Join the Book Reviewer Club!

*Applications for the Kid Book Review Club is now closed. Thank you!

Are you a kid that loves books? Do you like to share those books? Become an official Book Reviewer for Kids Ask Authors!

What you get: We will send you advance copies of books—books that are not in the stores yet— and new books by great authors, all for FREE! 

What you do: Every month you read one (or more) of those books and prepare a review (we give you a little form to help you, it’s super short). Then, come to the Book Reviewer Club meeting and record your review with Grace!

Sounds awesome, right?

To be a member of the Book Reviewer Club, you must:

1.     You must be a kid in grades 2-5 or between the ages of 7-12.

2.     You must have your guardian’s permission. If you are chosen for the club, they will have to sign a permission slip.

Apply to become a member of the  Book Reviewer Club:

To apply to become a member, you must do two things. Send me an email with the information below and record a review. Send both to me, Grace Lin, at kidsaskauthors@gmail.com  before October 31, 2021. 

  1. In your email, write Book Review Club Application in subject line and tell me:

  • your age and grade

  • your mailing address

  • your guardian’s email

  • if you applied last year and were not chosen

  • what kind of books you like to read. Choose one of your favorites books and write a book review. You can follow this little form:

“The book I would like to talk about is ____________(title and author/illustrator). This book is about _______(brief 1 or 2 sentence summary). I liked this book because _______(brief 1 or 2 sentence description).” 

Optional: If you are comfortable sharing your race/ethnicity and/or gender, it would be welcome information if balancing the diversity in the group becomes something we need to address. However, it is not a requirement.

2. We would like you to record your review.* You can do it here, right from this website. Prepare the following to be recorded:

  • Your guardian should prepare to say, “I, _________(your guardian’s name), am the guardian of the following minor _______ (first and last name) and I give permission for this audio book review to be used for the Kids Ask Author podcast.”

  • Prepare to read the same book review from your email application. You should say: “My name is_____ (first name). The book I would like to talk about is ____________(title and author/illustrator). This book is about _______(brief 1 or 2 sentence summary). I liked this book because _______(brief 1 or 2 sentence description).”

When you are ready, click the button below that says “Start Recording.” Give the application permission to use your computer’s microphone and then it will start recording. First have your guardian speak their permission and then read your review.

After you are finished, stop recording and enter your name and email where it is prompted and hit the “SEND” button.

If you have any problems with the recording application, contact kidsaskauthors@gmail.com and someone will get back to you to try to help you figure it out.

*Please note that even if you are not chosen for the Book Review Club we may still use your book review for a future podcast. We will contact you if we do.

I will announce the members and contact those chosen in early November. Right now, we are looking for only 6 members for the Reviewer Club!  I hope it’s you!


Frequently Asked Questions

  1. Why are you starting this Book Reviewer Club?

    Even though we have been extremely grateful for the book reviews that have been sent to our podcast, there has been a sobering lack of diverse book reviews. Our suspicion is that access and awareness to diverse books may be part of the problem. Our hope is that through this book club we can change that. We hope you know a child that wants to help!

  2. How long will the child be a reviewer for?

    We are planning for a Winter bookclub to run Dec-Feb and a Summer bookclub to run June-Aug. If your child is accepted into one of these book clubs, they will meet once a month for 3 months.

  3. Are the meetings online?

    Yes, the meeting will be via Zoom.

  4. Will only audio be recorded?

    Yes, only the audio will be recorded and publicly shared. Grace will meet with kids via video but no video will be recorded or shared.

  5. Will you use only my child’s first name?

    Yes, unless you wish otherwise! Some past members wanted to make sure that people knew that it was exactly them on the podcast, so chose to use both first and last names. Others chose to use a fake name. Our default will be to use first name only, but we are happy to accommodate your request.

  6. My child is going to be 12 in January, are they too old?

    They are welcome to apply, just know that the books will be aimed for ages 7-12.

  7. I’m international, can my child apply?

    Unfortunately, no. We are unable to mail paper reading copies internationally so they would not have much to review. We’re very sorry!

  8. You only want six kids—if my child doesn’t get in this time, will they get another chance?

    We really hope so! If the Kids Ask Author podcast continues going strong, we want to continue Reviewer Club and expand it! Please support our podcast—listen to it, spread the word, leave a positive rating and review on Apple Podcasts and support our Patreon! All of this will help us continue and grow!