CNN Article: Kids are the experts in reviewing children's books

Kids are the experts in reviewing children's books

Children's Book Reviews

Who better to review a children's book this holiday season than a child? CNN.com producer Aaron Brodie talked with three kids from the CNN.com extended family to find out if these 11 books measure up. Click play on each slideshow to hear their review.

Here's another link to a related, and encouraging, story.

ATLANTA, Georgia (CNN) -- What William Goldman once said about Hollywood -- "Nobody knows anything" -- can easily describe the decisions made by children's book publishers.

Dr. Seuss' "And to Think I Saw It on Mulberry Street" reportedly was rejected by 28 publishers before it was finally released.
Maurice Sendak's "Where the Wild Things Are" inspired debate over its appropriateness for children and was also turned down by several publishers.

Even J.K. Rowling received at least eight rejection notices for her first "Harry Potter" book. That beloved series has now made her Britain's wealthiest woman.

So, when it comes to reviewing children's books, it's best to turn to the experts -- children.

Little ones can sense when illustrations aren't quite right, when characters don't fit with the story and when the writing inspires a desire to do ... well, just about anything besides read a book.

So CNN.com turned to three staffers' children, each a different age, to review books appropriate for their cohorts. I-Report: Share your children's book reviews with us

(Check out the I-Report to get invaluable thoughts on what some readers like and don't like!)

My main purpose in posting the article was so people could watch the video clips of the kids discussing why they enjoyed the books they read. This information is always relevant and helpful.

I believe the target for children's books varies and is aimed at everyone mentioned in previous posts -- children, parents, grandparents, etc., (I'm don't think they're marketed towards librarians, necessarily.) There are parents and other adults that buy the books they want their kids to read and there are just as many parents, if not more, that let their kids pick out their own books.

brittanimae said:

Our market can be confusing! When my son started reading more fluently (he's 6 now), I started pushing him toward chapter books. We read The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe together, and I checked out several Magic Treehouse books from the library for him. I figured between the two, he'd get a grounding in literature and history. He kept on reading The Cat in the Hat and avoided the books I chose for him. OF COURSE HE DID! I finally read a couple of Magic Treehouse books myself, and (no disrespect to the books) realized they were a horrible fit with his personality.

THEN I realized the joy of bright, eventful, engaging picture books for proficient young readers, and discovered Junie B. Jones. Sadly, he might never have found these books without my help and that of great teachers and librarians. If I had been a busier or less attentive parent, I would have assumed that he didn't enjoy reading and sent him back to the television, sad that he wasn't learning all about history from a treehouse.

There is such a divide between what is marketed to parents (Magic Treehouse) and what is marketed to kids (Junie B.), and somehow we need to bridge the divide.

I think kids reading the slushpile is a fabulous idea.

Click to expand...

Well said!

Regarding Junie B. Jones, my friends actually enjoy when I read these books out loud to them! LOL We were together one night when I got home from the library. I had checked one out to see what the fuss was about and read it on the way home. I loved it and asked my friends if they'd heard of it before. Some of their kids read them but they hadn't. I intended to read a page or two to show them what it was like and they urged me to continue, so I did. Now, they want me to read one each time we get together. Heck, it only takes 10-15 minutes and I enjoy reading out loud.