Kids & Teens Ask: How Do I Find Things to Read?
First posted April 6th, 2020
This post was first posted in April 2020 on my library’s blog to share resources with our local school to spotlight ways to access books for them - and point out curated lists of recommended reads based on genre.
Hello, Friends! It’s Eti, one of the Youth and Teen Services Librarians here at Lincolnwood Library. I’ve been thinking a lot about all of you and hope you’re doing well and staying safe.
A frequent question we’ve received during this time is how to access ebooks and eaudiobooks while the physical library is closed. Did you know our library provides access to digital resources 24/7? Whether you’re looking for a book for a reading genre, independent reading, an audiobook to listen to while you’re cooking, or a read aloud to share with a loved one, we have resources to help you find your next great read. Please contact us if you have any questions or need assistance using these resources.
Lincolnwood residents who do not currently have a library card can now request a temporary card. Your temporary card ensures you are able to access eBooks and eAudiobooks, streaming movies, databases, online learning tools, and more, from anywhere, 24/7. Request your temporary card by completing this form.
OverDrive / Digital Library of Illinois
The Digital Library of Illinois Overdrive collection offers thousands of ebooks and eaudiobooks you can download to your smartphone, tablet, ereader, or computer via a service called OverDrive/Libby.
Learn how to use Overdrive/Digital Library of Illinois on your Kindle with our resource guide.
Learn how to use Libby (app) with our resource guide.
If a title is available, you can click BORROW and check it out. If a title is checked out, click PLACE A HOLD to request to read it next. If we do not own the title, click RECOMMEND to let us know that we should purchase it – and you’ll be the first to borrow it. Recommendations are often how we purchase items, so it helps us to know what you want to read.
Hoopla provides online and mobile access to ebooks, audiobooks, comics, music, movies and TV shows on your computer or mobile device. To use Hoopla on the go, install the free app from Google Play or the Apple App store. To use Hoopla on a computer, visit the Hoopla website.
Learn how to use Hoopla on your mobile device with our resource guide.
Learn how to use Hoopla on your computer with our resource guide.
There is no need to place holds on Hoopla. Every title in the collection is always available to check out 24/7. Lincolnwood residents can check out up to 8 items every month. Hoopla has also curated collections of Bonus Borrows titles that don’t count against your monthly limit.
TumbleBooks | SD74 Teachers, please use this link.
TumbleBooks is a curated database of children’s ebooks including story books, read-alongs, chapter books, graphic novels, nonfiction, books in Spanish and French, and National Geographic videos.
But wait, there’s more! Thanks to the generosity of TumbleBooks and their commitment to promote literacy during this time, they are offering free access to their other databases, TeenBookCloud, TumbleMath, and AudioBookCloud until August 2020! You can read as many books as you want, when you want, and on any device. There are no check-outs, holds, or downloads. Books are available instantly.
Curated Reading Lists
We know you rely on our librarians to help you find books you’ll love, so we’ve created some curated collections of titles by genre or list that we know are available as ebooks and eaudiobooks to help you start reading today. If something isn’t available in the Digital Library of Illinois Overdrive collection, remember to put it on hold or recommend it for purchase – and then you’ll get it next. Titles in Hoopla are always available, so you may want to check out those first.
Middle School Curated Reading List
If there’s a genre list you think we should make, feel free to let us know and we’ll try to make it for you. To find more good books, you can always check our Great Reads for Kids, Great Reads for Teens, and Early Literacy lists. You can then check if they’re available as ebooks from the resources above. You can also access curated Overdrive kids lists and teen lists.
We also have a database called NoveList that can help you find book suggestions based on appeal factors, mood, genre, readalikes, etc. This is a fantastic resource for caregivers and educators to help match readers with books they’ll love.
We know you often seek out our reader’s advisory help to match individual readers with the just right books, so feel free to email us to get a personalized recommendation for you by sharing what you’ve read previously and what you’re in the mood for right now. Make sure to also check out our social media channels where we spotlight books we recommend.
Independent Bookstores
Right now our local independent bookstores need our support more than ever, so if you are able to purchase books from them, they are still ordering and shipping books. Our local indie bookstore, Booked, who you may remember from partnering with us at our fantastic Kyle Lukoff, Jasmine Warga, and Saadia Faruqi author visits, is open for online sales and always available to help you find the perfect book. You can email them at info@bookedevanston.com. They also have gift cards available for purchase. Interested in audiobooks? Check them out on Libro.fm, which is an excellent resource for audiobooks that supports indie bookstores.
Even More Digital Resources
Many educational companies have made their reading resources available to schools and caregivers for free for the remainder of the school year.
Epic!’s digital library includes many of the best kids books, popular ebooks, and videos. Epic is offering Remote Student Access to Epic through the end of the school year (June 30th, 2020), by teacher invitation. Share this link with your child’s teacher to help get your child access to Epic.
Time for Kids Digital Library is free for the rest of the school year. Caregivers & educators can subscribe for our grade-specific digital editions of TIME for Kids and Your $ financial literacy magazine.
Audible has curated a collection of audiobooks to read for free. All stories are free to stream on your desktop, laptop, phone or tablet.
Please feel free to contact us to let us know how we can support you – and to ask your own question for a potential future blog post. I’d love to know if you found any of these resources helpful. Read something you loved? Let us know. We’d love to hear from you!