Our sun is an average star in our galaxy. It is a sphere of burning gas that provides light and heat. It makes our plants grow and allows them to turn carbon dioxide into breathable oxygen. If our sun were to shine a little less or a little more brightly, life as we knew it would not exist. A drop of less than 2% of the sun’s energy output would turn Earth into an ice-covered planet. So how much do you know about this glowing sphere that controls our world. Can you answer these questions: What is the sun made up of? How long does it take the sun to orbit the center of our galaxy? How many layers of atmosphere does the sun have? What are solar winds and what do they do to Earth? What impact do solar flares have on Earth? Find out more about the Sun and amaze your family and friends with these fun facts. 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.

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.

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.

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.

When was Mercury discovered? Does Mercury have a magnetic field? How big is Mercury’s atmosphere? Was Mercury bigger in the past? Learn the answer to these questions and many more fun facts in this 15-Minute Book. The closest planet to the sun is Mercury – a tiny, hot, lifeless ball of rock that races around the sun in less than three months. What could possibly fascinate us about that? Read on and find out. 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.

How many Earth years does it take to make one Saturn year? Do we know more about the planet Saturn or about its rings and moons? How many moons does Saturn have? How heavy is Saturn? Who discovered Saturn’s rings? Learn the answer to these questions and many more fun facts in this 15-Minute Book. Saturn is the sixth planet from the sun. It sits between Jupiter and Uranus. Scientists don’t know much about Saturn, but here are some things that they do know. 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.

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.

What did scientists first think Uranus was? What are the names of Uranus’ moons named after? Is Uranus bigger or smaller than Earth? What is strange about the way Uranus spins? Learn the answer to these questions and many more fun facts in this 15-Minute Book. In the middle of the galaxy is Uranus, one of the four gas planets in the Solar System. Here are some fun facts about Uranus. 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.

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? 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. 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.