Book Report

So you have to write a book report, but the guidelines given you are not clear enough—or, the instructions are there, you are just a little fuzzy on how to put a full-length book report together.  Don’t freak out yet.  There books, websites, and helpful teachers to help you complete the process.  Below are just some of the many sources you could try:

BOOKS on WRITING BOOK REPORTS

How to Write Terrific Book Reports, by Elizabeth James – A Student Survival Guide, this book offers a definition/description of a book report, a chapter on how to choose a book to read, a chapter on using the library, and many more chapters on how to read the book, how to get organized, writing drafts, and even doing oral reports.

How to Write Book Reports, by Dawn B. Sova and Harry Teitelbaum – a step-by-step book on writing reports, knowing the difference between reports and reviews, qualifications of reviewers, note-taking for reports, and many more easy to follow guidelines.



WEBSITES/PAGES on WRITING BOOK REPORTS


Bookadventure.com – a reading motivation program for students k-8.  Separated into categories for parents, for kids, and for teachers.  Includes book lists, sample quizzes, and a prize zone!

Just for Kids Who Love Books (alanbrown.com) - a site full of activities, including interactive homework chat, favorite quotes section, a place to express what’s on your mind, links to more helpful sites for book lovers, and more.

Kidsread.com – features an author section, a book review section, lists and descriptions of book clubs, a newsletter for kids, and a search box…as well as many more offerings for kids who read.

TeenInk.com – this is a full site for teens, where in one section they have book reviews written by teens for teens (http://www.teenink. com/Books/).  A site especially good for models, or sample of book reports.



A FEW GUIDELINES on WRITING BOOK REPORTS, from a TEACHER


You might have noticed two words that must be defined—review and report.  That is, a book review and a book report are different, even though many confuse the two.  Ask your teacher for clarification if you are not sure whether the assignment calls for a review or a report:

A book report typically contains actual elements and characteristics of the book—the author’s name, the title, genre (type or category book fits in), publication information, and what Sova and Teitelbaum call the “conditions under which the book was published” (how, why, etc.), and a summary of the book.  The book report is, in essence, the factual information without any opinion.

A book review does have an opinion included, as well as some information about the book that people who have not read it would appreciate knowing.

A Few Steps for Reading and Writing the Book Report

1. Choose the book for you- If you like murder mysteries, choose a murder mystery.  If you like reading about true life stories, pick a biography.  If you are given freedom to choose any book or are given a book list, you could ask your librarians what categories to search (based on what you tell them you like to read), or you could ask friends and family members for suggestions (based on what kinds of reading you both know and like to read).  You could even ask a teacher, if you like cars, for example, what would be a good car story.

2.  Take notes – I know this seems crazy or boring…write at the same time I read!!??? What? Is it a textbook?  No, but the trick here is to be able to watch for and catch key parts of the book and remember them later when you are telling your own readers about the work.  Just jot down a few things as they strike you:  if something is funny, frightening, complicated, confusing, important to the story’s plot, etc., write down a word or two.  I promise it will save time and will make your drafting easier!

3.  Make an outline – You finish the book and have twenty-million things you want to say.  The reader of your report will need those things put in a logical order, so he or she can appreciate the book as you do.  Using your notes, put the material together either following the order your teacher has recommended, or try one of these orders:
Order of space – If your book report describes, use details about first the geography, then the town/city, then the people, then the single person, then the individuals thoughts and feelings, for example.  (See how that goes from largest to smallest, or general to specific, the way a movie camera zooms from a large space down to a tight focus?)

Order of time – Maybe you are writing a report on a true story, a history book, a memoir/biography, or even a fiction novel.  You might want to use chronological order in your summary: first this happened, next this happened, then the central character or narrator said this…etc...

Order of importance – Or maybe you read a book that had a philosophy or a lesson of sorts.  You could start with a small idea from the book, and write about more important ideas and theories, continuing until the most important item is the last thing you write about…sort of as if you were saying ta-da!!!! The grand finale!

Note: With order of time and order of importance you can do the opposite of what I have described here, of course, writing about the smallest/closest thing and expanding out to writing about the largest/furthest away thing---or switch the importance order so that the most important is first and the least important is last.  Use your judgment and what works for you.

4. Now you have the notes, the outline, and an idea of what to talk about and what to leave out.  All you have to do now is put it into complete sentences and paragraphs.  For any report, be sure to have an introduction, a main point (thesis), a few paragraphs of details/discussion, and a good way of signing off or concluding.

5. In your book report, you will want to be sure to include a summary.  Do not tell the whole story, for the writer already did that!  Just tease your reader or inform your reader of key and interesting parts in the book. 

a. Some things to include for a fiction work might be setting (where are we in the book?); plot (what are the main events…in one sentence? In two sentences?); and the main characters (the people appearing most often in the story—how would you describe each to a friend?).

b. The most important information to include about a non-fiction (true) book are the subject or topic (what is the major idea, theory, attitude, or tip…if you had to describe it in ten words to your mom, who needs a quick run-down before she takes off for work?); and a summary (using your notes, what are the five or ten most important events, attitudes, or issues covered…if you had to shrink the points down to tell your dad, who is busy getting ready for a meeting?).

Again, the above were just a few tips for doing a book report.  For more, be sure to ask your teacher for clarification and support, your librarian for help or suggestions, and the websites and/or books for the step-by-step particulars.  And remember, pick a book you like, especially if you don’t like to read all that much: it has gotta be good enough for you to stick with it and for your readers to enjoy your report!