Starfall

Recommended grades K-3.  Starfall is an interactive read-aloud site for emerging readers.  Young users can easily access four levels of digital material through the webpage.  Much of the material is free to access, though some pages require paid accounts.  Books can be read-aloud to users all the way through or by clicking on individual words, an excellent feature for readers trying to practice their own fluency and accuracy.  Another great benefit is that stories are broken into specific sounds, so they complement reading instruction in the early grades.  This is an excellent resource for teachers working on guided practice and read alouds to build confidence on specific sounds.  Recommended, ***

Storyline Online

Recommended grades K-3.  Storyline Online is a wonderful effort put forward by the Screen Actor's Guild to promote reading.  The site features videos well-known actors reading their favorite kids books.  All videos have captions, so that readers can follow along as the camera zooms along the picture.  One of the best videos is Jason Alexander reading his own story, Dad, Are You the Tooth Fairy?  In addition to reading the book, Alexander describes how he came up with the idea for the story by listening to the questions they asked about the tooth fairy.  This book comes with a disclaimer and an opt-out for those young readers who haven't had the "tooth fairy talk yet."  The site is easy to navigate, colored in bright red and yellow, almost like a 1940s Superman Comic (and the fonts match the motif!).  One risk this site runs by using celebrities is aging; it is already starting to show some wrinkles with its video options for dial-up internet and lesser-known celebrities who have already faded (sorry, Caitlin Wachs!)  Overall a fun opportunity to see celebrities get in touch with their inner child, and hear some great stories while you're at it.  Recommended, ***.