A day on Mars is almost as long as a day on Earth, but how long is a year on Mars? Does Mars have seasons? What color are the rocks on Mars? Mars is full of volcanoes, but when did the last one erupt? Learn the answer to these questions and many more fun facts in this 15-Minute Book. In the Milky Way Galaxy, there is a yellow sun that has eight planets. Four of the planets are rock worlds. The other four are gas and ice. The closest planet to the sun is Mercury. It’s too hot for anything to live there. The second is Venus. Its atmosphere is deadly. The third is Earth. It has oceans and land. It has trees and animals, and humans. The fourth planet, and last of the rock worlds, is Mars – the red planet. How much do you know about this fascinating place? The Educational Version has activities that meet Common Core Curriculum Standards. LearningIsland.com believes in the value of children practicing reading for 15 minutes every day. Our 15-Minute Books give children lots of fun, exciting choices to read, from classic stories, to mysteries, to books of knowledge. Open the world of reading to a child by having them read for 15 minutes a day.

We see stars in the night sky as pretty, twinkling objects, but what exactly are they? A lot of the information we find out about stars, helps us understand other objects; pulsars, quasars, galaxies – even the origin of our universe. Here are some fun facts about stars. Do stars twinkle? What are stars made of? Do we know more about the inside of stars or the inside of Earth? Do stars have a life cycle? Is a dead star still a star? How do we measure the speed of stars? The Educational Version has activities that meet Common Core Curriculum Standards. Find out more about stars and amaze your family and friends with these fun facts. LearningIsland.com believes in the value of children practicing reading for 15 minutes every day. Our 15-Minute Books give children lots of fun, exciting choices to read, from classic stories, to mysteries, to books of knowledge. Many books are appropriate for hi-lo readers. Open the world of reading to a child by having them read for 15 minutes a day.

You may think the Solar System consists of the sun and the eight planets that orbit around it. However, there are other things out there. There are comets, moons, asteroids, meteors, dust, ice, rock and much more. Plus there is a whole lot of man made junk. How much do you know about the solar system? Which planet had the potential to become a star? How many asteroids are there in the asteroid belt? How average is our sun? How far does the sun’s gravity extend? How old is our solar system? The Educational Version has activities that meet Common Core Curriculum Standards. LearningIsland.com believes in the value of children practicing reading for 15 minutes every day. Our 15-Minute Books give children lots of fun, exciting choices to read, from classic stories, to mysteries, to books of knowledge. Many books are appropriate for hi-lo readers. Open the world of reading to a child by having them read for 15 minutes a day.

More space objects have been found beyond Pluto, in a region known as the Kuiper Belt. In 2003, Eris was discovered. Its existence was confirmed in January 2005. It was found to be larger than Pluto and was put forward as a tenth planet in our solar system. This caused much debate among astronomers. Are there more, larger objects in our solar system? How many? Are they all to be considered planets? If not, then what does this mean for Pluto? On August 24, 2006, the International Astronomical Union (IAU) came up with a scientific definition of the word “planet”. Pluto did not fit these new rules. It was downgraded to “dwarf planet”. The IAU is reluctant to consider any more than eight planets in our solar system. All other planet-like bodies are to be known as “dwarf planets”. How much do you know about these dwarf planets? Do you know: What is a plutoid? How many official dwarf planets are there in our solar system? Are all the dwarf planets out beyond Pluto? How big does an object need to be to qualify as a dwarf planet? What other rules must an object meet to be classified as a dwarf planet? Find out the answers to these questions and more and amaze your family and friends with these fun facts. Ages 8 and up. All measurements in American and metric. The Educational Version has activities that meet Common Core Curriculum Standards. LearningIsland.com believes in the value of children practicing reading for 15 minutes every day. Our 15-Minute Books give children lots of fun, exciting choices to read, from classic stories, to mysteries, to books of knowledge. Many books are appropriate for hi-lo readers. Open the world of reading to a child by having them read for 15 minutes a day.

How old is Earth? How fast does Earth spin? What is happening to Mount Everest, the highest place on Earth? What is the lowest place on Earth? Learn the answer to these questions and many more fun facts in this 15-Minute Book. Earth is the only planet in the universe that has life. It orbits an ordinary star in the outer edge of The Milky Way Galaxy. It is a small rocky planet, third in line from its sun. Seventy percent of it is covered by water. It is our home. But how much do you really know about it? The Educational Version has activities that meet Common Core Curriculum Standards. LearningIsland.com believes in the value of children practicing reading for 15 minutes every day. Our 15-Minute Books give children lots of fun, exciting choices to read, from classic stories, to mysteries, to books of knowledge. Open the world of reading to a child by having them read for 15 minutes a day.

Comets often streak across the night sky. They are fascinating flashes of light, but how much do we really know about them? Here are some things that scientists do know. Find out: What the name comet means. How comets are named. When the earliest comets were recorded. How scientists predict when a comet will return. What a comet’s tail is made of. The Educational Version has activities that meet Common Core Curriculum Standards. LearningIsland.com believes in the value of children practicing reading for 15 minutes every day. Our 15-Minute Books give children lots of fun, exciting choices to read, from classic stories, to mysteries, to books of knowledge. Many books are appropriate for hi-lo readers. Open the world of reading to a child by having them read for 15 minutes a day.

Eclipses have amazed and terrified people for thousands of years. The sky grows dark. Daytime animals go to sleep and nocturnal animals wake up. Roosters crow and cows come in for milking. The sun is slowly covered by some mysterious celestial object. Sometimes it is blocked out completely. What had the people done wrong? Would the sun ever come back? Was it the end of the world? Today we know that eclipses are caused by the movements of the sun, the moon and the Earth. They still amaze us and they can still terrify us. How much do you know about eclipses? How many kinds of eclipses are there? What is an annular eclipse? (Hint: it's not an eclipse that occurs once a year.) True or false: A solar eclipse can only occur on a new moon? How many different shadows does a solar eclipse have? What are Baily's Beads? Find out more about eclipses and amaze your family and friends with these fun facts. All measurements in American and metric. Ages 8 and up. The Educational Version has activities that meet Common Core Curriculum Standards. LearningIsland.com believes in the value of children practicing reading for 15 minutes every day. Our 15-Minute Books give children lots of fun, exciting choices to read, from classic stories, to mysteries, to books of knowledge. Many books are appropriate for hi-lo readers. Open the world of reading to a child by having them read for 15 minutes a day.