I'm sure this has been talked about before (I have it on good authority), but let's talk about it again. What do you expect from a children's book review?

For me:

1. Plot. Spoilers are fine.
2. Illustrations or picture description.
3. Author and Illustrator
4. Intended audience age approximation

and the most important:

5. What the child(ren) thought about the book.

There are some more I like to see of course, but I'm finding 5 missing more and more with the 10-4-10 and a children's book review just isn't Very Helpful to me without that information. It's like reviewing baby food and not telling me if your baby liked the taste. I don't care if you liked the taste. What did Junior think?

More importantly for this thread, what do you think about this issue?

~Stef

1. For picture books revealing the plot is fine. For chapter books I might start to feel uneasy. For middle grade and young adult I would begin treating it like adult books as far as plot spoilers go. At the same time it's still important to note whether there are elements that would turn certain readers off.

2&3. Yes, if the illustrations are important to the book then they're important to the review.

4. I sometimes have a hard time remembering to include age recommendations. Most often I do it in an assumptive way rather than blatantly. If I call something a young adult novel I figure I've covered this angle. But there's a greater spread among picture books so perhaps I should be more specific for those.

5. I think this is helpful information, but perhaps not always necessary. I can understand the baby food comparison. But what about a middle-grade book? Can you review the first Harry Potter book without talking about how your ten-year-old feels about it? What about the Hobbit? Of course you can. So why not picture books? Where do you draw the line? Probably at the point where the primary audience shifts--did you read the book for yourself or for your kid.

I sometimes read picture books just for myself. And some picture books are secretly intended for adult audiences--you know the type, they're the inspirational or nostalgic ones your aunt has on her coffee table.

So while I'd say that talking about what your child thought about the books is often important (even most important) I'm don't think I can say it's something I "require" in every review.

-Andy

I have a whole shelf (or two) of children's books that my children have never been allowed to touch. They're collector's editions, fragile pop-ups, or just plain sentimental to me. And if they fall into that camp, I think it's important to note in a review.

Heck, if you review a kids book based on your own thoughts, that's not unimportant. It will give me something to go on when trying to find new books for my own kids. But unless I know that going in, I assume that it was read to or by a child, and I'd like to know their reaction as well as yours.

With my reviews, it really can't compare. With a special needs child who does not express herself sometimes, I can only go by what I know. Did a character's illness or death upset her? Was a bullying incident hard on her? Also every child is different. I may have a group of children listening to the story and all will have different reactions. My child is super sensitive so does get upset about any unhappy details in the book. Also age ranges...I pick up books about emotions, no matter if they are board books...we are still working with her on expressing emotions in non-aggressive ways. Will one book solve this issue? Of course not. Also one book on fears of the dark or on not going to sleep is not going to instantly help either. But over time, hopefully she will get something out of them.

I do my best and hope it is enough. When I read book reviews for a book for my child, I want to always know the ending. Will it frighten her or upset her? Does a character die? She is into chapter books now so this still applies. The last thing I want is for her to be more scared than she already is...of the dark, of monsters, ....

My child who has autism reacted to that book you specifically put in your last paragraph by hiding her head and refusing to look at the character. Would this info have helped anyone interested in the book? No. She is super sensitive and won't look at characters showing any strong emotions.

I agree with most of what's been posted here.