Where can I find credible children's book reviews?

Posted on December 29, 2012 by My Imagination Kingdom | 0 comments

Many of us (including us at My Imagination Kingdom!) are so used to doing a book search on Amazon and reading the reviews by buyers there that when we chance upon a really new book which has yet to be reviewed, we're at a loss. 

 

Today, we're going to talk a little about Kirkus Book Reviews, an extremely well-regarded review specialist that has been churning out book reviews, twice a month, for over 70 years. 

 

Kirkus Reviews was launched in 1933, by Virginia Kirkus, once the head of the children's-book department of Harper & Bros. What is special about Kirkus Reviews, is that it focuses on pre-publication reviews. That means, they review the book even before it goes into publication, sometimes up to two to three months before. And you must wonder, why in the world would they want to do that? Well, Kirkus Reviews used to do that because it was a bi-monthly publication targeted at booksellers primarily and librarians to a certain extent. 


While the publication ceased to exist in 2009, the digital version of it is still very much alive and kicking. 24 times a year, on the 1st and 15th of every month, the website continues to publish close to 200 articles every month. A wide range of fiction books (and some nonfiction) are covered and within this, includes reviews on both children's and young adult books. 


What we really like about the children's and young adult book review section, is that the reviews are categorised by age! Just like how we have built this website as well. This makes it a lot easier and quicker to find the age-appropriate books suitable for your child. While the section highlights some of the critics' picks, you can also do a search for any book you're interested in using the search tool at the top right hand corner. 

 

 

The other great reason to use Kirkus Reviews is the fact that for many of us who may not be industry experts or experienced publishers in the children's book field, Kirkus Reviews is a great way to discover new authors and their titles. While stocking up on every title of Eric Carle and Julia Donaldson is all right, sometimes it's also great to fall in love with an entirely different style of writing or illustration. 

 

So what are you waiting for? Go click away at Kirkus Reviews! 

 

This is not a paid-for article. Everything written here was researched, typed and edited by My Imagination Kingdom solely. 

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