Classroom teachers, librarians AND PARENTS have the very important job of keeping a book in every child's possession with the hopes that they pick it up, read it and enjoy it. Often times when students finish a book they loved they ask to find a similar book to read or look for one on a similar topic. Many adults use Goodreads to search for recommendations but I know elementary teachers look for more simplistic tools for their students. Here are a few sites that will help elementary students find their next read without having to sign into an account of any sort.
YourNextRead.com
YourNextRead.com is a great site to use to find new books to read that are similar to ones the reader may have enjoyed in the past. This search engine is one of the most comprehensive I've come across and even connects to Goodreads. ☝However, this website is better for upper elementary and secondary students. If you allow students to use this one, be sure to monitor. All kinds of titles will pop up if you type inappropriate words into the search bar. If this doesn't sound like the tool for your students, continue reading....
Bookfinder
Bookfinder is a very simple site and is a fabulous resource for elementary kids of all ages. First, students select their age range:
Then a topic/genre:
All kinds of recommendations pop up:
Bookseer
Bookseer requires the user to type in the name of the book and the author:
Related titles and authors will populate. If you click on a title it will take you straight to Amazon.
Scholastic's Book Wizard
Scholastic's Book Wizard is super easy! Simply enter the title of the book and all kinds of recommendations will pop up:
Reading Rockets
Bookflix
Although this isn't a "website", I want to mention this idea of Bookflix. I saw this adorable display pictured below on Casedillacrumbsclassroom's Instagram account. She created a Google Slides presentation for her media center that looks like the recommendations list on Netflix but with images of book covers. Then I searched the hashtag #bookflix and realized this was a "thing" that educators are using to create bulletin boards. However, I really like how this one was created in Google Slides so titles can easily be changed out. How awesome is this?
I'm sure there are many other tools out there that I'm not familiar with that could be added to this list! Feel free to leave a comment below telling us about one that you like to use.
