Star Ratings

I give all the books a rating from one to five stars, in five different categories.  You probably won't see many books with only one star, because books that deserve one star don't find a home on my shelves.  There are way too many 5-star books out there, needing good homes, to waste room on one we won't read anyway.  Obviously, all of these rating are subjective. This is my blog, and these are my opinions.  I welcome all friendly discourses on my ratings!

Literary Quality:  This category is based on the quality of the writing.  Is it interesting, descriptive, exciting, inspiring?  Basically, whether it is a literate work, or simply words on paper. The more literary the book, the higher the rating.

Vocabulary:  Children learn vocabulary from hearing it used, not from workbooks. Vocabulary is extremely important, because we can only understand and communicate ideas on a level of complexity equal to the words we know.  We cannot understand a thought more complex then our vocabulary, no matter how smart we are.  The best way to learn new words is by reading and hearing them in context, the same way we learn our original language. This category is based on the complexity and difficulty of the words used in the book, according to the ages that will be hearing them.  The more difficult the words, the higher the rating.

Illustrations:  Where applicable, this category is judged keeping in mind that picture books are often a child's first exposure to real art. Are the pictures creative, inspired, unique, artistically composed, beneficial to understanding the story?  The art in a child's book can be extremely different and creative, using all manner of medium, while still being artistic and beautiful.

Read-Aloud Appeal:  This category is for the adults.  Quite simply, you won't read books if you don't like them. Some books are FUN to read, some are sweet, some are inspiring, and all of these will be the books that you read aloud well, because you are enjoying them along with your children.  Books that are boring, contain too much dialog, or are too wordy, are not fun to read aloud and they will spend most of their time covered in dust on your shelves.  The more entertaining a book is to read aloud, the higher the rating.

Overall Appeal:  Some books are not average in many categories, but are simply lovely, sweet, or inspiring books because, for whatever reason, they strike a chord with us.  These books may not be excellent read alouds, of have remarkable art, or be literary masterpieces, but they are very good books in their own right. The more appealing a book is, for all ages, the higher the rating.