Book Cover Creator

Book Cover Creator from ReadWriteThink does jsut what it says … allows users to create book covers.

This is what they say fro themselves:

The Book Cover Creator is designed to allow users to type and illustrate front book covers, front and back covers, and full dust jackets. Students can use the tool to create new covers for books that they read as well as to create covers for books they write individually or as a class. Students can use text tools to add formatting to their titles and book notes, add shading to background areas of the cover, and draw original images to illustrate their covers and dust jackets. The tool is easy to use, made even easier with the Book Cover Planning Sheets, printable PDFs that students can use to draft and revise their work before creating and printing their final book covers or dust jackets.

World Book Day – 3rd March

It’s nearly here … what will you do for World Book Day?

Exciting Reading

From the BBC this morning :

Celebrities Richard Madeley and Judy Finnigan are launching a book club aimed specifically at children. The club is made up of three categories – Reading together, Reading by yourself and Fluent reader – with six book titles in each.

Read more here.

And … Oxford Owl is also well worth a look … You can now enjoy over 100 free eBooks and activities with your child’s favourite characters like Biff, Chip, Kipper and Floppy, the Project X team and Winnie the Witch.

Google Labs – Books Ngram Viewer

Google Labs – Books Ngram Viewer If what you are looking for are very specific phrases or items in books then this is perhaps the book searcher for you … and much more … well worth having a look at for any study project. Thanks to a Tweet from @simfin for this information.

The 10 best illustrated children’s books

Thanks to my Twitter friends (and the Guardian) for this:

The 10 best illustrated children’s books. The finest picture books for youngsters as chosen by The Observer’s Kate Kellaway

Bill Boyd’s Summer reads

Bill Boyd has produced and exciting and challenging list of ‘reads’ for summer holiday reading for 10 – 14 year olds ( or anyone else). It can be accessed here.

The Big Book Bank

Waterstones are sponsoring ‘The Big Book Bank’ … lots of free book available for children !!! The web site tells it all.

Children’s Book Week, 5th – 9th October 2009

Children’s Book Week takes place this year in the week beginning 5th October.

This is what it is all about:

Children’s Book Week is a celebration of reading for pleasure for children of primary school age. Schools, libraries and bookshops all over the UK hold events and activities aimed at encouraging children to view reading as a source of pleasure, explore libraries and bookshops and even start writing themselves.

Teach your Granny to text !

Some 15 odd years ago, when holidaying in the Lake District, we bought a book called ‘Rocky Rambler’. The idea of the book was to put navigation in the hands of the young walker and it showed the terrain and the key points from a child’s perspective. Using the book children would lead adults around adventurous walks. (A new website is about to be launched based on the book … exciting!)

Reported in the Times yesterday a continuation of the highly successful idea ‘We are what we do’ … this time its ‘Teach your Granny to text’.

This idea has a similar theme … what happens if you ask children and then follow up what they say. Could children really have a guiding part in making the world they are going to live in better?

The whole idea is just wonderful and is the result of a project that could be fabulously extended particularly as the book to go with the idea will be published on October 2nd and will be given to every school in England by the Dcsf(sorry rest of the UK … you miss out again … but it will be on sale … the first print run of 100,000 has already been pre-sold … possibly to the Dcsf?)

There are some wonderful ideas in the book as well as ‘teaching granny to text’: ‘Walk you dad’ is an awesome concept and there is an excellent message to be found in ‘Stand up and be counted’.

What with this following in the wake of the ‘Real Meals’ initiative for Y7 it looks like someone somewhere is giving something some thought ! Hope its joined up!

Lookybook

Lookybook is an interesting site which seems to keep up to date with many of the latest picture books.