I find there are so many wonderful things I know about because I am an educator. Part of why I write this blog is to introduce all my readers to these finds. Because after all, if we are reading to and with children we are all educators.

I am embarrassed to admit that I only recently learned about Scholastic’s Book Wizard, a remarkable tool for all book lovers. By simply going to Scholastic’s web site and clicking on the Book Wizard logo on the right hand side of the site, you will be directed to a fantastic tool. You can enter your child’s grade level, reading level or interest level to get a long list of books from various publishers. You can mix and match interest level and reading level which is great for the kid’s who are a bit slower or more reluctant to read. You can enter genre or topic. The options seem endless.

And then there’ my favorite tool. The BookAlike. Have you ever finished a book and wished for another one just like it? Have you ever watched your child listen with rapt attention to a book that is too hard for her to read to herself? Enter BookAlike. With this feature, you enter a book title to find many more just like it. You can also choose whether the books you want are on the same reading level as the one you want to match or above or below that level. Again the options are endless.

Assuming that you made it to the end of this post without jumping over to Scholastic, go there now. You won’t be sorry!