Welcome students, educators, and caregivers! We've created this Learning Resource Center as your one-stop hub for literacy and learning support. Contact Youth Services staff for assistance accessing library databases and resources or to request information on specific topics.
By phone: 630.801.4340
Email: ysd @ messengerpl.org
Tips to find a tutor
Guide for Finding a Tutor from Reading Rockets
How to Choose a Tutor from Reading Rockets
5 Things to Consider Before Hiring a Tutor from The Conversation
Local tutor database (now available!)
Messenger Library is not recommending tutors nor evaluating tutors for quality or pricing. Please visit the above links for resources on how to evaluate your tutor options.
Do you tutor?
Fill out this form to be added to the tutor database.
Library Services for Homeschoolers
Book Requests by Topic or Genre - call us at 630.801.4340
eBooks, eAudiobooks, and Magazines
Library Materials on Homeschooling
Books about homeschooling and homeschoolers can be found in the Library catalog in Adult Non-Fiction or in the Parenting Collection in Youth Services:
Local & National Homeschooling Resources
Illinois Resources
Chicagoland Homeschool Network Free resource to help families in the Chicagoland area connect with resources to enhance their homeschool experience.
Illinois Christian Home Educators ICHE serves to network different support groups from all over Illinois for the purpose of sharing information and encouraging one another.
Illinois H. O. U. S. E. Home Oriented Unique Schooling Experience is a statewide network of nonsectarian home schooling groups.
Illinois State Board of Education Requirements for homeschooling in Illinois.
Johnsburg Public Library Homeschool Resource Center. All materials (books, curriculum resources, games, and equipment) can be checked out by anyone with a valid Illinois library card.
National Resources
A2Z Home’s Cool – Alphabet of Homeschooling Find lesson ideas, educational websites, helpful articles, top programs, books, materials, curriculum, and support.
Cathy Duffy Reviews: A review site of resources that are helpful to families who wish to educate their children. You can search for resources by school subject or authors.
Home Educators Resource Directory One-stop Directory for information, supplies, services and support for the homeschool community.
HSLDA: Home School Legal Defense Association Provides legal advice for homeschooling families, subscription required. Also search for local homeschooling groups.
Homeschooling Guide From OnlineSchools, a resource for students and families considering homeschooling, building a curriculum and philosophy, and transitioning to college as a homeschooled student.
(Coming soon! What subject and grade do you want to see first? email us!)
Non-fiction Books on Astronomy
Non-fiction Books on Chemistry
Non-fiction Books on Earth Science
Databases for Pre-K through Elementary School
Biography Reference Center: General biographical information and some correspondig titles/texts about well-known people throughout history. Recommended age group: Kindergarten-12th Grade with parental assistance as needed.
Explora Primary Schools: Easy-to-use database of articles, videos, and encyclopedia posts about certain topics. Advanced search has lexile limiters. Recommended age group: Kindergarten-5th grade with parental assistance as needed.
Funk and Wagnalls: Online encyclopedias. Recommended age group: Kindergarten-12th Grade with parental assistance as needed.
Hobbies and Crafts Reference Center: Database that highlights some hobbies and crafts with texts and academic papers about the crafts. Also has some supplementary "How-to" videos for general topics. Recommended age group: 4th-12th Grade with parental assistance as needed.
Learning Express HUB: Curriculum assistance for elementary, middle, and high school students, information about careers, and various test prep for entrance exams. Texts and information in Spanish is available. Recommended age group: 3rd Grade-12th Grade with parental assistance as needed.
Mango Language Learning: Language learning program with 74 different laguages to learn including different dialects within certain languages, ex Arabic, Spanish, and French. Recommended age group: Kindergarten-12th Grade with parental assistance as needed, especially for younger learners.
NoveList K-8 Plus: Catalog of book and author information in a massive databse to find titles for readers ages birth through 8th grade. Title searches include book reviews, title/author read-alikes, and a breakdown of genre, character, storyline, and many more. Recommended age group: Birth-8th Grade with parental assistance as needed.
SWAN Libraries: Full list of Messenger Library databases and how-to articles. Recommended age group: All ages and parents.
Databases for Middle School
Biography Reference Center: General biographical information and some correspondig titles/texts about well-known people throughout history. Recommended age group: Kindergarten-12th Grade with parental assistance as needed.
Funk and Wagnall's: Online encyclopedias. Recommended age group: Kindergarten-12th Grade with parental assistance as needed.
