do, too!! TumbleBooks has allowed us to introduce a vast collection of books to students and they W A N T to read. It gives them choice, gives them some control over their own learning, all while at an appropriate reading level. What could be better?
Kathy
Reading Consultant Seth Haley School, CT
I love this site! The fact that the levels of books available are so far-reaching makes this a wonderful site for classrooms---virtually any child can utilize the features on this site. The book report feature is great as well--right along with many of the standards we are teaching in our classrooms, and a great tool for guiding students. The quizzes offer students feedback, and also encouragement as they continue to read. This promotes a feeling of success among students, and furthers their love for literature and reading.
Tammy
Curriculum Coach, SC
This is the best interactive read aloud website I have found. My students and I love it. We can always locate a book easy that connects to what we have been studying. The students love to watch the pictures, and as they progress with their decoding skills they pick out words that they know. When we watch one of these books, I have to pause it after every page so they can find all their sight words that are on the page. The website makes it like have a celebrity reader in our room daily. Thank you so much for your wonderful reading website.
Brandi
Kindergarten, AL

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TumbleBookLibrary is a curated database of children's e-books, available by subscription to Elementary Schools and Public Libraries around the world. TumbleBookLibrary Premium has over 1100 titles for grades K-6, and includes our unique animated, talking picture books, read-along chapter books, non fiction books and videos, curated playlists, as well as books in Spanish and French.

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K-6 math ebook database
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Password: A3b5c6 (if needed)

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Female Superhero Accused of Sexism and Racism

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Female Superhero Accused of Sexism and Racism

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Power up: Marvel boss Kevin Fiege says she is "the strongest character we've ever had." © Marvel

After making 20 superhero movies in the past decade, today Marvel releases its 21st - and the first with a female lead. Some fans are accusing Captain Marvel's star of sexism and racism. Why?

Brie Larson loves her latest film character, Carol Danvers (aka Captain Marvel). And it is not because she has superpowers. It is because she was "doing amazing things even before she had superpowers."

Carol Danvers is a former US Air Force pilot - but she has lost her memories of that time and somehow gained alien powers.

The film is out in cinemas today. It is the 21st movie in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. However, it is the first with a female lead.

The reviews have been mixed. The Telegraph calls it "big on girl-boss attitude". The Hollywood Reporter calls it "mundane".

Some Marvel fans are criticising Larson personally, accusing her of "racist" and "sexist" comments. Why?

Larson has been vocal about diversity in Hollywood for some time. In an interview with Marie Claire, she said that she had noticed that film critics were "overwhelmingly white male." She has started asking for more diverse interviewers.

She points to research which shows that 77.3% of top film critics are men, while 88.2% are white. In total, 65.6% are white men.

"Am I saying that I hate white dudes? No, I'm not," she said in a speech last year. But "I don't want to hear what a white man has to say about A Wrinkle in Time [...] It wasn't made for him!"

"With great power..."

Does this make her sexist and racist? She says she wants to "bring more seats up to the table. No one is getting their chair taken away." But hiring more minority directors and critics will probably mean fewer opportunities for white men. Is this fair enough?

Is it possible to be racist against white people? Some say no, because white people in the West have traditionally held all the power. And yet an NPR poll found that 55% of white Americans believed there is "discrimination against white people". Why do they feel this way?

You Decide

Will you be watching Captain Marvel at the cinema?

Activities

Without looking it up in the dictionary, write your own definition of racism. Compare it with an official definition. Do you think Brie Larson's comments were racist?

Some People Say...

"Being the best you can be...That's doable. That's possible for anybody if they put their mind to it."

Carol Danvers (Ms. Marvel comics, Vol 2)

What do you think?

Q & A

What do we know?

The character of Carol Danvers was created in 1968 as a love interest. She got her superhero powers later, and now she is known as the most powerful hero in the Marvel Universe.

What do we not know?

How the film will be received by audiences. It is expected to make $100 million in its opening weekend, half the amount made by Black Panther during the same period last year.

Word Watch

Research

The study was published by the Annenberg Inclusion Initiative. It looked at reviews of the top 300 films between 2015-17.

