Tech Savvy Mama

Parenting in the Digital Age

Website of the Week- BookFlix

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Little Miss Techie and I have had many conversations about fiction versus nonfiction books. She’s becoming more and more interested in nonfiction books, especially those that help her learn facts about topics that maybe a 5 ½ year old shouldn’t be so interested in such as the Titanic and The Civil War. Unfortunately, most of the nonfiction books about these subjects aren’t designed for early fluent readers.

Welcome BookFlix! BookFlix is a new online literacy resource that pairs fiction and nonfiction texts to reinforce early reading skills for kids in preK-3rd grade. BookFlix is designed for kids in grades preK-3rd grade and relies on trusted educational companies like Weston Woods (a favorite of classroom teachers!) for the fiction video storybook titles and the nonfiction eBooks are by Scholastic.

Ad-free BookFlix contains 85 fiction-nonfiction pairs that organized by theme. There are graphics that accompany each of the categories which makes it easy for children to navigate the site and find favorite titles. Themes include Animals & Nature, Earth & Sky, People & Places, Music & Rhyme, Family & Community, ABC’s & 123’s, Adventure, Imaginations, and Celebrations. You can view a full list of amazing fiction and nonfiction pairs in the different categories by clicking here. Each time I’m on the site I am continually amazed at the sheer selection of titles that include favorite authors (Tomie DePaola, Kevin Henkes, Ezra Jack Keats, Lois Ehlert, Maurice Sendak, etc.) and books that represent different cultures (Too Many Tamales, Chato’s Kitchen, Amazing Grace, Lon Po Po, Why Mosquitos Buzz in People’s Ears, Sam and the Lucky Money, etc.)

In the couple days that Little Miss Techie has spent clicking around and exploring BookFlix, she’s found a wealth of picture book favorites like Click, Clack, Moo and Giggle, Giggle, Quack. Click, Clack, Moo was paired with a nonfiction book about visiting a dairy farm while a more general book about farms was paired with Giggle, Giggle, Quack. I found Sam and the Lucky Money, a fictional story about a little boy who receives Li See for Chinese New Year. The pairing with the nonfiction title Chinese New Year allows for kids to learn more about the traditions associated with the first day of the Lunar New Year. Captain Computer loves the garbage truck themed book I Stink and hasn’t quite discovered that there is an animated story version on the BookFlix site or a nonfiction Mighty Machines Garbage Trucks book!

Little Miss Techie loves that the books come alive through the animation and I like that there is a read along option that presents the text at the bottom of the screen. Words are highlighted as they are read which allows early readers to make a connection between written and spoken words and also helps them build their site word vocabulary. Books that come alive are never a replacement for reading with your child but they provide a nice alternative for children who need the visual stimulation of moving images and words being highlighted as they hear them being read.

BookFlix also offers 21 Spanish pairs, a read along option, educational games, author biographies, and more great features like editorially selected web links that have been screened to ensure that the sites are safe, age appropriate ways for children to continue exploring a topic of interest. Children can also click on the Meet the Author tab on the left side of any book they choose to read or listen to an author biography.

I could rave on and on about this amazing resource but the best way to experience it is to see it. BookFlix is a resource that is only available to schools and libraries but here in the DC Metro Area, many area residents can get access to BookFlix for free through the public library systems.

The links below will take you to the BookFlix authentication page where you have to enter your library card number:

Maryland

Virginia

Washington, D.C.

If you are wondering if you have access to BookFlix through your public library system, please check your public library’s page or call them to inquire. You can also leave a comment so I can enlist Scholastic’s help in helping you find out whether your local library or school has access to BookFlix.

Now if only there were some fiction-nonfiction pairings about the Titantic and The Civil War to satisfy Little Miss Techie’s desire to learn about these subjects…I suppose The Magic Treehouse Research Guides will have to do for now!

No promotional consideration was paid for this post. I learned about BookFlix while attending the National Educator’s Computing Conference last week.

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Original post by Tech Savvy Mama
©2012

Reader Interactions

Comments

  3. Smiling Mama says

    Wow! And, we can access it through our library. Thanks for sharing this great resource! (Sounds like Lucas and Captain Computer have the same taste in books!!)

  4. Sue @ My Party of 6 says

    My kids have BookFlix at school and they LOVE it! And one of them even cried when the school librarian told me we couldn’t access it at home. But she was WRONG! I never thought to check the county library site! I am SO EXCITED!!!

  6. Amanda Courie says

    Thanks for linking to our site (Caroline County Public Library). To help satisfy your Little Miss Techie’s nonfiction appetite, give BrainPOP Jr. a try. You can find a link for it on our page as well: http://www.carolib.org/kids, right under Bookflix. BrainPOP features short animated videos on many topics–they are very informative and entertaining. I’ve found it to be a great way to give younger kids an introduction to a variety of nonfiction topics which usually aren’t addressed at their reading level.