Reviewed by Margo Dill, www.margodill.com, margodll@aol.com

Middle-grade novel, historical fiction (1935)
12-year-old boy as main character
Rating: Can you say WOW!?
Short, short summary: Moose Flanagan lives on Alcatraz Island because his dad is a guard for the prison. The author, Gennifer Choldenko, lets us know with a great note at the end of the book that the staff [...]

Reviewed by Margo Dill, www.margodill.com, margodll@aol.com
Young adult novel, contemporary
17-year-old guy as main character
Rating: It’s hard to put down!
Short, short summary: Leon Sanders wants a girlfriend, dreams of a girlfriend, and well, pretty much thinks about it day and night. His dream girl is Amy Green, a cheerleader who doesn’t really notice him. In the meantime, [...]

Reviewed by Margo Dill, www.margodill.com, margodll@aol.com
Picture book (early preschool through Kindergarten, some first graders)
Animals are the main characters.
Rating: You got to love a classic!
Short, short summary: Brown Bear, Brown Bear is a great classic book for classrooms or for home. Basically, each animal is asked what they see, and they just happen to see a [...]

reviewed by Margo Dill, www.margodill.com, margodll@aol.com
Chapter Book (ages 7-10)
Third-grade girl, main character
Rating: Laugh out loud funny!
Short, short summary: Clementine is the funniest third-grader I know, but she’s not having a very good week in her debut novel. Maybe she shouldn’t have cut Margaret’s hair and then drawn it back on with a marker. Maybe [...]

Reviewed by Margo Dill, www.margodill.com, margodll@aol.com
Young adult novel (probably for high school students)
17-year-old girl, main character
Rating: Beautiful verse that leaves you thinking for months

Short, short summary: Ellen Hopkins knows what it is like to have a daughter addicted to crystal meth. She knows how to write a captivating and haunting story of a beautiful, confused [...]

Reviewed by Margo Dill, www.margodill.com, margodll@aol.com
Picture book for pre K-2nd grade
Young boy as main character
Rating: Great rhyme; cute and useful concept for young children
Short, short summary In Dream Hop, nightmares plague a young boy. But he quickly learns how to get away from his bad dreams. He just yells, “Dream hop!” Soon, he is [...]

Reviewed by Margo Dill, www.margodill.com, margodll@aol.com
Chapter Book, Fantasy
Three Main Characters–older elementary school age–twin boys and older sister
Rating: How fast can I get book 3? (So, in other words, it’s great!)
Short, short summary: Jared, Simon, and Mallory Grace wrote a desperate letter to author Holly Black and illustrator Tony DiTerlizzi. With the letter, the children [...]

Reviewed by Margo Dill, www.margodill.com, margodll@aol.com
Young adult novel, contemporary fantasy
17-year-old girl, main character
Rating: Can’t put this book down, or buy the sequel fast enough
Short, short summary: Bella moves to Forks, a town on the Olympic Peninsula, to live with her father and help her mother’s “new” relationship. Once in Forks, Bella is drawn to [...]

Review by Margo Dill, www.margodill.com, margodll@aol.com
Picture book for preK-2nd or 3rd grade
Main characters: Dinosaurs!
Rating: A great “lesson” book but kids will never know it/ fantastic illustrations
Short, short summary: Unless you’ve been away from children’s books for a while, you’ve probably seen several of these How Do Dinosaur. . . books. This is one of [...]

Review by Margo Dill, www.margodill.com, margodll@aol.com
Middle-grade historical fiction
11-year-old boy, Samuel, main character
Rating: A page turner with great hooks
Short, short summary: Samuel is a slave in Kentucky in 1859. He runs away with another older slave, Harrison, and they travel on the Underground Railroad to freedom. Samuel uncovers secrets and meets many characters along his [...]