Speech

Made at the Crystal + Lucy Awards in June last year. In the same speech she announced a plan to connect studios with underrepresented journalists for their films.

A Wrinkle in Time

A fantasy film about a mixed race teenage girl.

NPR poll

The poll surveyed 902 white adults between January and April 2017. It found that 84% of white people believed discrimination existed against racial and ethnic minorities too.

PDF Download

Please click on "Print view" at the top of the page to see a print friendly version of the article.

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Female superhero accused of sexism and racism

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After making 20 superhero movies in the past decade, today Marvel releases its 21st - and the first with a female lead. Some fans are accusing Captain Marvel's star of sexism and racism. Why? Brie Larson loves her latest film character, Carol Danvers (aka Captain Marvel). And it is not because she has superpowers.

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Why it’s so important for kids to see diverse TV and movie characters

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Why it’s so important for kids to see diverse TV and movie characters

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Television continues to be the main source of media consumption for kids. Arthimedes/Shutterstock.com

The hype surrounding " Black Panther" has been as hyperbolic as any feat its characters might perform, with the film being praised for its layered story and what's been described as its "Afrofuturist" cast. And "Black Panther" will be joined by " A Wrinkle in Time," another film with blockbuster potential and an interracial cast.

But no matter how much money or how many awards films like "Black Panther" and "A Wrinkle in Time" amass, our research strongly suggests another reason they're important: Children need a diverse universe of media images. And for the most part, they haven't had one.

Some progress, but ...

In the 1970s, Boston University communications professor F. Earle Barcus began publishing the results of content analyses he had conducted on children's television. His findings showed large disparities between the numbers of male and female characters and between the numbers of white and non-white characters. In a 1983 study, Barcus analyzed over 1,100 characters in 20 children's television programs and found that only 42 were black. Just 47 others belonged to some group other than white.

Since then, researchers have consistently found that the animated worlds children see on television are out of sync with their real environments.

Over the past seven years, we've continued studying this topic at the Children's Television Project (CTV) at Tufts University, documenting images of different races, gender and ethnicities in the most popular children's animated series. We've also taken steps to try to understand why stereotyped portrayals still exist well into the 21st century. Finally, we're starting to develop ways to study and collect data about how children process the images they're exposed to on TV.

In order to categorize the images children see, we've developed a system for coding the race, ethnic identity, gender and age of primary and secondary characters in children's animated television shows. We've also included a sociolinguistic component to the analysis, because we know that children are absorbing both sights and sounds as they process media.

The good news is that the world of children's animated television is more diverse than it used to be. For example, we've found that female characters account for just under one-third of all characters. Discouraging as this may appear, it's a significant improvement from the 1:6 ratio that F. Earle Barcus had previously found, and better than the 1:4 ratio that communications professors Teresa Thompson and Eugenia Zerbinos found in the 1990s.

There's more racial and ethnic diversity, too. Black characters account for 5.6 percent of our total sample of over 1,500 characters. ( A study conducted in 1972 by researchers Gilbert Mendelson and Morissa Young for Action for Children's Television found that over 60 percent of the TV shows in their sample had no racial minority characters at all.) There are many more Asian or Asian-American characters (11.6 percent), though this likely due to the prevalence of a few popular cartoons featuring mostly Asian characters such as " Legend of Korra."

The bad news is that there's still a ways to go. African-Americans represent an estimated 13.3 percent of the U.S. population. Meanwhile, Hispanic or Latinos make up 17.8 percent of the population, but we've found Latino characters only made up 1.4 percent of our sample.

Furthermore, stereotypes persist in both how characters are drawn and how they talk, with "bad guys" using non-American accents and dialects. We see this in characters like Dr. Doofenshmirtz from "Phineas and Ferb" or Nightmare Moon on "My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic."

To try to understand why stereotyping persists, we've interviewed some of the people who write, direct, cast and provide vocal talent for children's animated programming. While we haven't completed this part of the study, it seems that economic pressures compel the creators of children's animated programming to rely on stereotyping as a kind of shorthand.

