Kidspace [Website]

KidSpace is a parallel website to Internet Public Library with topics of interest to children at a level that children can understand. The website consists of various collections of more websites organized in groups such as "Health & Nutrition," "Reading Zone" and "Math & Science." The links that are provided within each grouping are also at a level appropriate for children and the sites I looked at were mostly well.

It seems obvious that some thought has gone into checking the links in this site for reading level and appropriateness. I only found one inactive link, and most of the linked sites are approprite for a higher reading level. I only found one link that I would say was for younger children. The site is colourful, nicely laid out with little scrolling and clicking to do to get where you want to go. There is also a function that allows children to ask a question which I did not test for speed or accuracy. The main criticism I had was with the search function which seem to take children to the parent site to do the search over again. So, in effect there is no search on the KidsSpace site.

Big George / Eric Pringle, ill. Colin Paine

Big George is "England's very first visitor from outer space." George crashed on earth in the earth year 1103 and he lost all memory of who he was and what he was doing there. Big George is the story of an alien with the long neck who towers over and frightens all of the earthlings he meets except for Tilly Miller. Tilly is a young girl who is being forced into marriage to the local Baron's son. This story tells of the adventure that Big George and Tilly go through to protect each other from the angry and powerful Baron.

Big George is not a highly sophisticated novel, but it does tell and interesting and compelling story. I think the best part about science fiction is how it mixes human drama and miraculous events to tell a story. In this this regard science fiction is much like fairy tales and I think they speak skillfully to the human condition. Big George speaks to the fears and desires of children who approaching young adulthood. The language of Big George is not highly advanced so it might be good for those children starting to read chapter books. The illustrations are very rudimentary and they speak to the humorous appeal of the book.

Kids Konnect / Jan Belzer [Website]

Kids Konnect is a website for children that was created in 1999 by Jan Belzer, who has maintained and updated the site since that time. The content of the site is encyclopedic in nature in that it has entries on a large range (hundreds) of topics. Each entry is not a comprehensive treatment of the subject, and sometimes it is basically a set of links to other websites, but the content and links are appropriate for children in elementary school.

I find that the site is arranged in an easy to use fashion, which is probably due to the fact that Jan Belzer is a teacher and she understands how to make websites relevant for children of a certain age. The pages are colourful, often animated and fairly short in length. Sometimes the colour of the page makes it difficult to read, but generally they are simple well done and not adorned with advertisements.

James and the Giant Peach / Roald Dahl, read by Jeremy Irons [CD-ROM]

James and the Giant Peach is the fantastic story of James Henry Trotter who discovers a gigantic peach growing in an old tree. He begins to explore the confines of this incredable fruit and encounters some equally large and fantastic bugs. The entire crew of this giant peach decide to go on a voyage of and this is the story of James' adventures. All of the characters seem to have their "issues," just as James does living a miserable existence with his two oppressive aunts.

The story of James and the Giant Peach comes from the fertile mind of Roald Dahl who comes up with some of the most incredable stories I have read. Needless to say that Dahl is one of my favourite authors and the talented voice of Jeremy Irons gives this CD-ROM great appeal form those who wish to take a marvelous journey without even leaving their easy chair.

Puss in Boots / Retold by Lincoln Kistein, ill. Alain Vaes

Puss in Boots is a classic fairy tale of a young man and the very clever cat he inherits from his father. The young man seems to get the short end of the stick in this inheritance except for the fact that the cat has a knack of being able solving problems like destroying an ogre who is terrorizing some peasants and getting the young man some new respectable clothing. In the end the young man finds himself married to the daughter of a king all without exerting much effort.

The illustrations in this book are grand, colourful and reminiscent of a much older time with castles and kings. The artwork is beautiful and fills the pages with images that are realistic yet caricatures at the same time. This book is well worth reading this story one more time.

The ugly duckling / Hans Christian Andersen, retold and ill, by Troy Howell

The ugly duckling is the classic folk tale of Hans Christan Andersen as told by Troy Howell. If I recall the original story does not have as much dialog as Troy Howell's version, and some elements may be different than the original, but the basic story is still the same. A young bird is hatched in a duck's nest who looks nothing like his brothers and sisters. The "duckling" goes through a series of trials and tribulations and spends all this time worrying about how ugly he is until he discovers that he is not a big ugly duck, but a handsome, majestic swan.

This classic story of self discovery and transformation will speak to most people young and old and this version is supplemented with beautiful, full page, detailed illustrations. The illustrations appear to be oil paintings with lots of green, yellow and brown tones which evoke the moods of the seasons, the animals and the storyline.

Titanic Crossing / Babara Williams

Titanic Crossing is a fictional story about Albert Trask a thirteen year old boy who takes a trip across the Atlantic ocean on a marvelous new ocean liner called the Titanic. This story takes place in April and May of 1912 and most people today know what happened on that fatal voyage. The tragedy of this event is told through the eyes of Albert who has recently lost his father and his family is moving to Washington, D.C. to a future that not many of them are optimistic about.

Looking at the Titanic story through the eyes of a child is an interesting exercise, but it is not filled with as much drama as one might expect of such a story. The boat does not hit the iceberg until two-thirds of the story has gone past. The action is confined to about two chapters and most of the previous chapters deal with relationship issues between, Albert his mother, uncle, sisters and friends. The book is well written and interesting, but I think it is oriented toward girls more than boys, yet a boy is the main character. I was left a bit confused by this contradiction.