I love getting kids excited about books!
Sometimes it’s not as easy as just handing them a book though.
Getting kids into books isn’t just about reading — it’s also about making the story interactive.
And there are quite a few children’s book publishers who know this and also love to get kids excited about reading.
So this week’s 5 Fun Finds features some of the top Children’s Publishing websites and the amazing games & activities they offer — all linked to great kids books.
Kids Book Activities & Printables
Meet five of the most popular children’s book publishers!
These are the people who decided what kids’ books should be published each year and then come up with some super ideas and activities to go with the books.
On each of their websites, you’ll find online games, great paper activities and lots of book-loving fun!
And we’ve included affiliate links for our feature books in case you’d like to learn more about the highlighted books.
Penguin Young Readers
Penguin Publishing House is the home to many popular books: SkippyJon Jones, the Ranger’s Apprentice, Ladybug Girl, Katie Kazoo, Madeline & Mad Libs.
Their children’s mini-sites area has more than 25 fun websites devoted to book series or the great works of authors such as Tomie dePaola and Roald Dahl.
Kids will find online games, printables and additional informaiton about their favorite book characters. The also have a free app for Mad Libs.
HarperCollins Children’s Books
With more than 50 onlines games and 100+ printables, kids will find LOTS of fun things that connect to some of their favorite books. Characters from If You Give a Mouse a Cookie, Amelia Bedelia, Pinkalicious, Fancy Nancy, Little Critter, Diary of a Fly and many chapter books can be found at HarperCollins.
Kids can also make e-cards and visit the Listening Room where they can hear excerpts from books read aloud.
Random House Kids
The Random House Kids website is one of my favorites! Not only do they offer some great online games, printables and coloring sheets — they also have party ideas, quizzes and puzzles all based on their books!
Who do they publish? Random House is the publishing company for The Cat in the Hat, The Magic Tree House series, Arthur, Berenstain Bears, Barbie, Junie B., Eric Carle and Richard Scarry (I love Richard Scarry!).
A few of my favorite activites on this site include:
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Another comprehensive website with a variety of children’s resources, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt also has some fun printables and activity packets for kids. Resources are sorted by age, for kids from age 4 through teenagers.
They also offer some featured links to great author sites – this month’s features include David Weisner’s site and the website for Curious George!
Scholastic Books
Well known among school-age children, Scholastic Books has some fun online activities for kids. You’ll find puzzle games, writing games, e-cards and more for many of the books published by Scholastic.
They also have an area called ‘The Stacks’ where you can find minisites for some of their popular books: Wonderstruck, Harry Potter, Guardians of Ga’Hoole and Allie Finkle to name a few.
Looking for more reading ideas? Visit some of our popular book lists:
AROUND THE WORLD IN 30 BOOKS – Travel the Globe with Stories
CLASSIC BOOKS FOR EVERY SEASON – Vintage books that kids (& parents!) will love
FINDING FREE KIDS BOOKS ONLINE – 1000’s of free books for your smartphone, iPad & laptop
Happy Reading & Exploring!
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