The Museum of American Art put together this fab interactive Webzine for teachers and students to showcase its Latino artists. The site has everything going for it, from a fresh design and articles that will actually interest kids to loads of audio and video files. Various artists talk about their work in detail, and kids can participate in related activities and games that offer a fun way to learn respect for other cultures and customs. ˇDel Corazón! is a bright spot in the ever-growing morass of boring and hackneyed educational sites. - Dorrit Tulane Walsh
An award-winning publisher of books for children of all ages, Klutz is famous for volumes that keep kids (and, secretly, their parents) entertained. You can climb up the tree house ladder to interact with various book titles, each of which has accompanying games and tricks. Move on to read book reviews, get excerpted highlights for your reading pleasure, and follow links to Amazon.com for instant ordering. Learn the bouncing cupcake trick from the Rubber Chicken Book, refresh your memory of the License Plate Game on the Kids Travel Level, and discover fun things you can do with a dollar in the Buck Book. The Launch Pad has lots of Kids and Parents links, and its engaging design will definitely intrigue young Klutz devotees. - Emily Soares
Is it about the glory of the big screen? Luke Skywalker up close and personal? No! It's all about product tie-ins! But for a site that's screaming "buy this, buy this, buy this," Hasbro has done an exceptional job. Information about new toys (Star Wars Monopoly, for instance) is interspersed with QuickTime clips of memorable Star Wars moments ("Fire when ready"). Add the chat room and lots of Java (not Jawa, silly!), and the force is with this site: Your kids will force you to hit the toy store. - David Pescovitz
Chronicle Books is perhaps best known for its stunning photography books on such popular culture items as 1950s advertising icons, toy ray guns, and other collectibles. Designed to give the feel of a carnival, the Web site for Chronicle's childrens books is also a glowing success. Enter the Fun House, and make your own Peep-O-Rama (not that kind!) or Edible Jewelry. You can also scope out teachers guides and book reviews, delve into artist and author interviews with the likes of Bob "Dem Bones" Barnes, and hit the Ferris Wheel for a ride through the Chronicle Books for Children catalog. - David Pescovitz
ReallyGood.com is divided into two top-notch sections. Smoke Signals is a health information site for Native American youth. Facts and folklore about diet and smoking fill the pages, which are all presented in a convincing yet fun way through brilliant illustration. The exceptional design can best be described as animated Native Americanbright colors, characters, and tribal symbols abound. Beasty McFoolish, the second section of ReallyGood.com, features a comic story about a bizarre-looking young monster obsessed with smoking pot and drinking booze. The tale switches between his naive view of the world and the "Reality Check of how outsiders perceive him. (Hint: "Girls think he's gross.") - David Pescovitz
Scholastic is the mother of all good kids media. Its cranked out Scholastic magazines since the 1920s and is the biggest publisher of childrens books in the world. Its Web site, however, is primarily a place for teachers and parents. While some sub-sites are clearly aimed at kidssuch as the Goosebumps and Magic School Bus pagesScholastic Place is mostly filled with teaching programs, book-club information, and detailed background/excerpts from the classroom magazines. Clicking on Science World makes me wish I was in grade school againsort of. - David Pescovitz
YTV is Canada's "#1 specialty channel for kids." Tune in, and you'll find Sailor Moon, Goosebumps, Dexter's Laboratory, and NBA Dunk Street. Clicking through the YTV Web site will give you the usual program schedules; show tie-ins, such as contests and at-home activities; pictures to color; a Shockwave petting zoo; and interactive paths into the TV-show hosts' minds (sometimes subtly twisted, almost always fun). I want my YTV! - David Pescovitz
This exhaustively thorough site, sponsored by the California Energy Commission, covers all aspects of energy in an informative and upbeat way. Energy Quest takes a topic that might turn off even the most inquisitive and provides creative explanations and activities to make learning about it fun. The Energy Story is a good place to get your bearings, but there are a lot of interesting and fun areas to choose from. You can learn about fossil fuels, alternative fuels, and solar power; read scary stories; choose from loads of games, riddles, and mind benders; and connect with loads of other educational resources. Kids and big people alike will enjoy Energy Quest. - Emily Soares