By Children’s Librarian Eileen
Kids summer reading is coming soon. Mark your calendars to sign up for June 1!
In the meantime, if you need help finding books to read, you are in luck! Here at the library, we want you to find books that spark joy, bring pleasure and comfort, and broaden your knowledge.
We hope that by sharing a variety of ways for you to find books this summer and throughout the year, you will explore these resources and discover a wealth of books for your reading pleasure.
5 different ways to find more books
1. Find readalikes on Novelist K-8 Plus
Novelist K-8 Plus has lots of book recommendations to help match you with your next favorite book, series, or author. Some reasons why it’s a valuable source to find books:
- Created by librarians and book experts
- For all ages and reading styles
- A wide range of content
- Easy to use
Novelist Plus offers read-alike recommendations for titles, authors, and series. They make it easy for you to find books that appeal to your interests, moods, and reading style.
Do you like specific genres, such as adventure fiction or fantasy? Do you like books with neurodivergent characters or fast-paced and action-packed books? Or are you interested in specific themes, like quests for magical items?
With Novelist Plus, you can utilize the story elements index to search for books by specific genre, appeal, or theme and find the ones that are just right for you!
Interested in reading award-winning books? You can browse a large collection of titles from various award lists.
Novelist is available to you for free! Find it in the Research and Learn drop-down menu by selecting Catalogs & Book Reviews. Inside the library, you can access Novelist without a library card. At home, enter your Oak Park library card number and PIN to get started.
2. Check out digital animated talking books from TumbleBookLibrary
TumbleBookLibrary offers a large online collection of animated talking books for elementary school students. It’s home to:
- Picture books
- Chapter books
- Early and advanced readers
- Graphic novels
- Nonfiction books
- Children’s classics
Find award-winning and best-selling titles, books in different languages, and books on themes such as music, rhyme, and humor. Browse books organized by genre such as mystery, folktales and fables, and historical fiction. Book jackets are colorfully displayed on the site and easily accessible with one click.
Click on a book to read it online and access all its details, including the author, illustrator, publisher, word count, TumbleTime, reading level, summary, and keywords.
TumbleBookLibrary is available to you for free! Find it in the Research and Learn drop-down menu by selecting Ebooks, Movies & More. Inside the library, you can access TumbleBookLibrary without a library card. At home, enter your Oak Park library card number and PIN to get started.
3. Read thousands of National Geographic Kids magazine articles online
Why do we love National Geographic Kids? It’s got tons of magazine articles online, including issues from 2009 to the present. And it offers many high-quality informational texts for primary, upper elementary, and middle school students.
Interested in Weird But True books? Do you love to explore encyclopedias or atlases? National Geographic Kids is a great source for you! Go on amazing adventures in science, nature, culture, archaeology, and space.
National Geographic Kids is available to you for free! Find it in the Research and Learn drop-down menu by selecting Ebooks, Movies & More. To access, enter your Oak Park library card number and PIN to get started.
4. Explore kids reading lists—curated by librarians
On the library’s website, you can access librarian-curated reading lists for kids—from early childhood up through grade 6.
Some reading lists we offer:
- Grade-level lists that include fiction and nonfiction recommendations
- Creators and stories lists like our Black Creators and Disability Reads lists
- Award-winning lists, like the Monarch Award and Newbery Medal lists
- Genre lists such as our Scary Stories and Romance: Sweet Reads lists
- Reading Olympics book lists
Reading lists are available as browsable, clickable titles and downloadable PDFs. On your next visit, you can also pick up copies in the Children’s Services Area at the Main Library or at the Maze or Dole Branch libraries.
Find all these lists on our website in the Use Your Library dropdown menu by selecting Kids and then Book lists by age, grade, and genre. To get the latest lists sent to your inbox, subscribe to our monthly Kids & Families email.
5. Browse what’s new & recommended in the library’s catalog
Browse the library’s online catalog to find books that interest you. On our homepage, enter the title, author, or keywords to search for books in our catalog.
Are you looking to find kids fiction books featuring sloths that are available now at the Main Library? Using the filters on the top or left side of the page will help narrow your search results, which you can save or email to yourself or someone else.
Looking for graphic novels, ebooks, or digital audiobooks? Find them using the Format filter. Looking for books in Spanish or Chinese? Find them using the Language filter. You can also search by e-content collection, fiction/ nonfiction, audience, author, series, subject, user rating, publication date, and shelf location.
Want to locate books in the library’s catalog and pick them up later? Sign in to your account with your Oak Park library card number and PIN to place books on hold for pickup at your library branch of choice.
Would you like more help with filters, to learn how to reset your pin, or to view your checkout history? Visit our FAQ page for help with these features and more.
And if you visit one of our library locations, we would be happy to help you navigate the different resources shared with you today. Just come visit us at the service desk!
About Eileen
Eileen Saam is a children’s digital learning librarian who loves discovering new things, learning from others, and sharing with children the joy and wonder of books. One of her favorite things to do at the library is to help children, families, and teachers find books and digital resources that delight and inspire them.
