The Big Two

• Ask for Kids (formerly Ask Jeeves for Kids)
  From the beginning, Ask Jeeves for Kids was a success because it was "designed to be a fun destination site focused on learning and 'edu-tainment'." It didn't hurt that Jeeves, the Butler, was a friendly and professional image which appealed to both adults and children. So, what happened to Jeeves? In February 2006, Jeeves was retired because "Kids are smart, and they catch on fast—especially about how to use technology. The need for an 'at-your-service' butler wasn't as important [anymore]...." However, Ask for Kids remains an important first resource for children searching the Web. Children can still ask questions in a natural language format and receive relevant information that has been filtered to eliminate inappropriate content. However, younger children should be reminded to ask only one question at a time. If Ask for Kids cannot provide a direct answer, results are retrieved from a search of the Web. This search engine still uses both human editors and filtering technology to provide answers to those questions that seem to be passed down from generation to generation such as "Why is the sky blue?". This new version's goal is to be children's "learning and entertainment hub," and it is succeeding.
• Yahooligans!
  Yahooligans! is also an excellent first choice for children. It is the oldest search engine directory for children and was first available in March 1996. It is similarly designed for ages 7-12, but it still has Earl to "to read your questions, look through Yahooligans!, and find the right answers." Unlike Yahoo!, Yahooligans! presents only materials from its own listings and it does not search the text of sites. Yahooligans! still offers sites that "are cool, goofy, fascinating, fun, hysterical, philosophical, surprising, sedate, silly, seismic, popular, obscure, useful and, ummmm... interesting for whatever reason," and it continues to reject websites that are "sleazy, slimy, snarly, paranoid, hateful, hideous, harmful, pornographic, or prejudiced." This is a very good combination when working with children! The Yahooligans! Help is, what else, very helpful, and so are the separate Parents' Guide, Teachers' Guide, and Online Safety Guide. We're hoping for another ten years of Yahooligans! searching.

Other Search Engines for Children

These sites include actual search engines and directories as well as searchable collections of websites for children.

• AOL@SCHOOL Search
  AOL@SCHOOL "provides educator-reviewed classroom resources for K-12 students and teachers in math, science, language arts, social studies, and more." All sites have been pre-screened, selected by educators, and presented in concise lists. AOL@SCHOOL functions as a portal and includes current news headlines as well as educational games, activities, and homework assistance. Search results are presented in both Matching Categories and Matching Sites and automatically show grade levels. There is also a “Show me more like this” feature. There is a separate and highly recommended search engine for kindergarten through grade 2, AOL@SCHOOL Jr.
• Awesome Library
  This is a small, highly selective collection of approximately 30,000 educational websites for children. It was actually started in 1995 as Library-in-the-Sky and has always been one of the top education directories. Different searches are available for teachers, kids, teens, parents, librarians, and college students. Children should be directed to enter the Door for Kids at the top of the page, while teachers will find their own section very helpful.
• Education World
  Education World, begun in 1996, offers over 500,000 sites of interest to teachers. Use either the Advance Search or Browse by Topic to identify resources on a wide variety of topics important to K-12 educators. Only educational websites are included, although it is possible to expand a search to the Web. Education World also offers a great deal of original content including a large number of lesson plans and other instructional materials.
• Great Web Sites for Kids
  Start by downloading The Librarian's Guide to Great Web Sites for Kids, and then alert every teacher in the building or district to these librarian-approved websites for children. Originally created in 1997 by the Children and Technology Committee of the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC), a division of the American Library Association, this list of great sites is maintained and kept current by the ALSC Great Web Sites Committee. The Selection Criteria can be used as an example of how to evaluate websites, and all of the sites are searchable. Searches can be limited to sites appropriate for Pre-K, Elementary, and Middle School aged youth.
• Ithaki for Kids
  This is the kid's version of Ithaki, a well-regarded metasearch engine, which was created in 1996 and made available in 2000. Ithaki for Kids considers itself to be the first metasearch engine for children and young adults. Results are briefly annotated and come from many of the search engines annotated here including Awesome Library, KidsClick, and Yahooligans!. It also searches other educational and art resources such as Artkidsrule and FactMonster.
• Ivy's Search Engines for Kids
  This is an interesting, briefly annotated list of almost 100 search engines for children. Search boxes are provided for some of the major search engines, and there are also links to other search engines and Web guides for children including specialized search engines (e.g., The Amazing Picture Machine and CraftFinder). Family-friendly and filtered search engines are also identified. Within each category, the search engines are listed alphabetically, but there is no grouping by subject areas.
• KidsClick!
  This is one of our favorite places to start when we are looking for a few good websites on a topic of interest to children. KidsClick started in 1997 as a project of the Ramapo Catskill (NY) Library System, but it is currently maintained by the School of Library and Information Science at San Jose State University. The basic selection policy is to include only sites that "kids (grades K-7) will find entertaining or enlightening." Over 600 subjects are grouped under fifteen major categories. Entries are briefly annotated and indicate the number of illustrations, the reading level, and the subject area. The advanced search can be used to limit by these variables as well as to use search techniques such as truncation. Recommended sites are even grouped by Dewey Decimal numbers! This site is highly recommended.
• TekMom's Search Tools for Students
  This is a home-grown metasearch engine approach to search engines for students. Twenty-six well-known search engines and collections of websites for children are listed in nine categories including history search engines, image search engines, science search engines, and search engines just for kids. However, each category must be searched sequentially. Links to reference tools are also provided for encyclopedias, dictionaries, biographies, authors, and maps. Its design makes it easy to use and understandable to children.

