Becky's 5 W's (Or More About Becky)

I keep six honest serving-men:
(They taught me all I knew)
Their names are What and Where and When
And How and Why and Who.

From "The Elephant's Child" by Rudyard Kipling

What is the purpose of “Becky’s Book Reviews”
To promote the love of reading by providing teens, tweens, parents, teachers, librarians, fellow bloggers, and booklovers of all ages, with reviews of current books published for children and/or young adults. The site also will review past titles if they are a particular favorite of mine, or if I feel that they are still relevant and would benefit from more exposure.
Do I post only book reviews? No. Sometimes I also post my opinions on things happening in the blog world, and in the world in general. I also make a point of noting recent book lists and awards. I do participate in the occasional meme. I’ve been known to post YouTube videos as well. But those ‘fun’ posts aren’t part of the real purpose. They’re just extras.

Where can you find Becky’s reviews?
My reviews can be found on this website Becky's Book Reviews.
Reviews of my ‘clean reads’ can be found on Deliciously Clean Reads.
Links to my reviews can be found at the Childrens Book Review Index wiki page.
I have participated (and plan to do so) in reviewing books for The Edge of The Forest.
I also participate in the Carnival of Children’s Literature. This is hosted at a different site each month.
I also participate in the Librarians’ Choices project at Texas Woman’s University. It has been edited, in the past, by Dr. Sylvia Vardell. This year, Dr. Janet Hilbun will be the editor. The two professors teach the class (or non-class) together and will take turns editing it in the future. Each participant reviews a certain number of books (8-10 generally). I have participated in this project since 2004. The goal of the book LIBRARIANS CHOICES (2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, etc.) is to choose the top 100 books for children and young adults from books published that year. It covers fiction, nonfiction, poetry, picture books, etc. We try to have diverse titles that would appeal to a wide range of readers (boys, girls, teens, tweens, early readers, etc.)
You can also find some of my reviews on Amazon. The only reason I stopped reviewing there, is their change in policy. (Not that I’m still bitter or anything.)

When is the site updated? The site “Becky’s Book Reviews” is updated every day. I post at least 7 times a week. For holidays, I might post in advance. But there will be at least one post each day. Recently, I’ve been posting more than that. Sometimes two or three times a day. But I will always keep the site current. There will always be something new to read.

How do I choose what to review? It is my goal--a very lofty goal--to read anything and everything I can get my hands on that is new. How do I define new? Books published within the past year or two. I’m still grabbing 2006 titles from my library shelves. But I am eagerly waiting to start reviewing 2007 titles. I would love to receive ARCs and books from publishers, authors, etc. Anything to help me in my goal of reading *as many* 2007 titles as I can. Of course, when 2008 rolls around, I’ll be in quest of those books. But I think you can grasp the concept! How do I see my role as a reviewer? Professional reviews mainly target school librarians and public librarians. Their goal is to help individual librarians decide which books to add to their collection to best serve their communities needs. Therefore they tend to be a little more analytical. A little more judgemental. A little more...this is a book every library needs...or this is a book most libraries can live without...or whatever. They tend to word things in such a way that librarians can *know* whether to spend their money on that item or somewhere else. All that is valid. But a blogger who reviews is serving a wider audience. We have the luxury of being more personal, of being more verbose, of saying whatever we want in whatever style we want. While I may be harsh in some of my reviews, in others I may let the reader judge the value of a book for themselves. I see my role as not trying to say definitely “what is good” or “what is bad” or “what is average” but instead this is what this book has to offer. I describe a book. I try to give the reader a feel, a taste of the book.

Why did I create Becky’s Book Reviews? Why do I feel compelled to blog?
I love to read. I love to write. I love to discuss. I love helping readers connect with books. I want to help promote reading. I want to introduce books and authors to readers. The site helps me do this. It is also immensely satisfying to do this. It helps me keep track of what I read. It helps me connect with a community of readers.

Who is Becky of Becky’s Book Reviews? I am a reader, first and foremost. I am a reader who happens to have a background in English literature and library science. I have a BA and MA in English literature from Texas Woman’s University. I have a MLS degree from Texas Woman’s University. My specialization is children’s and young adult literature. This is my calling in life to promote the love of reading, the love of books, to connect books with readers, to encourage lifelong reading habits.

To read even more see To Blog or Not To Blog