For example, one director of a popular children's animated show told us, "If something's worked before, you tend to just use it again," even if that "something" is stereotyped. An African-American voice actor reported being in auditions where he was told to make something sound "urban," a code word for a more stereotyped African-American dialect.

Kids, quick to judge

But the real question is why this all matters.

Studies from many fields have shown that it's important for children to see characters who not only look like themselves and their families, but also sound like them.

There's a relationship between low self-esteem and negative media portrayals of racial groups, in addition to an association between poor self-esteem and the paucity of portrayals of a particular group. Others have found that media misrepresentations of ethnic groups can cause confusion about aspects of their identity among children of these groups.

PanicAttack/Shutterstock.com

In our study of how children process the sights and sounds of animated worlds, we developed a method in which we show children images of diverse animated faces and play voices that use different dialects. We then ask kids to tell us if the person is a good person, a bad person, or if they can't tell. We follow this up by asking them why they think what they do.

Though we're not far enough along yet in our research to provide definitive answers to our questions, we do have some preliminary findings.

First and foremost, kids notice differences.

We've found that first- and second-grade children, when presented with a variety of drawn cartoon character faces they haven't seen before, have no problem sorting them into "good" and "bad" characters.

In fact, many children have clearly developed ideas and are able to tell us lengthy stories about why they think a particular character might be a hero or villain with minimal information. Sometimes this seems to be based on their belief that a character looks like another media character they've seen. They'll then make the assumption that a face they're shown looks like "a princess" or "someone who goes to jail." With the lack of diversity in the world of children's television, it's not surprising that kids would make associations with so little information. But it's also a bit alarming - given what we know about the prevalence of stereotyping - that children seem so quick to make attributions of who's good and who's evil.

It's important that children not only have a diverse universe of characters but also that these characters have diverse characteristics. It's okay for characters to have non-American accents, but good guys - not just bad guys - should have them too. The heroes can be male and female, and non-white characters don't have to be relegated to the role of sidekick: They can assume leading roles.

This brings us back to why these new films are so groundbreaking. Yes, "Black Panther" is demonstrating that a film about a black superhero can shatter box- office records. Yes, "A Wrinkle in Time" is the first $100 million movie directed by a woman of color.

But beyond all that, these films break the mold by showing the complexity and variety of black male and female experiences.

If more movies, TV shows and animated series follow suit, perhaps we will finally move beyond the underdeveloped and stereotyped characters that children have been exposed to for far too long.

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Why it's so important for kids to see diverse TV and movie characters

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The hype surrounding " Black Panther" has been as hyperbolic as any feat its characters might perform, with the film being praised for its layered story and what's been described as its "Afrofuturist" cast. And "Black Panther" will be joined by " A Wrinkle in Time," another film with blockbuster potential and an interracial cast.

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Create Your Own Comic Strips Online with MakeBeliefsComix

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We Offer Support and Resources.

From Richard Byrne, editor of Practical Ed Tech Tip of the Week -- ''Creating Comics for Comfort'' -- Living in Maine and father of two school-age children, Richard wrote the following item for teachers and students dealing with the terrible tragedy of the recent mass shootings in that state. He thought this an appropriate time to review and use Social and Emotional Learning resources, such as those offered by MakeBeliefsComix.com.

Make Beliefs Comix offers a library of fantastic, free ebooks for SEL. The library hosted by Make Beliefs Comix contains fillable PDFs that you can download for free. The latest addition to that library is 50+ Ways to Talk to Yourself and Find Healing. And for something a bit lighter, take a look at Pet Words: Conversations With Your Animal Friends.

"Here's a video overview of the Make Beliefs Comix ebooks and here's one about how to create comic strips on the Make Beliefs Comix website."

For many LGBTQ+ kids, especially when they're figuring things out, finding accepting spaces online can sometimes feel safer. Seek out creative opportunities and modes of self-expression, with this section in Make Beliefs Comix.

READ ABOUT US IN THE NEW YORK TIMES!

ARTICLE #1: (click on the link below)
MakeBeliefsComix encourages students to create their own visual pandemic diary.

ARTICLE #2: (click on the link below)
One easy way to start playing with ideas is through the free, online tool at MakeBeliefsComix.com.