History Reference Center: Find articles, images, biographies, and videos of historical topics and events. A great resource for research projects. Recommened age group: 6th-12th Grade with parental assistancce as needed.
Hobbies and Crafts Reference Center: Database that highlights some hobbies and crafts with texts and academic papers about the crafts. Also has some supplementary "How-to" videos for general topics. Recommended age group: 4th-12th Grade with parental assistance as needed.
Learning Express HUB: Curriculum assistance for elementary, middle, and high school students, information about careers, and various test prep for entrance exams. Texts and information in Spanish is available. Recommended age group: 3rd Grade-12th Grade with parental assistance as needed.
Literary Reference Center: Search for plot summaries, critical analysis, reviews, and author interviews across literary genres and audiences. Recommended age group: 6th-12th Grade with parental assistance as needed.
Mango Language Learning: Language learning program with 74 different laguages to learn including different dialects within certain languages, ex Arabic, Spanish, and French. Recommended age group: Kindergarten-12th Grade with parental assistance as needed, especially for younger learners.
Middle Search Plus: Middle school database for articles, primary sources, historical essays, biographies, and more. Search results show Lexile Reading Levels. Recommended age group: 6th-8th Grade with parental assistance as needed.
NoveList K-8 Plus: Catalog of book and author information in a massive databse to find titles for readers ages birth through 8th grade. Title searches include book reviews, title/author read-alikes, and a breakdown of genre, character, storyline, and many more. Recommended age group: Birth-8th Grade with parental assistance as needed.
Primary Search: Find articles, biographies, historical essays, and more, from popular elementary school sources. All search results show Lexile Reading Levels. Recommended age group: 3rd-5th Grade with parental assistance as needed.
Science Reference Center: Information for science subject texts like chemistry, biology, physics, computer science, etc. Also a good resource for science fair and experiment ideas and scientist biographies. Recommended age group: 6th-12th Grade with parental assistance as needed.
SWAN Libraries: Full list of Messenger Library databases and how-to articles. Recommended age group: All ages and parents.
Teen Health and Wellness Database: Covers various topics related to teen health and wellness such as family life, friendship and dating, and green living; along with various hotline numbers, personal stories from teens about different topics, and an advice column from a licensed psychologist. Recommended age group: 6th-12th Grade.
Databases for High School
Academic Search Premier: Database that aggregates academdic journals, magazines, reviews, etc of scholarly topics. Includes images when applicable and can search for items in various langagues. Recommended age group: High School.
Biography Reference Center: General biographical information and some correspondig titles/texts about well-known people throughout history. Recommended age group: Kindergarten-12th Grade with parental assistance as needed.
Funk and Wagnalls: Online encyclopedias. Recommended age group: Kindergarten-12th Grade with parental assistance as needed.
History Reference Center: Find articles, images, biographies, and videos of historical topics and events. A great resource for research projects. Recommened age group: 6th-12th Grade with parental assistancce as needed.
Hobbies and Crafts Reference Center: Database that highlights some hobbies and crafts with texts and academic papers about the crafts. Also has some supplementary "How-to" videos for general topics. Recommended age group: 4th-12th Grade with parental assistance as needed.
Learning Express HUB: Curriculum assistance for elementary, middle, and high school students, information about careers, and various test prep for entrance exams. Texts and information in Spanish is available. Recommended age group: 3rd Grade-12th Grade with parental assistance as needed.
Literary Reference Center: Search for plot summaries, critical analysis, reviews, and author interviews across literary genres and audiences. Recommended age group: 6th-12th Grade with parental assistance as needed.
Mango Language Learning: Language learning program with 74 different laguages to learn including different dialects within certain languages, ex Arabic, Spanish, and French. Recommended age group: Kindergarten-12th Grade with parental assistance as needed, especially for younger learners.
NoveList Plus: Catalog of book and author information into a masssive database to find specific books. Title searches include book reviews, title/author read-alikes, and a breakdown of genre, character, storyline, and many more. Recommended age group: High School, but it has titles for ages birth through adult.
Science Reference Center: Information for science subject texts like chemistry, biology, physics, computer science, etc. Also a good resource for science fair and experiment ideas and scientist biographies. Recommended age group: 6th-12th Grade with parental assistance as needed.
SWAN Libraries: Full list of Messenger Library databases and how-to articles. Recommended age group: All ages and parents.
