Writing Book Reviews for Children's Book and Play Review

Guidelines for Writing Reviews
Reviews written for an adult professional audience (librarians, teachers) should be evaluative, not simply descriptive in nature. The following guidelines suggest techniques to use and information that would be useful to include in evaluative reviews.

1. Grammar A review is one person's opinion. To avoid restating the obvious, first person (I, me, my) is not generally used. In formal writing, use third person when referring to readers instead of writing in second person (you). To preserve continuity, use the present tense throughout the review. Use active instead of passive voice. In the text of the review, refer to the author or illustrator by his/her last name in professional writing. The following sites may help you avoid common writing mistakes: http://writing.umn.edu/tww/grammar/common_errors.htm; http://www.serendipity.li/errors.html; http://www.yourdictionary.com/library/misspelled.html.
   • Twelve Common Mistakes
   • Common Errors
   • 100 Most Often Misspelled Words in English
2. Bibliographic information. When submitting a review, the bibliographic information should be complete. If the author is an editor or compiler, the appropriate title should be included with his or her name (ex: Janeczko, Paul B., comp.). If a book has a subtitle, it should be included in the title (ex: Hey, You! Poems to Skyscrapers, Mosquitoes, and Other Fun Things). Titles should be in title format (capitalize first and last words and all other words except articles, coordinating conjunctions, and prepositions. See Chicago Manual of Style 8.167).
3. Brief plot or content summary Capture the reader's interest with the first sentence. Plot summaries in professional reviews are not written as teasers but should describe the complete action of the novel. A content summary of an informational book describes the scope of the work, emphasizing predominant topics and viewpoints.
4. Theme In young people's fiction, poetry, or drama, theme is the abstract concept that is made concrete through characters and action (examples: nature, technology, man vs. nature, man vs. himself, etc.). Identify the theme if it aids in understanding the purpose of the work.
5. Authority What are the qualifications of the author of an informational book? Authority is a critical evaluative element for informational material. Well-documented research, education, experience, and prior writing can validate the author's authority.
6. Style and appeal Characterize the author's style. What is the appeal of this work for young audiences? How does the writing feel and sound? Are young people's developmental needs met through this book? Have you kid-tested it? With what results?
7. Format. How does the book look? Is the paper durable, or is it thin with see-through print? What is the allure of the cover illustration/dust jacket? In evaluating an informational book, note the inclusion and quality of an index, table of contents, bibliography, and glossary.
8. Illustrations Identify the style of illustration, if possible. Why are illustrations appropriate or not? Is the color palette appropriate to the subject or mood of the story? Use precise adjectives to describe the illustrations. Avoid ambiguous terms such as pretty, beautiful, good, and wonderful that are used without explanation.
9. Analysis A review should provide critical analysis of a work. Discuss characterization, themes, methods for conveying meaning, etc., and how effective the author was in working with these aspects of a work. Identify the strengths and weakness of the book. Support your evaluative statement with evidence cited from the work. Compare the work with others of its kind or by the same author. The analysis portion of a review may be most useful when separated from the summary portion of the review and should be of an equal or greater length than the summary.
10. Potential uses Suggest ways in which the book may be used by teachers, librarians, parents, and young people.
11. Conclusion End the review with a meaningful statement that reinforces your evaluation of the book.
12. Length Limit the review to 100 to 250 words.

The following site may help shed some light on what a book review should be and how to go about writing one: University of South Dakota guide to writing book reviews.