World Wide School offers a collection of online books. They even have a youth category featuring classics like The Bobbsey Twins, Anne of Green Gables, and Alice in Wonderland. The collection can be browsed by subject, title and author.

Pink Books is a site dedicated to books for gay and lesbian youth. They offer current releases, lists by title and author, books for both children and teens, and books for gay parents and staff.

Edutopia is the website of the George Lucas Educational Foundation. On the site you will find information on some of the latest innovations in education from some of the top schools in the nation. The site offers news, an Internet radio show, and online documentaries. Topics include assessment, community partnerships, the digital divide, mentoring, professional development, and technology.

Okla. lawmakers target gay-themed books
Oklahoma’s House of Representatives passed a nonbinding resolution that asks public libraries to move gay-themed children’s books to adult sections. Beyond the obvious problem of moving books intended for children into the adult section as if gayness was a disease caught through reading, no Oklahoma library has adult sections that cannot be accessed by children. The article offers quotes from both sides of the issue.

Beverly Cleary’s life speaks volumes: South Florida Sun-Sentinel
This is a nice interview with Cleary about her childhood, her inspiration, and her most famous character, Ramona.

Scholastic has launched a new site that focuses on summer reading. It offers booklists for children grades K-8, articles on how parents can help their children love reading, activities to inspire reading, and interactive presentations on how to be a reading coach and how to create a home that inspires kids to read.

Kids Web is a collection of recommended links for children grades K-12. Sites are categorized into arts, sciences, social studies, and miscellaneous. The pages are updated weekly. Also included are a list of other digital libraries and other collections of web sites for children.

New York Public Library offers WordSmiths, a website where teens can publish poetry and short stories. Submissions are welcome from outside of New York.