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Create Comics Online, it's Fun & Free at MakeBeliefsComix!

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Create comics online at MakeBeliefsComix. A fun way educators & parents can empower students to express ideas and stories in comix!

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Explore Hidden Worlds of our National Parks

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Explore Hidden Worlds of our National Parks

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Explore The Hidden Worlds of our National Parks

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Explore The Hidden Worlds of our National Parks

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Follow rangers on a journey to places most people never go in stunning 360° video.

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Going into a self-quarantine can have many complex issues and complications beyond having enough food and supplies for two weeks. In terms of entertainment, it also probably means you're in for a lot of boredom, a lot of Netflix, and a lot of browsing the internet.

But there is a way to get a little culture and education while you're confined to your home. According to Fast Company, Google Arts & Culture teamed up with over 2500 museums and galleries around the world to bring anyone and everyone virtual tours and online exhibits of some of the most famous museums around the world..

Now, you get "go to the museum" and never have to leave your couch.

Google Arts & Culture's collection includes the British Museum in London, the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam, the Guggenheim in New York City, and literally hundreds of more places where you can gain knowledge about art, history, and science. This collection is especially good for students who are looking for ways to stay on top of their studies while schools are closed.

Take a look at just some of Google's top museums that are offering online tours and exhibits. Museums around the world are also sharing their most zen art on social media to help people cope with staying home. And if that's not enough culture for you, New York's Metropolitan Opera will be offering free digital shows every night at 7:30 p.m. Now you can even go "outside" with incredible virtual tours of some of America's best national parks.

British Museum, London

This iconic museum located in the heart of London allows virtual visitors to tour the Great Court and discover the ancient Rosetta Stone and Egyptian mummies. You can also find hundreds of artifacts on the museum's virtual tour.

Guggenheim Museum, New York

Google's Street View feature lets visitors tour the Guggenheim's famous spiral staircase without ever leaving home. From there, you can discover incredible works of art from the Impressionist, Post-Impressionist, Modern and Contemporary eras.

National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.

This famous American art museum features two online exhibits through Google. The first is an exhibit of American fashion from 1740 to 1895, including many renderings of clothes from the colonial and Revolutionary eras. The second is a collection of works from Dutch Baroque painter Johannes Vermeer.

Musée d'Orsay, Paris

You can virtually walk through this popular gallery that houses dozens of famous works from French artists who worked and lived between 1848 and 1914. Get a peek at artworks from Monet, Cézanne, and Gauguin, among others.

National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Seoul

One of Korea's popular museums can be accessed from anywhere around the world. Google's virtual tour takes you through six floors of Contemporary art from Korea and all over the globe.

Pergamon Museum, Berlin

As one of Germany's largest museums, Pergamon has a lot to offer - even if you can't physically be there. This historical museum is home to plenty of ancient artifacts including the Ishtar Gate of Babylon and, of course, the Pergamon Altar.

Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam

Explore the masterworks from the Dutch Golden Age, including works from Vermeer and Rembrandt. Google offers a Street View tour of this iconic museum, so you can feel as if you're actually wandering its halls.

Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam

Anyone who is a fan of this tragic, ingenious painter can see his works up close (or, almost up close) by virtually visiting this museum - the largest collection of artworks by Vincent van Gogh, including over 200 paintings, 500 drawings, and over 750 personal letters.

The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles

European artworks from as far back as the 8th Century can be found in this California art museum. Take a Street View tour to discover a huge collection of paintings, drawings, sculptures, manuscripts, and photographs.

Uffizi Gallery, Florence

This less well-known gallery houses the art collection of one of Florence, Italy's most famous families, the de'Medicis. The building was designed by Giorgio Vasari in 1560 specifically for Cosimo I de'Medici, but anyone can wander its halls from anywhere in the world.

MASP, São Paulo

The Museu de Arte de São Paulo is a non-profit and Brazil's first modern museum. Artworks placed on clear perspex frames make it seem like the artwork is hovering in midair. Take a virtual tour to experience the wondrous display for yourself.

