I have written many children’s book reviews for this blog and Good Reads with Ronna and am a Top Reviewer on Amazon. In the past few years, both professional and consumer-generated book reviews have exploded on the internet. More and more consumers consider reviews important when deciding whether or not to make a purchase. If you have ever written one for a children’s book or are thinking about writing one, you want to do a good job. Here are some tips to get you started:

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• It is best to write reviews for books you would highly recommend to others.
• If you are inclined to post a negative review, first ask yourself what you wish to accomplish. A vicious, negative  review is simply unfair. If you post one on Amazon, the publisher or author can file a complaint and your review may be removed.
• Even if you love a book, be honest about it. If there is any aspect of that book you feel could be improved, mention that in a tactful, fair way. For example, “The story is charming and told with such clever, simple prose. The illustrations are lovely, however I do wish the colors were not so muted.”
• Do your homework and research the author and illustrator for interesting information you can add to the review. Have they won any awards? Have they published anything else or a series perhaps?
• Do not read other reviews of the book you are reviewing, because it is not good to be influenced in any way by what someone else thinks of the book.
• Be creative with the title of your review. Why use a mundane title? You want to draw attention to your review so others will read yours over others. Which review would you prefer to read? One entitled “Nice Book” or “Uniquely clever story with a Shocking Twist and Extraordinary Illustrations.”
• Do not simply give an outline of the book – that would be a summary rather than a review, and frankly that is boring.
• Give a short synopsis of the story without giving everything about the book away. You want readers to be really curious about the story after they read your review.
• Creatively state what you like or love about the book.
• Mention the overall quality of the book – printing, binding, paper, cover etc. Book quality is very important in the children’s market, because kids are hard on books!
• Don’t assume that a longer review is a better review. You can do a good job with a brief review, and that’s what people prefer to read.
• Come up with a clever way to end your review, whether that is with a play on words, a teaser or some other catchy sentence.
• Proofread your review carefully.
• Have someone else with writing experience proof it too.

The more you write reviews, the better you will get at writing them. Happy reviewing to you!

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Every time I receive a stack of children’s books in the mail to review, I really get excited. Unlike most adult books, kids’ books are colorful and playful and really stir creativity in the reader. I thoroughly enjoy the process of taking the time to read each book, examine the illustrations and determine the message the writer intended to get across to the reader. Here’s what I’ve learned:

1. Books are way more sophisticated than they used to be. Many writers have figured out that children do not want to be patronized and can understand more than experts once thought. Science book for kids, in particular, are incredibly advanced these days, and enlighten parents as much as they teach children.
2. A picture book with a good story but without great, vibrant illustrations is unappealing.
3. A picture book with spectacular illustrations and an uninteresting or poorly written story is unappealing.
4. Poor quality printing or binding makes a book a loser no matter how great the story or how great the illustrations may be.
5. Muted colors in illustrations do not appeal to children (or to me).
6. If I have to read a sentence over more than twice, it is not a well-written sentence.
7. A good story is one that flows from page to page.
8. A book that is not interesting to a parent will not be interesting to a child.
9. Humor in writing or in illustrating is a very good thing.
10. What a reviewer is looking for in a children’s book is a unique angle, a remarkable lesson, an informative message or just pure fun and adorableness.
11. A story topic does not have to be new to be good; it just has to be presented in a unique way.
12. Some story topics are way overdone. (i.e. being different, wanting to belong, stereotyped children, fluffy animals, etc)
13. Some self-published books are very professionally done through and through.
14. Some self-published books are riddled with errors, poor grammar, have shoddy printing or weak binding or all of the above.
15. Just because a book is traditionally published does not mean it is excellent. In fact, some traditionally published books are very mediocre.
16. A book that may excite one reader, may not excite another, but that doesn’t mean it is a bad book. Everyone has different tastes. In fact no matter how popular a book may be or how many have been sold, there is always going to be a critic who does not like it.
17. Just because a book does not get a review does not mean it is a bad book. Thousands of books are published every day, and no review source can physically get to every book sent its way.

Click here to read some of my reviews and other great kids’ book reviews on the Good Reads with Ronna blog on LA Parent Magazine Online.

This article proves that there are self-published authors out there who have taken risks and had great success!

Read about 7 Self-Published books that made it into mainstream here.

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I often listen to free teleseminars and webinars that promise to help me sell more books, get more creative marketing ideas and  make more money. Often I get at least 1 good idea to try new methods. But most often, the free seminar leaves out the most crucial info I would need to be successful at whatever the speaker is proposing. And the reason for that, naturally, is because the speaker wants to sell you the “clincher” idea that will really make you hugely successful. He is not going to reveal it for free. He entices you with success stories, mostly about his own unbelievable endeavors. I usually hang up the phone and think, “Wow. That guy really knows his stuff. I can do that!”

