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Dorothy M. Broderick is my HEROINE. Her most famous quote that I love, and which I immortalized on a T-shirt (which I wear to librarian conventions) is: "Librarians who do not read are guilty of hypocrisy and should not be paid."
Thank you, Karen, for this information. It will be helpful for both me and the budding review writers in my class of juniors. :)
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https://discussions.rifflebooks.com/c...
there's some overlap, but we're going to be doing some actual RA work soon!
karen wrote: "i'm glad people are still hanging out here! i have another readers' advisory group on riffle, if anyone's interested:https://discussions.rifflebooks.com/c......"
Why riffle and not Goodreads?
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So, you're employed by riffle? I took a look at it, and it seemed seriously lacking. Where are the reviews?
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how to write a reader's annotation
a reader's annotation is written to lure someone to want to read the book being annotated. it stimulates interest but never gives away the conclusion of a book. it may hint at disaster or triumph, but never tells the potential reader what the disaster or triumph will be, or how it comes about.
annotation writing is an art, but it is also a skill that can be acquired with just a little effort. the following steps are a framework within which beginners can work. after a while, they become subconscious and a part of a good annotator, just as every other skill acquired ceases to require concentrated thought to be practiced.
identify the central character
who is the central character of the work? in most cases there is only one character to be identified, but occasionally we can also focus on a relative, love interest, the alien, or a foil of the protagonist, depending upon the audience we wish to reach with the annotation.
a central character can be an animal, and on occasion, a machine. no matter. once you have selected the central character, list his/her/its identifying characteristics. is he/she and executive, a military officer, an ambassador, a widower, an athlete, etc.? how old is the character? is race or ethnic background an important characteristic?
after you have a list of the characteristics of the central character, move toward asking:
who is/are the significant others?
with whom is our central character interacting? nature can be the significant other in a survival story. is it a foster parent, an eccentric hermit, a would-be friend? a dog or horse or cat? you identify the significant other by the amount of emotional involvement the central character has with him/her/it.
what is the setting?
does the action take place in an urban ghetto, a posh suburb, a rural outpost...? are we on a dark and foreboding moor? in outer space? in school?
when does the story take place?
are we dealing with the here-and-now, the past, or some future world?
what is the character's challenge?
is our character trying to find a place to belong, to win a big race, come to grips with his/her sexuality, to recover from trauma, to save humankind from disaster. or...?
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i mean, it's pretty self-evident, but it can't hurt to mull over some of these questions if you are unsure where to begin with a text.
for the YA titles, i found it useful to always include the age of the character, as proximity-in-age to the characters is a big tun-on for teen readers.