National Museum of Anthropology, Mexico City

Built in 1964, this museum is dedicated to the archaeology and history of Mexico's pre-Hispanic heritage. There are 23 exhibit rooms filled with ancient artifacts, including some from the Mayan civilization.

Sadly, not all popular art museums and galleries could be included on Google Arts & Culture's collection, but some museums are taking it upon themselves to offer online visits. According to Fast Company, the Louvre also offers virtual tours on its website.

To see more of Google Arts & Culture's collection of museums, visit the collection's website. There are thousands of museum Street Views on Google as well. Google Arts & Culture also has an online experience for exploring famous historic and cultural heritage sites.

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Stuck at Home? These 12 Famous Museums Offer Virtual Tours You Can Take on Your Couch

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Going into a self-quarantine can have many complex issues and complications beyond having enough food and supplies for two weeks. In terms of entertainment, it also probably means you're in for a lot of boredom, a lot of Netflix, and a lot of browsing the internet.

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33 National Park Tours

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Here's 33 National Park Tours You Can Take Virtually From The Comfort Of Your Home

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As we are all stuck at home, it's hard figuring out how we will keep the kids entertained. Well, say no more! I've gathered 33 National Park Tours you can virtually. Yes, that means you

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Online tours - Enjoy the Louvre at home!

1. Back to Home

2. See all breadcrumbs

3. Online tours

Virtual tours

From afar. Travelling Materials and Objects

Through materials and objects, this exhibition describes exchanges between distant worlds - exchanges often far more ancient than the explorations of the 16th century. From deepest antiquity, carnelian, lapis lazuli, ebony and ivory circulated along trade routes...

Louvre at home

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Online tours - Enjoy the Louvre at home!

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Online tours - Enjoy the Louvre at home! Back to Home See all breadcrumbs Online tours Virtual tours Through materials and objects, this exhibition describes exchanges between distant worlds - exchanges often far more ancient than the explorations of the 16th century. From deepest antiquity, carnelian, lapis lazuli, ebony and ivory circulated along trade routes...

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The National Gallery of Art serves the nation by welcoming all people to explore and experience art, creativity, and our shared humanity.

Visit us on the National Mall between Third and Seventh Streets at Constitution Avenue, NW, we are open Monday through Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and Sunday from 11:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., and closed on December 25 and January 1. Admission is always free.

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National Gallery of Art, Washington DC, Washington, DC, United States - Google Arts & Culture

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The National Gallery of Art serves the nation by welcoming all people to explore and experience art, creativity, and our shared humanity. Visit us on the N...

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Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City

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Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City

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The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City, United States - Google Arts & Culture

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The Met presents over 5,000 years of art from around the world for everyone to experience and enjoy. The Museum lives in three iconic sites in New York Cit…

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The Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam houses the largest collection of artworks by Vincent van Gogh (1853-1890) in the world. The permanent collection includes over 200 paintings by Vincent van Gogh, 500 drawings and more than 750 letters. The museum also presents exhibitions on various subjects from 19th-century art history.

For more information on Vincent van Gogh, please visit the section Vincent van Gogh's Life on the museum's website.

View the Van Gogh Museum YouTube Channel

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Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam, Netherlands - Google Arts & Culture

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The Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam houses the largest collection of artworks by Vincent van Gogh (1853-1890) in the world. The permanent collection includes ...

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Uffizi Gallery, Florence, Italy - Google Arts & Culture

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The Uffizi was designed by Giorgio Vasari in 1560 for Cosimo I de’Medici to house the Granducal Magistratures of Tuscany. Over time, the top floor loggia b…

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Tune in to our Houston Zoo Webcams and enjoy a live look at animals that call Houston Zoo home! See the herd of Asian elephants wander through their enormous habitat. Watch as giraffes nibble lettuce fed to them by guests at the feeding platform; you could join them on your next visit. See the rhinos roll in their mud puddle or the flamingos float next to a waterfall. See the chimpanzees interact with guests at their window or snooze in a hammock.

Learn how you can support the Zoo's animal care, education, and wildlife-saving programs through our Houston Zoo Fund.