Teen Health and Wellness Database: Covers various topics related to teen health and wellness such as family life, friendship and dating, and green living; along with various hotline numbers, personal stories from teens about different topics, and an advice column from a licensed psychologist. Recommended age group: 6th-12th Grade
Highlights Kids: What you love about the Highlights magazine is now online for free! Enjoy fun activities, jokes, games and puzzles, science facts, and stories all on this fun and interactive site.
Khan Academy: A nonprofit whose mission is to provide free, world-class education for anyone, anywhere. They have lots of great resources for parents who teaching their children at home.
Minerva's Kaleidescope: A place for parents and caregivers of children and teens ages 7 through 16 to find kid-friendly activities based on the Library of Congress' collections.
Smithsonian Learning Lab: A free, interactive platform filled with digital resources based on the Smithsonian's own expansive knowledge and information. This is a great resource for educators, students, and parents to gather up more great resources. The Learning Lab covers Social Studies, Language Arts, Science, Art, and more!
Mosa Mack Science: A engaging way to introduce engineering into your middle school science lessons. Purchase units on certain topics and find new was to teach science concepts to your students.
National Geographic Kids: Learn about animals, science, and more with National Georgrahic Kids! There is much to see and do with games, videos, and interesting facts about the world.
NASA's Climate Kids: An engaging site created by NASA to help tell the story of our changing planet through the eyes of their missions and research. Children can learn about climate science through accessible and engaging games, activities, and articles.
PhET: Interactive Simulations: Focusing on math and science, students will engage, explore, and discover with an interactive, fun, and research based simulations. By interacting with these simulations, students will learn and interact with different experiments from the comfort of their own home.
Science Friday: Listen to podcasts, read educational articles, or watch videos about the world around you with Science Friday. For the past 25 years they have created content to help share science with the rest of the world.
Smithsonian Science Education Center: Their goal: transform and improve the learning and teaching of science for prek-8th grade students. Here you can find curriculum and resources that are great additions to use at home or in a classroom.
Digital History: A comprehensive collection of historical data on United States history. This site has it all and includes online textbooks, interactive learning modules, timelines, flash movies, and virtual exhibts.
Smithsonian's History Explorer: Offers hundres of free and innovative online resources for teaching and learning about American History. Pulling from the Smithsonian's collection, students will learn about history by learning about the stories behind these artifacts and what they teach us about America.
Biblionasium: A child friendly "Good Reads!" Join this fun and interactive community where you can log your child's reading and also find other books that they will enjoy reading for free.
Funbrain: One of the leading sites for free online games for kids. On Funbrain you can find hundreds of games, books, comics, and videos that develop skills in math, reading, problem-solving, and literacy.
Starfall: An educational website whose goal is to create as safe space online where children can have fun while learning. Starfall covers reading, language arts, and mathematics for preschool through 3rd grade.
Cool Math: Love math? Hate math? Need homework help? Then Cool Math might be helpful! Topics that they cover: Pre-Algebra, Algebra and Pre-Calculus.
Cool Math 4 Kids: A spin-off of Coolmath.com, focused on elementary students. Topics that are covered: Addition, Substraction, Multiplication, Division, and Fractions.
Funbrain: One of the leading sites for free online games for kids. On Funbrain you can find hundreds of games, books, comics, and videos that develop skills in math, reading, problem-solving, and literacy.
Starfall: An educational website whose goal is to create as safe space online where children can have fun while learning. Starfall covers reading, language arts, and mathematics for preschool through 3rd grade.
Favorite tips to encourage a lifelong love of reading
- All reading counts! Books that are "too easy" count. Listening to books on CD or mp3 counts. Graphic novels and comics count. Reading in video games, online, or the labels at the grocery store all counts.
- Reading is fun! Whenever possible, let kids choose their own books to help instill a love of reading.
- It's ok to stop reading a book you don't like. (Unless it's required for school.) Let kids check out extra books, so they have a back-up if they don't like one. This is great when reading for fun and selecting books for school reports.
- Model reading for the children in your life by reading in front of them. source
- Children who grow up with lots of books at home read more. Visit the library to restock your home collection regularly! source
Learning to read
Early childhood
Every Child Ready to Read (ECRR) provides a framework to help children ages 0-5 get started on the right track. Read, sing, talk, play and write with your child everyday to build the skills needed for learning to read. These "five practices" are based on the "six skills" of the first edition of ECRR, an evidence-based early literacy initiative from the Public Library Association and the Association of Library Services to Children. The six skills are print motivation, print awareness, letter knowledge, vocabulary, phonological awareness, and narrative skills. We recommend all families focus on incorporating the five practices into their daily activities.
Check out these books on raising a reader
Online Resources
