One of the best ways to use technology today is to help students understand that authors are real people and that they too can be authors. Many popular book authors and illustrators today have web sites to encourage students to read. On their pages you can find opportunities to interact with puzzles and games about their books or even to write them e-mail.

The illustration in the background and to the right was drawn by a student at a local school in Columbia. It was drawn as a response to the visit of an author, Deborah Hopkinson, to the school. After he presented here with the drawing she scanned it and put it on her web page. You can go and see it there and read the explanation of it. On the same page you have a chance to write her son an e-mail about pets.

Deborah Hopkinson's Web Page

LISTS OF AUTHOR WEB PAGES

Author! Author!-A table of selected authors with Internet resources for each one.

http://www.alltogethernow.org/docs/author.htm#Top

Children's Book Council

http://www.cbcbooks.org/

Missouri Authors

http://authors.missouri.org

Author's Pen-a huge searchable collection of links to author's web sites.

http://www.books.com/scripts/authors.exe

The Author Corner-Pages clearly written for students in grades 2-10.

http://www.carr.org/authco/