Michigan Electronic Library

The Michigan Electronic Library (MeL) has many wonderful databases to use with kids. They have recently added a new resource, Book Flix, which is owned by Scholastic that pairs fiction and non-fiction books online. It is geared for K-3, but has some resources that would be just right for older students, especially under the People and Places link. This is a subscription based literacy resource, but if you access it through MeL, it is FREE. Once you access MeL, click on the Kids button and you will notice a plethora of literacy and research resources such as Culture Grams, eBook K-8 Collection, NoveList, and Book Flix. There is also an online encyclopedia, World Book, that includes links to additional websites at the end of each article. Great stuff! http://mel.org Click on the Kids button in the left panel to view a plethora of literacy and research resources. From a Michigan public school, library or university, you will have immediate access to all of these resources simply by clicking on them. From home, you will be asked to enter a Michigan driver's license to verify you are a Michigan resident, since it is our tax dollars paying for this resource (about $4 million).

YouTube Audio Library

YouTube has launched a music library of 150 royalty-free audio tracks that can be used in any video, even those that are not uploaded to YouTube. These audio files can be streamed or downloaded as MP3 files. Genres range from alternative & punk to classical to rock and roll. There is also music for any mood such as angry, happy, sad, or inspirational. This is a tremendous resource for students to tap into when selecting background music for their multimedia projects!

YouTube Audio Library

Series and Sequels

Have you ever fallen in love with a book and wondered if it was part of a series? And if so, which book comes next? Or first? Or second? Thanks to the Mid-Continent Public Library, the answers to these questions are at your fingertips! They've created a database of over 36,000 books in 4,900 series that can be viewed by the title of the series, the subject of the series, the title of a book, or the author.

http://www.mymcpl.org/books-movies-music/juvenile-series