Page Turner Bibliography
Reference Books for Kids
By: Lori Z. Ragsdale
From Volume 2, Issue 3
Kids love to find a "fast fact" in answer to a question that comes up in conversation; they're basically trivia buffs. Then, too, they all need facts to help them write their school reports! The following reference books, appropriate for Independentor skilled Transitional readers, would be a great addition to your program library, and I've added a bonus section of good reference websites designed for kids. Both provide not only homework help but also the "must-know" trivia that kids love.
Reference Books
Guinness World Records
by Guinness World Records
Kids love this compendium of unusual facts! The book is updated every year, and the paperback version is relatively inexpensive, so you can purchase the latest edition each year to keep your collection up to date.
New York: The Empire State
by Gareth Stevens Publishing
Pick the volume on your state from the World Almanac Library of the States, published by Gareth Stevens, to add to your library. Children will enjoy learning more about their state.
Scholastic Atlas of the World
by Scholastic
This atlas includes not only maps—some 80 of them—but also color photographs of and statistics about lands and waters around the world.
The DK Science Encyclopedia
by DK Publishing
Science facts of all kinds, plus detailed photographs, charts, and illustrations, provide fascinating reading and research for children and adults.
The Harcourt Brace Student Thesaurus
by Harcourt Brace Jovanovich
A thesaurus can help kids sharpen their vocabulary for writing and conversation. Remind the children, though, not to use unfamiliar words they find in a thesaurus without checking out the nuances of meaning in a dictionary!
The Look-It-Up-Book of Presidents
by Random House
Facts about the presidents from George Washington to the present are presented in this reference book, along with pictures, campaign memorabilia, and other artifacts.
The World Almanac for Kids
by World Almanac Books
Find facts about presidents, the fifty states, famous people, geography, and much more. For that matter, any almanac--not necessarily one designed for children--can be a great help for homework.
Thorndike-Barnhart Student Dictionary
by cott, Foresman
A student dictionary—perhaps supplemented, for older children, with an adult dictionary such as Webster's—is indispensable for school writing assignments and also helps in looking up unfamiliar words from story books.
Reference Websites
Ask Jeeves for Kids
URL: www.ajkids.com/
Works like Ask Jeeves for adults: Type in a question in plain language and get links that answer the question.
Dino Dictionary
URL: www.dinodictionary.com
Gives kids dinosaur history and facts, along with how to pronounce the names of over 300 dinosaurs.
KidsClick
URL: sunsite.berkeley.edu/KidsClick!/
KidsClick is a web-search site developed by librarian for kids. Searches can be done by category or letter.
NASA
URL: kids.msfc.nasa.gov/
NASA's site for kids gives information about NASA and all aspects of the space program.
Whitehouse Kids
URL: www.whitehouse.gov/kids/
This site gives information about today's government, the president, and happenings at the White House. It also includes quizzes and video presentations.
Yahooligans
URL: yahooligans.yahoo.com
This is the section of Yahoo that caters to 7-12-year-olds. This easy-to-navigate site offers many categories of information.
