I’m looking for reviews for my children’s book, but it’s pretty difficult to get people to go online and take the time to post a review. Why is it so hard for people to post a simple book review? That really mystifies me. I like posting reviews for books and any other products. I think this helps other customers to decide whether or not they want to buy a product. I actually don’t really like buying a product online if it doesn’t have some kind of review. I always tend to look at negative reviews first also just to see what people didn’t like about the product. So, this is why I don’t mind if a review is somewhat negative and not filled with positive comments.
Here is a rather negative review I got for my book:
“Strap on your life vest because there are some severely choppy waters ahead.
THREE PROS
*Author Kathleen Ivan wrote this for her “developmentally slow” niece, and I point this out immediately since no one but Ivan and those closest to her will ever chart the same course in reading it
*I’m not ashamed to say that the pink in here really pops and makes me wonder if it is underutilized in the kidlit color world
*Alan Dugan navigates the boat illustrations perfectly, but he also should have sent out an SOS in a few other spots (namely the look of the main protagonist and the use of space on page 15)
THREE CONS
*Why did somebody named Crustina turn into crumbs and where did the mystery man come from (so far from shore) — seriously, I wish there were answers to these questions
*When the book itself ends by essentially asking those very questions verbatim, it almost felt like Ivan was pouring salt water in my mental wound — and made my wife think I was joking when I stopped reading at that point
*I’m not sure why the vessel is called PinkBoat or why the character Kathlean spells her name differently than the author (and I truly hope there’s a reason for both), but it automatically brings an air of typos and mistakes to the work that I assume most people will be unable to ignore
ONE DAD’S OPINION
I have delayed blogging about A PinkBoat Adventure for about five days now. I did this primarily because I hate sinking independent authors who have spent their hard-earned money shipping me materials. But the other reason was perhaps even more important to me: despite some extremely concrete initial opinions, rushing into the review did not feel like the right thing to do. Rather, I wanted to get my sea legs and have it come about at a time when I was fully engaged, in order to avoid any flippancy in my commentary. [Please note there is a huge difference between being obtusely flippant and using nautical puns in the course of negative feedback.] I hope both Ms. Ivan and the rest of you recognize that I did this, even if you disagree with my assessment (which is that we’re dealing with a near-total loss here). As someone who comes from two generations of marine insurers, I tend to think I’m particularly qualified to make this call…DESTROY”.(This review is from the following website:http://kidbookratings.blogspot.com/2014/06/a-pinkboat-adventure.html
I really think the above reviewer should have understood my book. It mystifies me that he didn’t.
Anyways, I submitted my book to another children’s book website to review and just crossed my fingers. I was really happy and satisfied when they published the review. The reviewer actually understood my book and the intention to get kid’s minds going in the imaginative areas. Because of this, I would call my book “interactive”. However, not all readers get the point of the book. My aunt didn’t get it at first because she forgot to read it with a kid’s perspective. But once she changed the way she read the book, she understood the objective of the book.
I think I need more kids to be reviewing my book. Adults, if you buy my children’s book, read it over to yourself first but make sure you read it out loud to your kids. I’m sure your kids will love the book and talk about it after you have finished reading it. Get the child’s opinion. After all, the book is written for the kids. Not the adults.
Here is a part of the recent “good” review that I got for my children’s book.
“The story has a mysterious and open ending which leaves room for readers to interpret what happened to Crustina in their own way. The story is a sort of a puzzle which will fascinate kids and make them think. The pictures are lovely and vibrant and breathe life into the scenes and characters. The surprise twist in the middle and the unexpected ending make it an enjoyable read for children. It is a good book that can be used in read aloud sessions in classrooms. It will be nice to see the way the kids come up with different interpretations for the ending. I enjoyed the book mainly because the story is original and it breaks away from the norm. The author gives young readers the space and opportunity to think with the ending.”
Full five star reveiw can be found at the following link:https://readersfavorite.com/book-review/37374
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