Welcome to the wonderful world of books and reading! Helping a child to develop a love of reading is one of the greatest and easiest gifts you can give.

Just set aside 15 minutes every day to read to a child. The habit will become one you'll both look forward to, and soon a love for reading develops that is genuine.

Few people have time to preview every book they contemplate borrowing or buying. That's where I come in. I read over 1,000 children's books every year, selecting the best and reviewing one "Book to Borrow" and two "Books to Buy" every week.

Make sure to take note of "Librarian's Choice." Your local librarians have carefully selected children's books available to borrow from their specific library.

My reviews, along with recommendations from your librarians, provide you with six titles of quality reading material.

Whether you take our suggestions or not, what's most important is to read to the child in your life every day. A love of reading will become the wings your child needs to soar as high as he or she can, and you have the power to make that happen. Begin today.

The following book is available at many public libraries.<B>"Tuck Everlasting"</B> by Natalie Babbitt; Farrar, Straus and Giroux; 139 pages; read aloud: age 8 and older; read yourself: age 9 to 10 and older.Winnie Foster is an only child and doted upon by her mother and grandmother. What Winnie really wants is to be by herself for a change; do something interesting. Fed up with being overprotected, Winnie decides to run away, just for a little while, into the woods. It is there that she meets Jesse Tuck.The Tuck family had stumbled upon eternal life after they drank from a magic spring 87 years ago. From that time on, they never aged and couldn't die. They were stuck, exactly the age they were when they drank that water.When Winnie discovers the Tucks' secret, Jesse and his family are frantic. No one must find out about the magic spring, and the Tucks must make Winnie understand why - that living forever is not the blessing one might think.But a strange man in a yellow suit has followed Winnie and Jesse, and, having a different opinion of eternal life, tries to cash in on the Tucks' long-kept secret. It's up to Winnie to save the Tucks and ultimately do what she's longed for - to make a difference in the world.Magnificently written, it is little wonder that this classic story continues to be enthusiastically embraced since it was first published over two decades ago.

<B>Library:</B> Butler Area Public Library, 218 N. McKean St., Butler<B>Library Director:</B> Nancy Gresko<B>Youth Services Librarian:</B> Lori Campbell<B>Choices this week:</B> "Even Firefighters Hug Their Moms" by Christine MacLean; "The Kissing Hand" by Audrey Penn; "The Kiss That Missed" by David Melling.

The following books are available at favorite bookstores.<B>"Diary of a Spider"</B> by Doreen Cronin, illustrated by Harry Bliss; Joanna Cotler Books/HarperCollins, 2005; 36 pages; $15.99 hardcover; read aloud: age 4 and older; read yourself: age 7 to 8.Spider is a very cool dude, and not scary at all. As a matter of fact, Spider does all sorts of things that an ordinary spider does, and his diary proves it.For example, Spider goes to school, takes gym class and brings his old skin into show-and-tell.Spider also has friends such as Worm, and when he spends the night at Worm's house, he's not very fond of the leaves and rotten tomatoes that are served for dinner.Spider's best friend is Fly, although Fly's mom is scared of Spider. And while you might think Spider isn't afraid of anything, he is - especially people with big feet.Hilarious in every way, "Diary of a Spider" guarantees that you'll never look at a spider the same way again!<B>"Magic Windows: Farm"</B> illustrated by Holly Mann; developed and published by Running Press, 2005; eight pages; $4.95 hardcover; read aloud: birth to age 3; read yourself: age 6 to 7.What's happening on the farm? Magic Windows will show you! Each page presents a different animal or activity on the farm with a question and a simple illustration in a window. Pull the tab and voila - the answer appears and transforms the plain illustration into an amazing sparkling scene.A great way to entice children into the magic and wonder of reading while they are learning, this exciting book and its companion, "Food," will have toddlers engaged for hours.<B><I>Nationally syndicated, Kendal Rautzhan writes and lectures on children's literature. She can be reached via e-mail: kendal@sunlink.net.</I></B>