Let's talk booktalks!

Book talks are an exciting way to get kids attention and to introduce them to books that might otherwise be off their radar. Most people have certain genres of books that they prefer to read. A gripping book talk can help people find books outside of that genre, which might be fascinating. Sheila Anderson, in Serving Young Teens and Tweens, provides a number of helpful clues to remember while giving a book talk.

The first is to think about the order of the books you will book talk. Anderson prefers to start with a book that will grasp the attention of listeners before moving into books that are more realistic or historical. I know I have grabbed a stack of books that I was planning on discussing and presented them in an order that didn't facilitate listener's attention. I had thought to end with the most exciting, but by placing the more realistic books first, I had not reached in and grabbed students attention. Organizing the order of book talks is an art that will only improve the success of a book talk experience.

I appreciate Anderson's discussion of the mental preparation that is required for successful book talking. She recommends a review of characters, plot twists, settings, and some dialogue. However, when working with students, it is important to be able to grasp onto the teachable moment. Often, a situation will occur that provides an opportunity for a fascinating discussion to anyone who is bold enough to be able to jump onto that train of thought. For this reason, I appreciate that Anderson recommends that readers remind themselves about the book as a whole so that they might revise their book talk along the way.

While Anderson does a good job of addressing potential book talk fears, I feel as if her discussion on proper book talk hydration might have been a bit excessive-- it seemed like it wold make people more nervous than they had before! Regardless, her comments on using special effects, playing cool, but not trying to be cool, and making tweens laugh offers useful insights for potential book talk presenters.

Anderson, S. (2007). Serving Young Teens and Tweens. Connecticut: Libraries Unlimited.