Website Review: Teen Ink

TEEN INK is website that encourages youth to express themselves through poetry, essays, stories, reviews, art, and photography.

For more than 25 years, the nonprofit group The Young Authors Foundation has provided a website, magazine, and books all written by teens for teens. Aimed at young adults ages 13 through 19, the website works with English and Art teachers to encourage teens to submit their work for publication.

The website is divided into nine sections.

The Poetry section is organized into free verse, song lyrics, sonnets, haiku, limericks, and ballads. Users can view the works by today’s best, top voted, most discussed, or more recent.

The Fiction section includes action-adventure, fan fiction, historical fiction, realistic fiction, romance, sci-fi/fantasy, scripts/plays, and thriller/mystery.

The Nonfiction section is divided into types such as memoir, interviews, and essays. There’s also a hot issues section with topics such as bullying, environment, and health.

The Reviews section provides book, movie, music, TV, and video game reviews. Summer program and college reviews are also posted.

The Forums section provides two areas for youth to interact. There’s a writer’s workshop as well as regular forums.

The Art/Photo section posts artwork by medium and the Video section posts video work by theme.

The Summer Program section helps youth identify summer programs of interest across subject areas and the College Guide section features resources to help youth learn about college and university options.

In addition to the main sections, a Submit Work area provides guidelines and suggestions for youth wishing to submit their work, a Contests area features opportunities across writing and art genre, and the Other Teen Ink Goodies links provide many additional resources and opportunities.

Teen Ink also features a Library Advisory Board that serve as volunteer liaisons and advisors. This is a great way to get involved at the national level.

Finally, be sure to make use of the many social media features infused into the website including Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube.

Librarians may wish to suggest this website to youth seeking to get their work published. It’s also a great source for short creative and nonfiction works for reading activities.

To learn more, go to the website at http://www.teenink.com/.

Website Review: Canadian Geographic Kids

CANADIAN GEOGRAPHIC KIDS is a website designed to help users explore the geography, history, and wildlife of Canada.

Part of Canadian Geographic, the kid’s section focuses on resources of interest to youth.

The Animal Facts area provides information about dozens of animals that can be accessed by species or the province where they are found. A web page is provided for each animal and the entire collection can be downloaded as a PDF file.

The Games section includes activities related to the environment, maps, animals, and nature. Screensavers and wallpaper can also be downloaded.

The Fun Facts page contains statistics, information, flags, and maps associated with Canada.

The Maps section provides access to the Canadian Atlas Online, award-winning maps, interactive world maps, historical maps, and other fascinating geography resources.

For older children, make use of the entire Canadian Geographic website including the magazine, atlas, mapping tools, travel information, photo section, and blog.

To extend the experience use their links to other geography websites. Also, connect to their social media presence such as Twitter.

Librarians will find this website to be an excellent starting point for discovering information about Canada. It’s also useful for a wide range of projects related to animals, science, nature, geography, and history.

To learn more, go to http://www.canadiangeographic.ca/kids/.