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Book Reports

Choose one of these four book reports, each with a different level of complexity to fit your grade level.

Character Report

Mini Books

Use these pages to create a mini book that students can fill in to help them with summarizing the plot of a novel study. For many books, the half-page size will allow students to slip the booklet right into the cover jacket.

Use this poster in your classroom to help students understand main idea and details.

Book Scouts

Encouraging independent reading is one of the most important and most challenging tasks for elementary. One theme that can be fun is “book scouts.” Just like boy and girl scouts, students have a sash (made of paper) and can earn “badges” to put on it. Depending on the grade you teach, students may earn a badge for one book, or a set number of books.

The badges can be anything, such as stickers, but you can also print these badges. Choose between those with genre listed, or those without. You may want to print different genres on different colored paper.

How publicly the sashes should be displayed depends on your school culture and the personalities of your students.

Book Portfolios

Another way to keep track of and encourage independent reading, is to help children create portfolios for the books they read. Print this page to have students fill out each time they complete a book. They can enjoy watching their portfolio of completed books grow and also look back on past pages to remember how they liked previous reads.

Or, use these pages as part of a class book of everyone’s “book reviews.” Keep them all together in a binder in the class library.

Book Meals

Sometimes students can get stuck in a rut of always reading the same type of book. While it is fantastic to have favorites that get children yearning to pick up their books, it is also beneficial to sometimes take time to expand their horizons. One way to do this is with Book Meals. Have students complete this page, drawing pictures of their favorite food, a food they like, a food they think is okay, and one they haven’t tried yet. Then, have them choose their favorite genre, a genre they like, one they think is okay, and one they have not tried yet. The goal is to continue enjoying favorites, while also trying new things in between.

Looking to get students interested in certain books?

Have a book tasting party!

This is particularly ideal for novels. Spread your top books around the room. Print out or book mark a great passage from each one. Create a sign up sheet for parents to bring in foods that have to do with each book. Students spend time at each desk “tasting” different books. Here are some ideas to start:

Charlottes Web: popcorn or another carnival food

Crenshaw: jellybeans

Sarah, Plain and Tall: flapjacks or cornbread

Holes: peach juice

The Tale of Despereaux: French cheese and baguette

Number the Stars: latkes or blintzes

From the Mided-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler:

Matilda: chocolate cupcakes

James and the Giant Peach: peaches

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory: chocolate bars

Little House on the Prairie: flapjacks or cornbread

The Westing Game: Chinese dumplings or egg rolls

Counting by 7s: Vietnamese spring rolls

Wonder: mini bagels

Play a game of musical books!

This is particularly ideal for picture books. Place chairs in a circle, facing out, just like in the game musical chairs. Place a book on each chair. Students walk around the chairs in a circle while music plays. When the music stops, everyone sits down at the chair in front of them and begins to read the book on it.

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