Tips for Writing Reviews of a Book

Thank you again for writing a review for Dr. Robin’s new coloring book so that families can have some real life information when the book is released.

A couple parents have asked about what kind of information is helpful in a review so this is just a general summary of the kind of information to include in any review for any similar book you might get for your kids, not specifically anything having to do with us.

In writing a review, the goal is to provide enough information that other parents will be able to imagine how they would use the book with their own family. This lets them decide if that’s a good fit for them or not.

These are the kinds of things other parents may want to know.

• Basic information about how the age of your child(ren) and the developmental appropriateness of the book, how much younger or older you think would be appropriate, anything that stood out to you on your first survey of the book, how the arrangement of the book works for your family, etc.
• How your child reacted and interacted with the book, what they liked about it, which parts of the book they used (the lessons, jokes, unlabeled coloring page, labeled coloring page).
• Any anecdote or example that demonstrates the kind of kid who would like the book so other parents can get some idea if their child would be one of those kids or not.
• Any specific benefits you think this book provides for your kids. It’s helpful to include both the benefits that they gain from simply learning the topic at all but also any that would be unique to this specific book compared to other similar books.
• Be honest and sincere and write the way you talk, as if you are talking to another mom trying to decide if this is a good fit for her kids 
• Photos or videos are always a nice touch but not necessary if they are inconvenient for you. Try to include photos that wouldn’t already be in the book description.  That might be photos of pages(s) colored by your kids or a 10 second video flip through of some pages your kids have used.

Thank you so much for taking the time to review the book!  We will provide a link to the book Thursday August 29th at 6pm MST.

Dr. Robin absolutely loves working with your kids and we both really appreciate you writing reviews for the new coloring book!  Dr. Robin will be signing new books for your kids and mailing them to you next week so you’ll have them in time for the first class!