It’s your chance to read a new book and be rewarded. In the run-up to The Hindu Young World-Goodbooks Awards 2017, we invite students to team with a teacher and review one or more of the books mentioned below. Reviews must be original and not exceed 400 words. Mail us at school@thehindu.co.in and mention the subject as BOOK REVIEW. Include your name, your teacher’s name, class, school, city and telephone number.

LIST OF BOOKS

1. WHEN SHE WENT AWAY by Andaleeb Wajid

2. SEPT-OPUS AND THE ADVENTURE OF CAPTAIN KIDD’S COVE by Jyotin Goel

3. TIME RACERS by Gayathri Ponvannan

4. DEAR AUNTY by Nandini Nayar

5. TIGER BOY by Mitali Perkins

6. THE DUGONG AND THE BARRACUDAS by Ranjit Lal

7. LIKE SMOKE: A COLLECTION by Paro Anand

8. WILD IN THE BACKYARD by Arefa Tehsin

9. SQUIGGLE GETS STUCK by Natasha Sharma

10. SACHIN TENDULKAR by Rohini Chowdhury

HOW TO GO ABOUT IT

Pick one or more books from the list. Discuss it with a teacher from your school and find out if she/he will help you understand and review the book. Get a copy of the book and write the review as a two-member team. Reviews MUST be original and not copied from the Net. Reviews must not exceed 400 words. Mail us your reviews before July 20. The best reviews will be published in The Hindu In School along with the photograph of the teacher-student team.

REVIEW GUIDELINES 

Your review should include a brief recap of the story/content, its theme, its characters, its writing and illustrative styles, and what makes the book interesting or not. So make notes on these points as you read the book.

Some tips:

a) Give a story/content summary without giving away the surprises/twists in the plot.

b) Describe the theme of the book.

c) Discuss the characters – what is special about them, are they stereotypical, are they believable?

d) Discuss the author’s writing style and appeal. Is the language used age appropriate?

e) Describe how the book has been illustrated. Do the pictures capture the mood of the story? Comment on the book’s format and how it looks.

f) Make your final remarks on the book based on the analysis presented.

BACKGROUNDER

The Hindu Young World-Goodbooks Awards, the first Indian award to promote excellence in Indian children’s writing and acknowledge innovative publishing trends, was launched in 2016. The Student Review initiative is meant to encourage school-goers to read contemporary writings and critique them. This is the first set of ten books. We will publish a new list of books for reviewing every month.