Well, by now, summer is in full swing. The thrill of being home without homework may be fading for kids, and signs of "I am bored" may even be crossing kids' lips. For bookworms and reading resistors alike, the Web can make books and summer reading exciting for kids.

Books are livelier when you can "get to know" an author on-line. Many popular authors make use of the Web to "meet their audience." Yahoo has a Children's Author Index.

Here's a suggestion; lead the potential reader to an author's page, encourage her or him to spend time looking around and having fun, and be sure to have her browse the list of the author's books (usually a part of the page.) On your next visit to the library, it's likely she'll bring home a book she saw on that author's page.

There are some great children's author pages. Virginia Hamilton's Page is a work of art. Hamilton is a Newbery Medalist and true storyteller.

Her latest book is called "When Birds Could Talk and Bats Could Sing," but kids may be more familiar with earlier works such as The People Could Fly, or the novels Zeely and MC Higgins the Great.

On her page, kids can see her face, browse through a complete library of her writing, and even hear her voice (by playing a sound clip). At her Frog Joke Page, kids can read Virginia's favorite jokes, and submit their own frog jokes.

Jan Brett, an author and artist known for adorable yet accurate nature illustration, has an interactive homepage fun for everyone to visit. At her site you can download coloring pages, masks and other activities, send email to Jan, or see the cover and summary of each of her books. This page may make any reader into a Jan Brett fan.

Did you know kids (or anyone) can find entire books online? That's right! You'll never have to hear "but I don't have anything to read" again.

You can find sites that give introductory chapters, entire illustrated stories or the full text of many classic and modern children's books.

One starting point is the CandleLight Stories site, where you can read picture books from various authors, or follow links to visit many other illustrated book sites online.

E-texts, or electronic versions of a book, are not illustrated, but do provide a complete text for the book. To find a children's book online, try visiting one of the many index sites: for example, BookWire Electronic Childrens Book Index, or Fairrosa's Childrens Literature site.

These pages (and many others) feature lists of links for repositories of kid's books.

Online bookstores can supply more than just books. For example, at the Amazon.com site, you can write or read a review of any book in their stacks (in other words, almost every book known to man), or visit the Children's Books section for recommendations for really great kid's stuff.

Other online bookstores to try are: The Book Corner, which features a "Meet the Author" for many books, and BookPages, a British store offers another opportunity for kids to write their own reviews. If you have a favorite retail store, chances are it is also online. Look for a URL in the store's advertisements or use a search engine to find it online.

And don't forget the library in your town! If your local library system is online, use the web page to find out about clubs, talks, classes and book related activities. You can search with a search engine, using your town's name and library to track it down.

I'd love to hear comments about your favorite reading-related sites, books, or anything else!

Happy Reading!