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May 2004

Wired for Books
Awesome collection of author audio!
Grade Level: Pre-K-2, 3-5, 6-8, 9-12, Advanced, Professional
http://wiredforbooks.org/

CONTENT:
Wired for Books from the Ohio University Telecommunications Center features audio and video presentations of book and poetry readings including children's stories and interviews with authors.
AESTHETICS:
The site uses a variety of page layouts and graphic designs to keep it interesting. The main page of the site is very long requiring users to scroll down. Although long the graphics are small and the page loads quickly. Real One Player is needed and can be downloaded free of charge from the link provided at the site.
ORGANIZATION:
Navigation through the site is not complicated. Users will find most of the links on the main page. Some of the internal pages provide submenus.

REVIEW:
Teachers, parents and students or just anyone who loves books will enjoy this site. Wired for Books provides a collection of audio recordings featuring authors reading their own works, videos of selected plays, and an archive of author interviews from radio host Don Swaim that were recorded during the l970s and 1980s. Visitors to the site can listen to Charles Dickens' classic tale, A Christmas Carol, Beirut hostage Terry Anderson as he reads the poems he wrote during his captivity, Martin Sheen read Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagore's famous poem, My Country Awake and many more. Students will love the lively renditions of children's stories such as the Beatrix Potter stories including an animated slide show of The Tale of Peter Rabbit and Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. The Beatrix Potter stories are also available in Japanese. Included in the children's section is an interview with TV show host Fred Rogers, "Mister Rogers", readings of selections from Grimm's Fairy Tales and the Just So Stories by Rudyard Kipling. Additionally, audio performances of classics such as Shakespeare's Macbeth and Homer's The Iliad are available.

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05/24/2004