*Picture book about volcanoes–found in non-fiction section–told in poem form *Subject matter: A volcano erupting and how it affects life around it *Rating: Volcano Wakes Up! is a wonderful book to teach kids about volcanoes and the life around them. Love it! Short, short summary: In Volcano Wakes Up!, Lisa Westburg Peters uses poetry to [...]

First, I’d like to announce the winner of the Seeds of Change book giveaway from last Thursday’s post. It is . . .Becky Povich. Thank you to Becky and everyone who left comments on this post. Beatrice’s Goat by Page McBrier and illustrated by Lori Lohstoeter is a wonderful children’s book based on a true [...]

Many children and tweens are familiar with Bridge to Terabithia because of the 2007 movie, starring Josh Hutcherson and Anna Sophia Robb. But this story is definitely a Timeless Thursday choice because the book has been around since 1977. And like many good books that stick around, people challenged it and tried to ban it [...]

Reviewed by Margo Dill, www.margodill.com, margodll@aol.com photo by Sarah Kennon www.flickr.com *Picture book for prekindergartners through third graders, fantasy *Two creatures–the Once-ler and the Lorax–as main characters *Rating: The Lorax by Dr. Seuss is a wonderful book to teach students about the effects of pollution and industrialization. Short, short summary: A young boy visits the [...]

photo by Jessie Michael Nix www.flickr.com *Middle-grade novel, contemporary *10-year-old girl as main character *Rating: Because of Winn-Dixie might have been a great movie, but the book by Kate DiCamillo is ten times better. Short, short summary: India Opal Buloni, the daughter of a preacher, goes to the store for a few groceries and comes [...]

Reviewed by Margo Dill, www.margodill.com, margodll@aol.com Leave a comment on this blog post by Tuesday, February 24 at 8:00 p.m. CST for a chance to win a free hard-bound copy of this book! Picture book for prekindergartners through second graders, fantasy Weebeasts as main characters Rating: A wonderful, brightly-illustrated picture book that gently teaches children [...]

Thank you again, everyone, for making Under the Night Sky part of a successful blog tour on “Read These Books and Use Them.” I am happy to announce that Claudia is the winner of the copy of the book. If you are curious, how I pick the winner so scientifically. . .I put all the [...]

Reviewed by Margo Dill, www.margodill.com, margodll@aol.com Chapter book, contemporary (but written in the 1960s) fantasy Young boy and Ralph the mouse as main characters Rating: One of my favorite Beverly Cleary books. Ralph is absolutely endearing, and kids love him! Short, short summary: Ralph lives in a mousehole in Room 215 in Mountain View Inn. [...]