*Picture book for preschoolers through third graders, contemporary fiction *Elementary-school-aged boy as main character *You will want to be-bop with Doo-Wop Pop over and over again! Short, short summary: Doo-Wop Pop by Roni Schotter tells the story of Elijah Earl, who is a shy kid who keeps to himself. He knows there are a few [...]

You may be familiar with Jez Alborough’s duck series. His first book, which has also been set to music and played in preschools across the country, was Duck in the Truck. I can hear the song in my head now about how the truck gets stuck in the muck–and I will probably be singing it [...]

You must watch this clip below from food writer John T. Edge’s (author of Hamburger and Fries: An American Story, Apple Pie: An American Story) website. He has also made several television appearances, and he has this clever clip video from his website. I saw this on his website because I am writing an article [...]

Reviewed by Margo Dill, www.margodill.com, margodll@aol.com photo by Breibeest www.flickr.com *Picture book for prekindergartners through second graders *Dog as main character *Rating: Denise Fleming’s second Buster book is so creative, and many children will be able to relate to Buster’s fears when he goes to Cowboy Camp. Short, short summary: In Buster Goes to Cowboy [...]

Reviewed by Margo Dill, www.margodill.com, margodll@aol.com *Middle-grade novel, fantasy *12-year-old boy as main character *Rating: Suzanne Collins captivates the reader until the end of the series, although some readers won’t want Code of the Claw to be the last book! Short, short summary: Gregor has his final adventure in the Underland in book 5, Gregor [...]

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 [...]

photo by CarbonNYC www.flickr.com *Picture book for prekindergartners through 2nd graders, fantasy *Little girl as main character *Rating: That Pesky Dragon is a fun read full of delightful pictures–who doesn’t love a good dragon story? Short, short summary: On Izzie’s dad’s farm, there are cows, goats, sheep, chickens, dogs, cats, oh, and that pesky dragon! [...]

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. [...]