Reading is such an important and rewarding skill for children to learn. The library and, of course, book stores offer a wide selection of children’s books, but it isn’t always convenient to make a trip to these places.

One great alternative is to find free children’s books on the internet. Children will enjoy the stories just as much and the parent will be happy about how easy it is.

Some websites even offer books read aloud and animated illustrations. There are many positive rewards to be gained by finding children’s books online.

Websites offering free online children’s books:

Magic Keys

This website contains books for young children, older children and young adults. The illustrations are very nice and vibrant. There are some books available in audio and this allows children to enjoy books on their own.

The books are not diverse as far as authors go—many are written by the same person. Some titles include: Pirate’s Treasure by Carol Moore, Mr. Coyote Meets Mr. Snail by Storie-Jean Agapith and The Master Artist by Carol Moore. Magickeys also offers puzzles and games for children to play.

Children’s Books Online

This website presents the Rosetta Project, and claims to contain, “the largest collection of illustrated antique books online.” The books are translated for children around the world, which would be very helpful in learning new languages.

The stories have beautiful, original illustrations and they are for a wide range of ages. One downside to this website is that it’s difficult to navigate in that the links are not obvious.

Children’s Library

This website is known as the International Children’s Digital Library -a library for the world’s children. One may read hundreds of well-known and loved children’s books. They are available in many different languages. The illustrations are wonderful in their original state, but you need to enlarge the book before you can read it.

The titles include, Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll, A Child’s Garden of Verses by Robert Louis Stevenson and Little Bear at Work and at Play by France Margaret Fox.

Teacher Tap

“Teacher Tap” is a website that offers, “Electronic Books and Online Reading.” It provides links to many websites that contain free online children’s books. This website aids teachers by explaining how they can use online books as a resource in the classroom.

Children can also create stories online through the links,”By Kids, For Kids” and “Reviewing and Creating Online Books.” This website seems to understand how valuable the internet is to children and learning.

Whether one is an educator or a parent, free online children’s books are a wonderful resource. Many classic titles are offered as well as a selection of new books. These books include illustrations and text. Some websites even offer audio books and animation. While no one can beat a real, tangible book, virtual books are worth a try.

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Jen received her master's degree in Literacy Education in 2003 and since then has worked on helping to grow awareness about children's literacy and writing. Jen has 13 post(s) at Free Writing Center