Group items tagged

Welcome to my workshop! Here you'll find writing tips, strategies, and challenges to help you write a book review. Once you've completed my challenges, try writing and publishing a review of your own. When you've completed your review and this workshop, you can write your own book review and publish it online.

"This is a book that works for all sorts of folks for all sorts of different reasons. I always get a little wary when a bunch of folks like a new book and start recommending it to me. I worry that their opinions will raise my expectations too high and then I'm bound to be disappointed. That said, I can't help but agree with anyone and everyone who has raved about this. It's got kid appeal, amazing writing and storytelling, and a friggin' merman. Consider it a story worthy of the hype and one that's gonna win itself a whole new crew of Kathi Appelt fans. Plus it made me cry."

I want to read this book! Read the full review to ensure that it is compatible with your school - and then order it anyway!!

Ann eleven-year-old girl who LOVES school and reading. She reviews Middle Grade and Young Adult books for fun.

[the YA books in my libraryare] all appropriately reviewed, of course, and many of them are award winners, some several times over-but when it comes to content, they don't pull any punches. So it shouldn't really come as a surprise that I recently got my first book complaint. As librarians, we tend to talk a lot about intellectual freedom and defending our teens' right to read whatever they want. But when push comes to shove, how do we really respond to book challenges in the heat of the moment?

I feel lucky that I have not had to defend a book. I hope I would listen to the parent's concerns, arrange a time to respond to that concern, check our division policy again, do some reviews, and then respond. I try to read all the books of an older nature for a K-8 library, so I know the content. In some cases I've sent books on the Jen at NBCHS, because they are to mature for our students, but are still great books. I know I should spend more time researching the books before I buy them, but sometimes I am buying them based on a student's recommendation.

Review: "Heather C. Hudak and Weigl Educational Publishers have created a template to encompass all cultures, races, ethnicities found in Canada. Into this template, Hudak has pieced each culture without acknowledging its uniqueness, its special history or its struggle for freedom and opportunity! " NOT recommended!

You might want to take note of the comments in the review - some schools may have purchased this series. It is interesting to note however that Saskatchewan Education recommended "The Ukranians in Canada", "The French in Canada" and the "Chinese in Canada" for grades 3-5 in 2005.

Children's book reviews of kids' picture books, board books, books for beginning and young readers, tween and young adult fiction and nonfiction, children's literature and parenting titles - a recommended reading resource for kids, teachers, librarians and parents.

from School Library Journal

you might want to subscribe via your start page to this blog which reviews all forms of 'comics' for kids.

"Picture book news and reviews from a children's librarian"

"Guys Lit Wire exists solely to bring literary news and reviews to the attention of teenage boys and the people who care about them. We are more than happy to welcome female readers - but our main goal is to bring the attention of good books to guys who might have missed them. "

this looks a good place to look for books that teenage boys might enjoy

"This year, SLJ's book review editors have chosen 62 books as the "Best Books of the Year.""

are these items in your library or listed on your consideration file?

The 54 books annotated below were selected as the best of the year from the 5700 books reviewed in SLJ's pages in 2009. We think children and teens will find them enlightening, entertaining, or evocative.

From the Calgary Board of Education and United Library Services Wired for Words is dedicated to providing our young avid readers with a place to get some advice on best-reads! And it is also a place where you can share information about what books you recommend or read the reviews sent in by other readers.

Review: "Part of the nine-volume "Canadian Aboriginal Art and Culture" series, these books provide information about a variety of topics, including homes, clothing, food, tools and weapons, religion, celebrations and ceremonies, music and dance, language and storytelling, and art. In fact, with only one or two exceptions, all the chapter headings in these three titles are identical. " Recommended but NOTE: This series provides just enough information for elementary school students.

this may be a useful series to have in your library - elementary/middle years art and social studies

Review: "'Canadian Citizenship in Action' is a series of four books intended to help middle years's students understand just what living in a democracy like ours means, and how each person can participate, as well as what barriers may be encountered."

You may wish to consider purchasing this series for middle years social studies - if you don't already have it in your library.

some great reviews

Debbie Reese's analysis of Peter Pan in Scarlet - which received a starred review in School Library Journal. She says and then proceeds to describe, "The worst parts for me, as I read this book, are McCaughrean's references to Indians:"

"The Alex Awards are given to ten books written for adults that have special appeal to young adults, ages 12 through 18. The winning titles are selected from the previous year's publishing. "

consider reading the reviews to determine if these books are suitable for your high school library

"All of the main characters in these books have some sort of disability, which is a great way to teach students how to learn about differences."

check out these reviews -- some of the books would be great additions to your collections

"Canadian Citizenship in Action" is a series of four books intended to help students understand just what living in a democracy like ours means, and how each person can participate, as well as what barriers may be encountered."

Worth purchasing... from the reviewer "I liked this series very much. The books relate large-scale issues to ones that are within the reader's experience, and they certainly make one think. Any classroom from grade 4 to 8 could have its curriculum significantly enriched by having these books as a resource."