Take a break with some cool games, activities, and reading
on the Web! The
Youth Services staff (with help from our young patrons) has put together a
collection of leisure-time Internet links 
for kids of all ages. We
even have an online version of the Youth
Services Coloring Book ready for you to download, print, and enjoy.
For more information about Skokie Public Library ’s Youth Services resources, contact Susan Heist Carlton at 847.324.3144 or by .
Read or listen to a story from the TumbleBook™ Library!
Please note: The Youth Services staff makes every effort to select websites that are suitable for children; however, the Library has no control over individual website content, sponsors, or advertisements. We encourage parents to explore and enjoy these websites with their children.
Web resource 
Available with Skokie Public Library card 
Available in Library only
Preschool Activities
These websites have been selected just for preschoolers and their kindergarten pals.
A Little Bit of Everything
Early World of Learning from World Book Online
Early World of Learning offers stories, games, and activities to help early learners build vocabulary, comprehension, phonics, and reading skills. Content includes 
narrated stories with word-by-word highlighting, interactive games, interactive reference materials for beginners, and more.
ipl2: For Kids
The Internet Public Library has put together a special web directory for children. Follow the links to games, stories, music, and more.
Books and Learning
Chateau
Meddybemps
This collection of simple activities is designed to help children improve their learning skills. The Chateau features fun, games, stories, a Parent's Guide, and a Teacher's Guide.
Express Yourself Coloring Book
Use computer crayons and a paintbrush to color Riffington's Coloring Book! You can even print the pictures when you're finished!
Storyplace Pre-school Library
Visit a far-away library with just a mouse click! Preschoolers (and kids of all ages) can participate in the same types of activities offered by the Public Library of Charlotte & Mecklenburg County in North Carolina. Each theme includes an online story and activity, a take-home activity, suggested reading, and a parent's activity.
Friends and Favorites
LEGO
Explore
This collection of online games just for preschoolers is based on the popular LEGO building toys.
The Official Bob the
Builder Website
Enjoy online activities such as games, puzzles, and painting with Bob the Builder and his friends. Learn all about Bob, too!
PBS Kids
Take a trip to the online home of the PBS gang. Have fun with games, stories, music, and coloring pages featuring Arthur, Barney, Caillou, DragonTales, Jay Jay, Teletubbies, Zoboomafoo, and more.
Sesame
Street
This is the online neighborhood of the gang from Sesame Street! C’mon along for games, stories, art, music, Elmo's World, and the Sesame Street Post Office (pssst… there’s lots of good stuff for parents, too).
Seussville
The Cat in the Hat has a home on the Internet! Join the Seussvillians for games, activities, a storymaker, and more fun activities for kids. Grown-ups will enjoy the biography of Dr. Seuss and a calendar of Seussian events.
Online Games for Kids
After you’ve finished your homework, check out some of these links to Internet fun and games for older kids. Many of the websites have been recommended by kids who regularly visit the Youth Services Computer Lab.
Arcade Games and More
Cartoon
Network
This Youth Services favorite includes interactive games, videos, programming schedules, and shopping.
Friv
"Only the very best free online games!" A collection of Flash games for kids... 250 in all! New games pop up at any time and the least popular games drop off the screen.
LEGO Games
This is a collection of online games based on the popular LEGO building toys.
Orisinal Games
This collection of simple and "super cute web games" is suitable for kids of all ages.
Recommended by Tania, age 11.
Yahoo! Kids: Games
This directory of kid-friendly online games includes links to board games, card games, word games, and more.
Brain Benders and Puzzles
Funbrain.com
Funbrain offers a selection of online games, quizzes, and parent-child challenges arranged by age and learning categories (numbers, words, universe, culture, extra) with special areas for kids, parents and teachers.
Thunk.com
Get the scoop on secret codes and find out how they've been used throughout history and around the world. Then write your own secret messages with the Thunk message scrambler. Also includes jokes, trivia, and links to other cool websites for kids.
Chess
ChessKIDS Academy
This virtual chess club includes online interactive lessons and quizzes for kids who play, or would like to play, chess. A resource center is available for parents and teachers. Great for beginning chess players!
Fun and Learning
Akhlah: The Jewish
Children's Learning Network
This website was developed especially for Jewish parents, teachers, and kids. Learn about weekly Parsha, Israel, the Hebrew Aleph-Bet, Jewish holidays, and Torah heroes. The site also has a Hebrew Phrase of the Day and coloring pages, too!
Blockcorner: A Digital
Building Toy
Kids of all ages can learn simple computer programming with this online building toy. Create blocks, paint them, and move them around by typing simple commands. Additional help is available in the Blockcorner Quickstart Guide.
Brainpop
This interactive journey just for kids explains all about "stuff" through a collection of activities, cartoons, and animated movies. The first two movies each day are free. Thereafter, a paid subscription is required for unlimited viewing.
