Words & Pictures magazine's feature writer Sarah Broadley talks to Sareen McLay about My Book Corner, an online source for book reviews.
My Book Corner is a well-known and respected on-line resource for children's book reviews ranging from picture books to young adult novels. What do you hope viewers take away from the reviews and the information provided on the site?
In such busy times, My Book Corner (MBC) provides a quick and effective way to discover fabulous, high quality children’s books. Each review gives a summary of the book, the highlights the reviewer has taken from it and often a recommendation as to which ways it could be useful. For example, perhaps it would be perfect for a particular school project or introducing a discussion about a subject that may be difficult to talk about.
I hope the site is a useful tool for teachers, librarians, parents, older children and young adults who are looking for recommendations. It is something a reader could grow up with; enjoying books from picture books to young adult novels, and be able to see themselves represented in text.
Those who are writing for children also use MBC to research up-to-date books for comparison titles and to discover what is happening currently in the publishing world.
MBC is a wonderful resource for discovering books and authors that readers may not otherwise have heard of. We often take part in blog tours with authors providing bonus new material and we are always happy to publish a review on publication day!
A very easy to use website, MBC has much more to offer! There are features on describing an author’s Journey to Publication, Picture Book Art: Meet the illustrator, a super Question and Answer with authors, Guest Posts and Reading Lists.
The fantastic news is that the site is entirely run by volunteers, there are no adverts, and the decision of which books to review is made entirely by the reviewer themselves.
Founded by Emma Perry many years ago, and then taken on by Bruna De Luca before passing on to you - as Director, what are your plans for My Book Corner going forward?
I feel very lucky to have been asked if I would like to take on this role. Having reviewed picture books on my own website, I am honoured to be trusted with such a well-established site and hope to continue the high standards, quality and quantity of reviews posted.
One of the strengths of this super website is the direct link available to our subscriber’s newsletter. Published reviews are sent straight to your inbox. By continuing to improve our social media, I would hope to increase the number of our subscribers (which are in the thousands!) and spread the word about the fantastic books available today.
I have set up an account on Bluesky which complements our Instagram and Facebook posts and we are looking to add more videos to our posts and continue with wonderful giveaways.
Look out for our giveaway with the fabulous
Jill Calder, illustrator of picture book Coorie Doon, coming soon!
As a book reviewer, what do you look for in a story?
I do love a twist in a story! If I finish a book and walk away still thinking about it and its core message, then I know it is a good one. I am particularly looking for an interesting setting and memorable characters.
When reviewing picture books, I try to read them aloud, which I feel really brings them to life and in all books the illustrations absolutely fascinate me.
In the books for older children, I am often looking for a specific area I can recommend such as for a school project etc.
Relationships with publishers, agents and creatives are key. What has been your experience of these interactions since you took on the role?
I have met (in person and virtually) so many lovely people since taking on this role. The desire to provide books for children in a time when it can be challenging to promote reading is very encouraging. Most of the contact I have is done by email, but I have also had authors, publishers and publicists who have reached out over social media.
It is of course, always great to have feedback, one recent review resulted in the publicist messaging to say, ‘Thank you so much, it’s a beautiful review.’ I do feel we are incredibly lucky to receive so many amazing books.
It is an absolute joy to be around the buzz in children’s publishing, amidst the enthusiasm and passion of all those who work in the industry.
With technology, social media outlets and subscribers a massive part of the on-line literary world - can you give us an idea of what a 'Day in the Life' of a book reviewer looks like?
Grabbing every possible chance to read! I tend to read the books for review in the evening, with a cuppa beside me of course, often taking notes as I go along. Usually, I put posts up on socials in the early evening.
During the day I will answer emails and read press releases to see which books would be a best fit for MBC to review. Every week, I consider which reviews will be posted to ensure we have a good mix for all ages and to keep up-todate with our reviewers, as often as I can, on anything that may be relevant for the site.
With 'soon to be published' books regularly heading your way to review, have any caught your eye that readers can be on the look out for?
I am looking forward to reading ‘The Scream of the Whistle’ by Emily Randall-Jones.
*Header image: Tita Berredo and Ell Rose
*
Sareen McLay is the Director of the review website, My Book Corner. She is a writer whose middle grade book, 'Whispers' was Highly Commended for the Kelpies Prize 2024.
Her own website can be found at www.switchthekettleonlove. She has had stories published in The People's Friend and has been the resident poet for the newspaper, 'The Underground' in The Hague.
A former primary teacher, she is now the coordinator of the SCBWI Aberdeen and NE hub and leads the monthly critique group.
*
Sarah Broadley writes for children of all ages and lives in Edinburgh. She is a member of SCBWI Scotland, the Society of Authors and the Scottish Book Festival Network.
Sarah is also a trustee on the board of Cymera – the UK's only sci-fi, horror and fantasy writing festival.
She chats with creatives on her Words & Pictures feature Writers’ Minds and is a children’s book reviewer for online resource My Book Corner.
*
Ell Rose is the Illustration Features Editor of Words & Pictures.
Contact them at illustrators@britishscbwi.org
Tita Berredo is the Illustrator Coordinator of SCBWI British Isles
and the Art Director of Words & Pictures.
Find their work at www.titaberredo.com Contact her at: illuscoordinator@britishscbwi.org.
No comments:
We love comments and really appreciate the time it takes to leave one.
Interesting and pithy reactions to a post are brilliant but we also LOVE it when people just say they've read and enjoyed.
We've made it easy to comment by losing the 'are you human?' test, which means we get a lot of spam. Fortunately, Blogger recognises these, so most, if not all, anonymous comments are deleted without reading.