But here is what you really need to know and do when participating in these calls and internet events:

• If the speaker’s own stories about his success seem beyond amazing, they are likely not all true.
• There is no way to really check on someone to verify his income from a business.
• Google the speaker’s name and type in the word “scam” with that to see what comes up. Also check to see in general what customers of that speaker and his companies say about doing business with him.
• If the speaker’s fee for a follow up paid seminar, online materials, books, CDs, DVDs are very high, don’t pay for it. And you will find that they are usually shockingly high.
• Get what you can from the free information. There’s nothing wrong with buying a non-fiction book from the speaker to get more info on the subject. But paying hundreds or thousands of dollars is likely a waste of money.
• According to my research, many “Money Back Guarantees” are not honored by companies. Dissatisfied customers claim that they get no response. Thank God for the internet, because it makes it much harder for bad people to hide!!
• If you feel that you really want to buy an expensive product, find several other people to share both the product and the cost with you.
• If it seems too good to be true, it is. Trust your own judgement. The only way to succeed is good-old fashioned hard work.

Today we are interviewing Chicago-based publicist, Andrea Blain. Andrea is an expert in promoting  – to the consumer – entertainment and educational products for children and families.  (DVDs, Videos, Toys and Books) Her PR team has had great success promoting unique products, many of which come from the independent market. Andrea has some great insight for parents, librarians, teachers and those who have produced, or are considering producing, products for this market. . .

Publicist Andrea Blain

How did you get into the business of publicizing children’s DVDs, music, and toys?

I became pregnant with my son when I was 41 and was really out of the loop in raising kids.  All my friends had older children and I knew nothing about having a baby including how to change a diaper, how to stock the nursery, breast-feeding and what kind of entertainment was appropriate for kids. I did some research and found there was an appalling lack of quality product out there.  Aside from Disney movies, Sesame Street on TV and a handful of other TV programs there was a lack of quality children’s entertainment on video (this was in the early 90′s). My husband and I wanted our son to experience entertainment, but with quality so with a background in PR I began seeking out the small independent producers and doing publicity for their independently-produced videos.

Along the way I established a reputation of handling quality children’s products and picked up some music CDs and toys.

How many years of publicity experience do you have?

Well, Joshua is almost 17 and I started just after he was born, so I guess that makes it 17 years.

Can you tell us how this market is unique?

The independent children’s entertainment market presents a wealth of wonderful programming that struggles to reach consumers’ eyes and ears.  The major studios have the huge marketing/advertising budgets to spread the word about their products, but the lesser known companies don’t.  That’s where publicity comes in. We can publicize wonderful programs that enrich children’s lives, teach them something new, embrace different cultures,  and open up the world to them.

Smart Poodle Publishing interacts constantly with libraries and schools. What is most shocking is the sheer volume of choices available to them as far as books and DVDs go. Do you have any advice for them on how to go about choosing the best materials for their students?

Using the wonderful reviews from library and educational outlets are great resources for choosing unique, interesting, lively and informative products for their patrons. Midwest Book Review, School Library Journal, Booklist and Video Librarian are monthly publications that review the children’s entertainment

Do you think that schools and libraries are reluctant to try new DVD products from unfamiliar publishers?

Sometimes.  More often it’s the subject matter that may not peak their interest. Or a librarian may feel that having one DVD about how a truck is assembled or learning ABC’s is enough.  We need to make available a wide selection of visual and audio programming for kids – kind of a video/music diet or library.  The same way a child may have 5 books about trains, that child could have 3 DVDs about trains and a few music CDs filled with train songs.

What are some of your favorite DVDs for elementary age kids?

The Families of the World DVD series from Master Communications is one of the finest programs I’ve ever seen. It’s a simple concept- the series offers a documentary-style “day in the life” glimpse into how people in different countries live from a child’s point of view.  The viewer is invited into the lives of two families, one rural and one urban, and follow them in their daily activities from waking to bedtime, while showing that kids living thousands of miles away in other countries lead everyday lives and participate in daily activities very similar to American children. Each 15 minute segment is narrated by a child usually between 7 and 12 years old.  It’s amazing to see how entranced young ones are when they watch the programs and realize how similar kids are to each other all around the world. It’s also fascinating to see glimpses into these other cultures and how each child interacts in his/her environment.

What advice do you have for those who are considering producing products for children’s entertainment that can be sold to schools and libraries?

Make your product unique.  The market does not need another DVD helping young ones to learn their ABCs 1,2,3s or colors/shapes.  Make your program appealing visually and do not talk down to kids. Open up your program to live-action and on-site visuals.  If kids can’t visit a rain forest, then you visit it for them on DVD. Do not scrimp on packaging.  Make your DVD box/insert bright, lively and professionally designed. Sometimes a librarian is choosing titles from a catalog and those photos of the DVDs are very small so they must jump off the page.  Produce a series instead of one title so there’s continuity and teachers/librarians can stock as many titles as she/he feels are needed.

Andrea, thank you for all of this useful, specialized information! How can our readers contact you for more information or if they are interested in working with you to promote their products?

Andrea Blain Public Relations
9750 Crawford Ave.
Skokie, IL 60076
847-933-9884 phone
847-673-5836 fax
847-533-9414 cell
andrea@andreablainpr.com
www.andreablainpr.com