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Tune in to our Houston Zoo Webcams and enjoy a live look at animals that call Houston Zoo home! See the herd of Asian elephants wander through their enormous habitat. Watch as giraffes nibble lettuce fed to them by guests at the feeding platform; you could join them on your next visit.

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See elephants, lions and naked mole-rats on animal cams streaming live, 24/7 from the Smithsonian's National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute.

Download Animal Cam Bingo Cards (link opens in new window). These activities are designed to engage learners of all ages in looking closely and thinking deeply about animal behavior and habitats. Welcome to the wild side of learning!

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The Zoo's animal webcams are some of the most famous on the internet. Tune in to watch the Zoo's elephants, lions and naked mole-rats - live, 24/7!

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Mark Kistler has many online drawing tutorials ;<)

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Book reviews are incredibly valuable for both authors and readers. On this page I'll cover the benefits of book reviews, how to write them, and links to where you can review my books online.

Why Book Reviews Matter

Reviews are a critical factor in the success of any book. For readers, reviews are a powerful buying tool to help infer how many people have read the book and whether or not they liked it. There are more books available now than ever before, so reviews are an important indicator of both popularity and quality.

For authors, reviews are the main source of reader feedback. Without them, it's difficult to get an unbiased sense of how your audience responded to your book. Reviews are also important because they boost a book's visibility in recommendation engines, and thus can help a book reach the widest possible audience.

How to Write A Book Review

There are no minimum requirements when it comes to leaving book reviews. Sites like Goodreads let you simply assign the book a star rating (1 to 5 stars). The most useful reviews, however, include some comments about the book. This might be anywhere from 100 to 1,000 words. In general, reviews have three main parts:

1. Book information, including title, genre, and author. This may not be necessary when leaving reviews that will post on a book's product page (e.g. Amazon).

2. Story synopsis, which is a high-level overview of the book's main characters and plot. You don't want to give away the whole story here, just a summary.

3. Overall impression, which is where you give your personal impression of the book.

You can't go wrong if you follow this structure. For books that already have many reviews, it's probably best to focus on your personal impressions, since the book information and synopsis will have already been covered.

Discussion Points for Book Reviews

While sharing your personal impression of a book, here are some discussion points that you may want to consider:

Who was your favorite character, and why?

What was your favorite part of the book?

What was your least favorite part of the book?

If you could change something, what would it be?

Would you recommend this book?

Did it remind you of any other books you've read?

What type of reader would enjoy this book?

Even a short review gives a book some added visibility, and encourages other potential readers to take a chance on a new author.

Leaving a book review is easy and doesn't take a lot of time.

Where to Write A Book Review

There are many places to write book reviews, but generally speaking there are several options:

1. On your own blog or web site. This might be best if you want to establish yourself as a book reviewer, or simply need more content.

2. On an existing magazine or blog. Many genre magazines, news sites, and existing book review blogs welcome contributions from guest reviewers. This is best if you don't plan to review many books and/or want to build your profile in the community.

3. At online bookstores like Amazon and Barnes & Noble. An account is required, but this option probably offers the highest visibility for a well-written review.

4. On a book review site like Goodreads. These are social communities for people who love to read and talk about books.

Review My Book, The Rogue Retrieval

I'm thrilled that you'd consider leaving a review for my book. Here are direct links to some places where you can do that.

If you'd like to review The Rogue Retrieval on your own blog or website, here's some information you might need:

Book Information

Review My Book, The Island Deception

I'm thrilled that you'd consider leaving a review for my second book. Here are direct links to some places where you can do that.

If you'd like to review The Island Deception on your own blog or website, here's some information you might need:

Book Information

Review My Book, The World Awakening

I'm thrilled that you'd consider leaving a review for my third book. Here are direct links to some places where you can do that.

If you'd like to review The World Awakening on your own blog or website, here's some information you might need:

Book Information

Follow me and you'll never miss a post:

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How and Why to Review Books - Dan Koboldt

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Book reviews are incredibly valuable for both authors and readers. On this page I'll cover the benefits of book reviews, how to write them, and links to where you can review my books online. Contents Why Book Reviews Matter How to Write A Book Review Where to Write A Book Review Review My Book, The ...

