Reading

Here are a number of sites providing free access to digital books until June 30.

Image by Felix Lichtenfeld from Pixabay.
  1. Burnaby Public Library. The library has a number of free fiction and non-fiction digital books in French and English that are either accessible through applications, with and without the use of your library card (see the link for further details).  Since libraries are closed right now, you can also receive your library card by phone if you need one.
  2. Scholastic Digital Resources.  These are fiction and non-fiction digital books, videos and references for grades K-12.  Many of the books and text have the option to read aloud, which is especially useful to younger students or those who have difficulty reading.  Although most of the fictional books are primary, there are some good informational resources for intermediates.   These are available at no cost until June 30, 2020.
  3. StorylineOnline.  This site features stories read by celebrities.  They are presented as videos and often include cinematic alterations to the pictures of the books.
  4. Capstone Interactive.  Here is a site with a large number of digital books that are also offering a temporary free trial.  To login: try  password: it  There are a number of fiction and non-fiction books available in English and Spanish, all with the option to read the text aloud.
  5. Audible.  Normally this site requires a paid subscription to access their audiobooks.  However, right now they are offering a select number of books in English, French and other languages for a range of ages.  If you’re not sure where to start, I highly recommend: Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland  or Anne of Green Gables.  They are all amazing must-reads!
  6. EPIC.  This is a great digital library site with books, videos and quizzes.  It has both French and English books for a range of ages.  Parents can sign up for free for 30 days or students can sign up through a teacher for free access  until June 30, 2020.  Please email me if you would like a link to sign up under my name, as I already have an account set up until June 30, 2020.
  7. Read Brightly Storytime.  This site developed by Penguin Random House contains a series of read aloud picture books that are also accessible by the corresponding YouTube channel.
  8. Burnaby District Web Resources.  Here is the link to our district web resources that include Tumblebooks, a great resource for digital books.  This is also accessible through our school homepage under library.