Common Sense Media

Greetings!

I have a great website to help you evaluate books (and other materials) for your schools. It is called www.commonsensemedia.org

Common Sense Media has reviews for books, movies, videos, games, apps, music, TV, and websites. Here are some of the things you can learn from Common Sense Media.

Type in the title of the media you want to know about. Narrow options by using the filter on the left side of the screen. Check out the color-coded numbers indicating the age level the book is for. The colors are like a stoplight – green is good, yellow indicates caution, and red means no for the age. There is also a gray dot that says “Not for Kids” meaning not appropriate for kids of any age.

Beneath that information is a section titled “what parents need to know”. The sections include “Educational Value, positive messages, positive role models, violence, sex, language, consumerism, drinking, drugs, and smoking.” Click on each to learn more specifics about that section. You can read reviews from parents and also reviews from kids.

Beneath that is a section that includes “What’s the story?”, “Is it any good?” “Families can talk about. . .” and “Book details”.

This is a good place to learn more about a book or other media so you can make a more informed decision.
I hope you have a great week.

Audrey