Boy do I miss LookyBook.com! Do you remember that incredibly awesome site? Hailed as one of the best new websites of 2008, LookyBook.com let you read actual full children’s books online. You could click to turn the pages as if they were real books, and they had a massive selection. Every week more books were added to the site—from favorites, like Franklin and Olivia, to classics, to cool new books. We found so many wonderful books there that we went on to purchase later—like Little Pea and Round is a Mooncake. I think I was more depressed to see that site go than I was over my own layoff—both due to the financial constraints of that stressful year.

Ever since, I’ve been looking for a similar website where we can “try before we buy” our children’s books. We haven’t had much luck! Yes, we can visit the library, which is fun anyway, but there was just something cool about skimming through these books at home, just out of the blue, without having to leave the house. LookyBook.com also had a wider variety of diverse cultural books than our library seems to have as well.

In honor of National Children’s Book Week, I’d love to find a similar site to enjoy with my daughter. So far, I have found the following sites. None are as awesome as LookyBook.com. If you know of other sites, I would love to hear about them in the comments!

International Children’s Library: This is the closest thing I’ve found to LookyBook.com. There is a large variety of worldwide books, and you can sort of turn the pages like you could at LookyBook.

Children’s Storybooks Online: There is a very limited collection at this site, largely by the same authors.

Big Universe: This site has a pretty good selection, and you can turn the pages—but they take a while to load, and it’s not all that user-friendly. You also have to sign up to read full books.

Teacher Tap: This site lists many different sites that have their own formats, various available books to read, and information about the sites listed. It also categorizes them by age group. Some sites listed—though not all—feature the “turn the page” format that’s so much fun.

ByGosh: You’re more likely to have enjoyable versions of these classics (think fables and nursery rhymes) in your home already than these bland pages. Still, if you don’t have them at home, it’s better than nothing.