Book reports come in all kinds of shapes
and sizes, and here we're really going to
focus on the typical kind of report you
might have to write in elementary or
high school. So usually you give at least
some kind of plot summary and then from
there the teacher may ask for more
information. It really depends on what
your teacher is asking, for but we would
recommend that you give at least some
plot summary and then a kind of personal
response -- what you think of the book.
For our book review we'll use a simple
template, and if you want to find this
template you can go to our website
"www.natureofwriting.com," and under
"book reports" if you click on "template"
you'll be able to find the template
right there. Now, if you use this template
then you're not stuck with it. You can
move information around and you can also
later take the information and turn it
into a single paragraph or essay. But the
nice thing about a template is that you
can really focus on one element at a
time, and that's why we do recommend that
you use some kind of template just to
get started. For this template we've
included a number of components, so first
of all we have our name as the student.
We have the setting, which includes the
time and the place -- when and where
the story takes place. Then we have
the main characters, and make sure you
don't include every last character.
Really try to limit yourself. You can
often use these characters to create the
plot summary. So just take the characters
and talk about how they interact with
each other. And then after that you can
talk about what you have learned. That
can be personal life lessons, can be big
ideas, can be themes ... and then some
personal responses at the end in terms
of what did you like, what did you
dislike. Now, some tips when you write
your book report, and the first thing
here is that it's really important not
to get sidetracked. For instance, talk
about just the main details of the plot.
Focus on the central conflict. Try to
figure out who's the hero, who's the
villain, what is this book about?
And in the book report you can give
pretty much every last detail in terms
of what happens, whereas in a book review
you want to keep some things hidden. You
want some suspense. So don't be afraid to
give away the climax of the story in a
book report. That's usually totally fine.
In terms of your personal response
you can really talk about any number of
things, and we've just organized the
information in one way but you can talk
about your personal gut reaction --
how did you feel? You can talk about the
big ideas or the themes.
What's the author's message? You can talk
about life lessons. You can compare the
book with other books. You can talk about
genre -- so what kind of genre does this
book fit into (mystery, suspense, thriller,
who knows what). You can talk about what
other readers might like. So maybe you
really dislike something, but you think a
particular kind of audience might
appreciate something. You can bring that
out.
There's a huge range in
terms of how you respond to the book and
if you use the templates don't let it
stop you from talking about some of
these things because sometimes
templates can be a bit restrictive. Now,
this particular report focuses less on
life lessons and a little bit more on
how the story represents African culture.
In this case with the story of Tintin
... the locals are tricked by
a magnet. They think that somehow Tintin
has these mysterious powers to divert
their arrows. The locals also believe in
a witch doctor, and it turns out that the
Europeans like hunting a lot. They seem
to kill every animal in sight. So I think
the author [of the book report] is probably justified in
finding some racism in this book. And it
is indeed a very controversial book. Of
all the Tintin stories this one has been
most often banned or censored.
This is one particular response to
Tintin, but there are lots of other ways
to deal with this story as well.
Finally, some tips in terms of what else
you can include. One thing that's
sometimes nice is to talk about your
favorite character, and then give a bit
more discussion.
Does the character have some flaws, some
strengths? What did you like?
There's lots to talk about. You can
give a final rating. Do you give it
eight stars out of ten? That's up
to you.
You can include a quote or two to give
some flavour. You may have to make a
decision about whether you want to use "I"
as we have done here, or whether you want
to be more abstract and write in the
third person. Maybe that's something to
ask your teacher as well. And then
finally if you want to talk more about
style (so did you like the way it was
written?) that may be appropriate, but that
also is more common for a book review.
Again, ask your teacher what he or she
would like. Hopefully that helps you
get started with your book report!