Book 33: From Cover to Cover

TITLE: From Cover to Cover: Evaluating and Reviewing Children's Books
AUTHOR: Kathleen T. Horning
STARTED: May 21, 2009
FINISHED: May 25, 2009
PAGES: 240
GENRE: Library Science

FIRST SENTENCE: With 5,000 new books for children being published every year, it may seem an overwhelming task to wade through them.

SUMMARY: [From barnesandnoble.com] This book, though its focus encompasses the full range of books for children-read-alouds to YA titles-is a terrific primer for YA book reviewers. The first chapter, "A Critical Approach to Children's Books," presents a useful and concise overview of books and publishing. The next six chapters cover various genres, defining and describing each and explaining how a reviewer goes about judging the quality of a book within a particular category. With the exception of the chapter on picture books, all the chapters refer to some YA works and reviews of those works to illustrate principles of book evaluation and review writing. The final chapter, "Writing a Review," first gives a brief history of children's book reviewing in the United States, then follows with a very detailed and helpful explanation of how to prepare and write book reviews.

Horning's book is an engaging read. She uses her experience and broad knowledge of YA and children's books to illustrate each aspect of writing book reviews. Her book provides a comprehensive and basic introduction to the "business" of book reviewing that will be invaluable to beginners and helpful to old-hand reviewers who might want a refresher course on writing book reviews. Aspiring book review writers will treasure this book. It also will be a useful supplemental text in YA and children's literature courses. Librarians may also enjoy reading it to gain a better understanding of book reviews and how they are written.

THOUGHTS: A nice "hit and run" review of evaluating children's literature. Horning does not go too far into the subject, but does more than skim. She covers each type of children's lit as well as discussing how to review and evaluate. A nice, fast read for those who want an introduction into this category of books.

RATING: 5/10 [Meh]