Words and Writing
Dav Pilkey’s Web Site O’ Fun
This children’s author and illustrator gets zany on the Internet with “scenes and material which may be considered too silly for grown-ups…” This extra crunchy website stays crispy in milk with interactive games, printable coloring pages, literature-based paper airplanes, jokes, riddles, “how to draw,” and other fun stuff for kids. A Boring Grown-Up Stuff section describes how teachers can use the site as a teaching tool.
RIF Reading
Planet
The Reading Planet is all about having fun with books and reading. Find fun activities, cool games, booklists and reviews, author and illustrator interviews, and so much more and this website just for kids
Activities and Crafts
Sure, there’s lots of cool stuff to learn and do on the Web, but there’s fun stuff to do when you’re away from the computer, too. Find ideas online, and then have fun on land!
Activities
ActivityTV
Follow along with step-by-step video instructions for gifts, games, magic tricks, kid-friendly cooking recipes, science experiments, cartooning, cheerleading, juggling, origami, jewelry, puppets, and more. Print instructions are available, too!
Learn
to Juggle
Learn how to juggle with these animated instructions for three-ball and four-ball juggling. Note: Youth Services staff recommend that this activity be practiced outside of the Library and far away from anything breakable!
Crafts
EnchantedLearning.com Crafts for Kids
A collection of craft projects especially for preschool, kindergarten, and elementary school children. The crafts use materials found around the house, like egg cartons, cardboard, paper, boxes, string, crayons, paint, glue, etc. Visit the special page about color mixing to find out how you can make all the colors of the rainbow!
Hands On
Crafts for Kids
This collection of fun and creative craft projects is designed especially for kids ages 7 to 12. Kids can learn how to use crafts to help other people, and teachers can find cool ideas for using projects in the classroom.
Paper and Pen
FOLDS.NET
Links: Origami Diagrams on the Web
Learn the Japanese art of paper folding with this collection of origami diagrams. Diagrams are arranged by difficulty: simple, low intermediate, intermediate, high intermediate, and complex.
How to Make a Pop-up
Canadian children's author Joan Irvine explains how to make a simple pop-up card with step-by-step drawings.
Recycling Crafts
The Imagination Factory
This art and crafts site for kids, parents, and teachers provides all kinds of ideas for using recyclables to create drawings, paintings, sculpture, origami, collage, paper maché, prints, and crafts.
String Things
Boondoggle Man
Boondoggle -- also known as lanyard, gimp, and craftstrip -- is a colorful, flat plastic lacing that can be woven together to create all kinds of cool projects. This website is jam-packed with step-by-step illustrated instructions for all kinds of boondoggle stitches and projects.
International String Figure
Association
String figures have been enjoyed throughout history as games, good luck charms, for storytelling, or just to pass the time. This website tells the history of string figures, how to make them, and provides links to other string figure websites. Be sure to visit the Arctic String Figure Project page for more than one hundred string figure designs!
Reading on the Web
Enjoy all different kinds of tales from around the world with these online stories and books.
Book Clubs for Kids
Book Nuts Reading Club
The Book Nuts Reading Club is run by a group of school-aged girls and the "Book Nuts Mom." Stop by their website to share in the fun of reading and talking about good books.
Book Reviews by Kids
UNDER the COVER: Book Reviews by Teens from Skokie Public Library and our neighborhood schools
Check out these book reviews written by teens at local Junior High and middle schools. These students were chosen by their teachers to read and write about new books that are hot off the press.
Do-it-Yourself Stories
AdLib:
Create Your Own Silly Story!
From BAB Books, this website is the online version of the Mad Libs party game. Fill in the blanks and see what silly story comes up!
Online Books and Stories
BAB Books:
Online Stories & Resources for Kids
The BAB Books website offers online stories for kids that the whole family will enjoy.
Goodnight Stories
This storytime website for kids and families features all kinds of stories: read-a-story, see-a-story, hear-a-story, decide-a-story, fill-in-a-story, and finish-a-story.
The
International Children's Digital Library
This online library is filled with children's books from all over the world! Read stories from places like Croatia, Egypt, Japan, New Zealand, the United States, and more.
Kids' Corner featuring Beatrix Potter
Kids' Corner features the stories of Beatrix Potter in text, RealAudio, streaming media, and multimedia slideshows. Some stories are available in Japanese, French, and German languages.
Pitara Kids Network: Stories for Kids
This wesite features children's stories from India and Asia. Story themes include jungle tales, school and friendships, relationships and sibling rivalry, peer pressure, and loneliness.
Shabbat Books
From the Shema Yisrael Torah Network, this website has illustrated stories and downloadable coloring books about Shabbos.
TumbleBook™ Library
A collection of animated, talking picture books, puzzles, and quizzes adapted from existing picture books. Choose from story books, "readables," life stories, puzzles and games, and language learning.