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THE GOLDFINCH BOOK REVIEW! | Spoiler Free

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The Kid Should See This: Curated educational videos that are fun for curious kids and adults of all ages. Watch in the classroom or together at home.

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Welcome to the Age of Female Superheroes

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EXPOSED: How Coke Killed the Refillable Bottle Coca-Cola knew their plastic would trash the planet...and did it anyway. Our exposé-style short documentary digs in. Burning Injustice COMING SOON! Central Valley activists expose the devastating health consequences behind one of the last trash incinerators in California in an effort to close the facility once and for...

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Cool Math Games - Free Online Games for Learning and Fun

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Coolmath Games is a brain-training site for everyone, where logic & thinking & math meets fun & games. These games have no violence, no empty action, just a lot of challenges that will make you forget you're getting a mental workout!

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Flocabulary is a library of songs, videos and activities for K-12 online learning. Hundreds of thousands of teachers use Flocabulary’s educational raps and teaching lesson plans to supplement their instruction and engage students. Our team of artists and educators is not only committed to raising test scores, but also to fostering a love of learning in every child.

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GeoGuessr is a geography game which takes you on a journey around the world and challenges your ability to recognize your surroundings.

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Scratch is a free programming language and online community where you can create your own interactive stories, games, and animations.

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Over 5,000 Award-Winning Lessons

Tynker empowers over 100 million students and serves over 150,000 schools worldwide.

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Tynker isn't just for schools and coding camps, though. Parents who value STEM education and want their children to know how to code should know that our kids programming platform can be used at home, too. Tynker offers a range of coding for kids solutions with icon-coding for pre-readers, block-based coding, and advanced courses in Python, JavaScript, data science, art, and image processing. There are quarterly, yearly and lifetime plans which include access for up to 3 children, and our online classes for all ages are an excellent way for them to gain the supplemental STEM skills needed for their future.

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Frequently asked questions

Is coding good for kids?

We're living during a high-tech revolution, witnessing life-changing advancements in medicine, environmental conservation, and much more. At the core of all these amazing projects and discoveries is CODE. Code can be the thing that differentiates your child from peers and allows them to stand out as an asset for companies when they are looking for employment. The children who learn to code today will become the creators of the technology tomorrow. Learning how to code can help children make a major contribution to the world that they live in and make a lasting impact.

As kids and teens learn to code, they also build essential skills like critical thinking, logic, and problem-solving. They learn to logically sequence events, create playable games, tell good stories, and model real situations. They also learn computational thinking by developing algorithmic and design thinking abilities. Coding for kids has become an essential element of a child's education and an excellent way to express their creativity and imagination.

How do I start my child coding?

Coding, otherwise known as programming, is a creative activity for all children. Your child might not care about writing data processing algorithms, but they might enjoy creating games, programming music, designing websites, or just playing with code. Learning to code is for everyone; you don't have to be good at math or a "techie" to learn how to code. Kids as young as five can learn to code and pick it up faster than most adults.

When your kids are starting, pick a program like MIT's Scratch or Tynker Junior app. The visual style of these programs makes it easy for young children to learn to code. Scratch and Tynker have a graphical interface that works. Drag-and-drop code blocks snap together. Pieces of code that don\'t make computational sense won't fit together, making syntax errors impossible.

Older children can learn to code with Python by building games, art, music, and more. Some programs like Tynker offer a placement test to set your child on the right track for their age and experience level.

What age is best to introduce coding to kids?

Every child learns at their own pace. They can learn different subjects at varying rates and ways. Experts believe that children should learn coding at an early age. According to MIT, the best age for kids to start learning coding languages such as Scratch Jr or Tynker Jr is from 5 to 7. Many programs allow your children to progress at their own pace or hire an instructor to help them move along.

With Tynker, a placement test will place your child on the correct path based on age and skill level, and Tynker supports children up to age 18 with real-world text languages like Python and JavaScript. Children progress to more difficult coding courses with the support of interactive tutorials and video instructions at their own pace.

Which is the best coding for kids program?

