Book Review Form

Children in the upper elementary grades can use this form to write a book review to share with friends. 

How to Use This Printout

More Ideas to Try

 

How to Use This Printout

When children read books, they naturally form favorable or unfavorable opinions about what they have read.  Encourage children between the ages of 8 and 12 to summarize, quote, and give reasons for recommending a book using by using this form.

1. Print one or more copies of the Favorite Books File form and give it to the child or children with whom you are working. For each book that they read, ask them to write the book's title and author at the top of the page.
2. Children should then identify which kind of book they read and mark the appropriate box or boxes: a picture book, a chapter book, fiction, nonfiction, or other.
3. Ask children to summarize the book, highlighting major events, without giving away the ending of the book. Talk to your child about why it isn't a good idea to share the ending of a book when recommending it to someone else to read.
4. Encourage children to find a favorite quotation from the book and then write it down on the page.
5. Finally, ask the children to rate how highly they recommend the book by completing the following sentence, "This book is . . ." and checking the appropriate box: good, great, or excellent. Children should use the space below the boxes to explain why they rated the book the way they did.

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More Ideas to Try

• Adapt the Favorite Books Form to work with children on writing reviews of their favorite movies.
• Encourage children to submit their book reviews to be published in children's magazines or on Amazon.com.
• Host a Favorite Book Party for children to share titles of their favorite books. Children can read the book reviews and recommendations of other students.

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