Reading Ready: Reading and Research Resources for When the School Library's Out

Source: Flickr (@Dawn Endico)

Whether you're just learning to sound out words, analyzing Shakespeare in high school, or navigating academic journals in university, the right reading and research tools can make all the difference. But with so many options out there, how do you know where to start? In this blog, I’ve curated an age-appropriate list of resources designed to support learners at every stage of their educational journey, including my personal experience using them. This list is organized based on development stages from “learning to read” to “academic reading”, so feel free to skip ahead to the section that best fits your needs!

Early Readers (aged ~3-8)

Up first are the early readers; these resources are for students developing their reading skills. Check out resources like Starfall, PBS Kids’, and National Geographic Kids’ (and more) as resources for early reading and phonics! 

Starfall

Starfall is an online education website designed to assist teachers and parents in teaching students to read. The entire site uses bright colors and pictures, and can be helpful for parents to introduce the foundations of reading. It is simple, playful, and great for phonics, vocabulary, and early reading. It is an inclusive tool with most features available for free to be used by young readers, including those with special needs, learning difficulties, and ELL (English Language Learner) and ESL (English as Second Language) students.

Unite for Literacy

Unite for Literacy is a non-profit organization that has an accessible and free book catalogue for parents of young readers to access and share with children beginning their reading journeys. They have a catalogue of free picture books with audio narration in 25+ languages such as Hebrew, Mandarin, Navajo and ASL. They also have books written in English, Spanish and Ukrainian. It offers a variety of searchable topics from monarch butterflies to family. The catalogue is a great resource for parents with children who are just starting to learn to read, and its only downside lies in that it doesn’t allow you the ability to search by reading difficulty. The books have large fonts and a few sentences per page. It is an affordable and convenient way to expose your little ones to reading a few words at a time, but it may be too easy for other readers.

Oxford Owl

Oxford Owl will grant you access to various eBooks, phonics help, and printable activities with only a free account. The catalogue is searchable by difficulty/reading level, allowing you to tailor to your young reader’s comfort level.  

PBS Kids

PBS Kids Reading Games is an online game catalogue with free interactive games based on shows like Sesame Street and Arthur. This one is a resource I’ve used as a volunteer mentor! PBS Kids offers a variety of games that can be used to passively build reading skills. While some games involve more play, others, such as Wild Kratts Word Rescue, still keep your readers within the realm of learning.

National Geographic Kids

National Geographic Kids is similar to PBS Kids’ in that its aim is to use children’s interests to keep them engaged in reading. Its rounded catalogue of trivia questions and games can test comprehension while also being entertaining for younger readers. When mentoring young readers, I found it valuable to provide breaks from starting at letters and words. Trivia questions and games offer visual stimuli while still allowing them to look out for things to read!

Age Inclusive (all ages)

These resources are recommended for anyone, regardless of where they are in their reading journey!

Local Public Libraries

Never underestimate your local library! Whether you're in high school or university, public libraries are a fantastic gateway to free reading materials, research databases, language learning apps, and even tutoring programs. With libraries having physical branches and online copies of so many books, there is no excuse to go your entire summer without reading. For example, I’ve used eBooks to read with children because we could easily switch books if we decided we no longer wanted to read about cats. I’ve also explored the various catalogue functions to borrow academic journals, memoirs, and LSAT textbooks. Libraries are great for getting all sorts of readings in one place! 

Project Gutenberg

Project Gutenberg is a resource with a wider age range audience. Functionally, it is a volunteer online archive, but to you, my fellow reader, it is a treasure trove of over 60,000 free classic books in the public domain. It’s a great resource for established readers who want to explore literature outside the classroom. I’ve turned to it for everything from Virginia Woolf to ancient texts to fuel my Epic: The Musical obsession! It's user-friendly, mobile-accessible, and perfect for supplementing school reading lists or just reading for fun.

Khan Academy

Khan Academy is a non-profit app that may be more known for clear and engaging video lessons. However, with a free sign-up, it also has a library for students, from preschoolers to early college undergrads. The Khan Academy Kids app for young children includes a library of over 400 free eBooks, and the website has articles with topics tailored to older readers. Over the summer, Khan Academy has been my go-to for brushing up on core subjects like literature, writing, and history. It's especially helpful for high schoolers trying to bridge gaps in understanding after a school year.

Mature Readers (High School-University)

If you’re at the stage where you’re needing to do research, want to read harder novels or academic books, journals and the likes, these resources are for you! Recommended for those who are looking for places to look for academic research and citation needs.

Library of Congress

The Library of Congress is the largest library in the world and also serves as a digital archive for primary sources, historical documents, and digital collections of research. Much of its collection is digitized and freely accessible online. That means anyone, regardless of country, can browse anything in the Library of Congress’ Open Access catalogue, including books, historical newspapers, maps, photos, manuscripts, and audio recordings. It is a global knowledge hub with so many books in the public domain, that you can bring a vast history of literature wherever you go.

Project Muse

Project Muse is one of my favorite places to find peer-reviewed journal articles, especially in the humanities and social sciences. I’ve used it frequently to find sources for writing essays and papers, or to save for deeper learning. Many institutes provide full access, but even without it, there are open-access articles you can explore! So, if you’re having trouble finding anything that isn’t paywalled or blocked behind the institute, try looking through the Open Access catalogue.

JSTOR

JSTOR was my best aid in transitioning from high school to university, as my introduction to academic search catalogues. JSTOR houses thousands of academic journal articles, and it's an essential tool once you start writing at the end of high school to university-level papers. Some will be locked behind institute logins and paywalls, while others remain completely accessible to independent researchers. I recommend using the advanced search tools and filters to zero in on what you need and are able to access. 

Purdue Owl and Zotero

A two-for-one special here! Typically, both of these resources are used for citing information, which during the summer might not be your jam, but here me out! Zotero is a browser extension that I use to organize my sources and functions as a “to-read” list. It creates bibliographies automatically and integrates with Word and Google Docs. It’s especially helpful when juggling multiple sources that I want to get to without losing any needed information to find them again. If you would rather keep track of your readings manually, Purdue Owl is a great resource that has lots of tips and citation guides for this endeavor.

Institute Library Resources

If you have access to a college or university catalogue, continue to use your resources. Explore your institution’s catalogue, get familiar with research databases, and take advantage of services like Ask a Librarian, research guides, and even workshops if they continue over the summer. I’ve learned how to narrow down search results just by experimenting with filters, and that’s saved me hours of frustration. Don't wait until the next round of paper grinding and exam cramming to find the guides, articles, and textbooks you’ll need!

Whether you're helping a young reader sound out their first words or diving into dense academic texts yourself, there’s a resource out there ready to support you. Summer is the perfect time to stay ahead in school, explore special interests, or simply rediscover the joy of learning without the pressure of deadlines. Take advantage of what’s out there and take a huge stride away from brain-rotting this summer. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have some journal articles about dinosaur fossils I need to get back to…