With so many great services available, learning to code has never been easier! For example, Scratch and Tynker provide innovative visual coding languages that make coding fun. Coding is a great way to broaden your child's worldview and develop their creativity, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills. Here are a few coding for kids options to review:

Game-based learning -Game-based platforms such as Tynker and the challenges on Code.org motivate kids to use code to complete game levels.

Independent learning with Scratch -Scratch from MIT is a great way of getting started with code. Although they don't have courses, there's a vibrant community to learn from.

Online courses-Enroll in a Python or JavaScript course on Codecademy or Tynker or learn to code with Processing on Khan Academy. Tynker offers advanced courses like Processing 1, using p5.js to introduce the foundational concepts of art and computer science.

Build an app-Learn to build your own iOS app using Swift. Install the Swift Playgrounds app by Apple.

Use a book-Learn by following along with books like Mission Python, Super Scratch Programming Adventure, or Coding with Minecraft. Tynker has a series of super-informative coding activity books, including Code These Games, Code These Minecraft Mods, and Code This Art.

Why is coding needed?

Coding is the method of giving a computer instructions to perform a specific task. You may also hear coding referred to as software programming or computer programming. These instructions are communicated using a language that computers can understand, like visual blocks, JavaScript and Python.

Coding for kids lays the groundwork for our world's technology, from microprocessors in everyday items like refrigerators and water heaters to sophisticated programs that run our cars and buildings. Learning to code is a great opportunity for children of all ages to develop their problem-solving and critical thinking skills, while building the necessary focus and organization to see projects through to completion.

Coding usually begins with drag-and-drop visual programming in which children connect blocks together to make programs. Visual programming teaches the fundamental concepts without typing or syntax by placing the focus on the logic behind the code. Once they've learned the basics, children can transition to real-world programming languages like Python, JavaScript, and C.

From online coding courses and games to offline learning, from in-person coding instruction to live online tutoring, there are endless coding resources available. The best coding platforms and programs like Scratch, Code.org and Tynker give children of all ages and experience levels the ability to code while making the process fun and engaging.

Why should we use Tynker coding for kids?

Tynker is the world's number one coding platform for children ages 5 to 18 for a reason-it works! Tynker powers the creativity of over 100 million students and serves thousands of schools and educators worldwide.

Tynker's award-winning, gamified courses and coding for kids activities encourage kids to complete projects as they have fun, allowing them to progress from novices to experts using languages like Python. Tynker's interactive lessons have built-in tutorials for all ages and skill levels. Our highly-rated mobile app (4.7 stars) lets students take Tynker on the go. Learning how to code with Tynker unlocks and empowers children's creativity, teaching them life-long skills they can use today and into the future.

How do I teach my 7 year old code?

Learning to code is for everyone; you don't have to be good at math or a "techie" to learn how to code. Kids as young as five can learn to code and pick it up faster than most adults. Tynker Junior is a fun, interactive way to spark your kid's interest in coding. Kids (ages 5-7) learn coding basics by connecting picture blocks to move their characters. Tynker's immersive game-like coding courses and interactive lessons with built-in tutorials are perfect for beginners 5+ through experts 18+.

What options are there for coding for teens?

Code.org has a year-long course in Computer Science Principles that introduces students to the foundational concepts of computer science and challenges them to explore how computing and technology can impact the world.

Tynker has coding for kids courses that align with subject standards like CCSS-ELA, CCSS-Math, NGSS and CS standards such as CSTA, ISTE, CA CS, UK National Curriculum, and several state-level standards like TEKS.

Tynker is recognized by College Board as an endorsed curriculum provider for AP Computer Science Principles and AP Computer Science A.

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Coding For Kids, Kids Online Coding Classes & Games | Tynker

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Tynker makes it fun and easy to learn computer programming. Get started today with Tynker's easy-to-learn, visual programming course designed for young learners in 4th through 8th grades.

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Clearer water, cleaner air: the environmental effects of coronavirus

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Creative Social Distancing During COVID-19 | NowThis

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Songs for Social Distancing - Parody Medley

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Social Distancing EXPLAINED by KIDS! **UPDATE: 6 feet is advised. At time of filming it was 3 feet**