Book reviews

I have been reviewing books for the past 4 years or so. Many of the reviews I provide are for the Puget Sound Council for the Review of Children’s Books (we’re working on a new web presence – nothing share with you yet!), which produces a monthly publication in print, by subscription, to library professionals and teachers in Washington State. In return for  the reviews I provide, I get some books free of charge for my school library. I haven’t done the math but at last estimate, I am providing our library with upward of $1000 worth of books each year. Not bad for one small woman.  I was timid at first, cautious of the books I chose to review, not sure my opinion was worth anything. Well, bag that notion. I know good writing when I see it. The writing of the reviews is food for me too.  Practice of the craft, of expressing opinion, of drawing in readers so they will stay long enough to find out what it’s about and if they feel the same way as I do about a book is important, too. So now, I’ve started posting my other reviews  (since that’s a professional journal, I can’t post those reviews for free here). If you’d like to know when I put new posts on this site, follow me on Twitter: @stein_valerie . Or maybe you can find me on Goodreads. But I’m just Valerie there. Of course, I’m just Valerie here, too. Happy reading!