Other Search Engines Worth Knowing

It is essential that teachers and library media specialists keep current with trends and developments in search engines. Search Engine Watch and Pandia Search Central are two great sources with information about search engines. Both offer free electronic newsletters. Search Engine Report from Search Engine Watch is highly recommended as both a current-awareness service and a source of helpful information about all aspects of search engines. It's very long and typically comes as two separate emails. Pandia Post concentrates more on search techniques and guidance and offers less news.

The following are four brief examples of the types of newer search engines covered by both Search Engine Watch and Pandia Search Central. This is important information for both teachers and library media specialists.

• A9.com
  A9.com is an example of a new type of search engine launched by Amazon.com as a separate subsidiary in early 2005. A press release noted that "The web is easy to use, but using it well is not easy.... A9.com is a powerful search engine, using web search and image results enhanced by Google, Search Inside the Book® results from Amazon.com, reference results from GuruNet, movies results from IMDb, and more." A variety of search tools (e.g., 43 Things, Feedster, and Flickr) can be added to customize A9.com. There are also now A9 Yellow Pages and A9.com Maps. These maps not only give directions, but also show street-level images for millions of addresses. Anybody who has not already done so needs to check this site out.
• BrainBoost
  Brainboost claims to be "an answer engine whereas Google is a search engine." It is an extension of its parent company, Answers.com. Brainboost provides direct answers to questions and also links to related pages on Answers.com. Answers.com claims to have a "collection of over three million answers... drawn from over 60 titles from brand-name publishers, as well as original content created by Answers.com's own editorial team." Try entering a question and be pleasantly surprised by the answers provided.
• Clusty
  Clusty uses a clustering engine to group search results into folders that contain similar information. For example, a search for "rivers" yields results grouped into categories such as Water, Rafting, Photos, Streams, and Protect and Restore. Clusty is a metasearch site and searches Ask, MSN, Open Directory, Looksmart, Gigablast, and Wisenut. It is owned and operated by Vivisimo, an early search engine that grouped results into categories. Clusty claims that it "allows users to focus on the area of interest without all the chaff."
• Soople
  Finally, for those who want to do all of the neat things they've been told Google can do, but who don't want to take the time to figure them out, there's Soople. The most popular Google tools (e.g., calculator, phone books, stock information) and some of the various Googles (e.g., Google Scholar and Google Images) can be searched directly through search boxes provided by Soople. It's actually kind of nice, even for experienced Google searchers.