A book review of Dash and the Lights in the Sky by Ashley Key
Stars: ***
Adventures Press (2025)
Picture Book>Northern Lights
52 pages
Disclosure: I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. This post contains affiliate links.
Summary: Dash and the Lights in the Sky is a poetic children’s book that blends storytelling, science, and Arctic wonder into one dazzling winter adventure.
One wintry night, Dash the husky looks up to see a strange glow dancing across the sky. With the help of Echo the wise owl and Nimbus the playful Arctic fox, he uncovers the science behind the aurora borealis-the Northern Lights.
Through lyrical rhyme and vivid imagery, young readers explore big ideas like atmosphere, particles, magnetism, and energy transfer in an accessible, enchanting way. Designed for ages 0-8, this book introduces early STEM learning while preserving the rhythm and warmth of a bedtime story.
The watercolor-inspired illustrations immerse readers in a dreamy Arctic landscape, while the built-in Parents’ Reading Guide supports interactive learning with:
- Vocabulary prompts and discussion starters that build language skills
- Extension activities aligned with NGSS (Next Generation Science Standards)
- Real science explanations written for curious minds
At the back of the book, readers will discover a collection of hands-on Aurora Science Crafts, each tied to NGSS core concepts such as energy transfer, wave properties, and Earth-Sun interactions. Children can create their own Sticky Window Aurora, Northern Lights Squish Bag, Aurora Watercolor + Salt Night Sky, Solar Wind Streamers, and Magnetic Field Lines Experiment-each blending art, play, and science to reinforce learning through creativity.
Perfect for classrooms, homeschool lessons, libraries, and cozy family reading, Dash and the Lights in the Skytransforms curiosity into discovery. Whether painting light, modeling magnetic fields, or swirling color like solar wind, children learn that even the sky holds secrets waiting to be explored.
Dash and the Lights in the Sky
This is a story about the Northern Lights / Aurora Borealis and a Husky named Dash.
However it is more than that. It comes with a reading guide with advice on how to read together, how to teach vocabulary through play and discussion starters. After that is aurora vocabulary with illustrations beside the words.
The story itself is aimed at 0-8 year olds with not much text on each page and large type. The illustrations are cute and remind me of Paw Patrol.
After the story is a Did You Know? section on Auroras and a full science section that could be used as a lesson for homeschool or in the classroom or just for fun at home.
Following that are crafts that can be made and even the NGSS standards they meet. There are quite a few crafts.
Buy Dash and the Lights in the Sky at Amazon.com