How to Choose a Book
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Authors of other books read
Authors whom I have met or heard
speak
Awards won
Book reviews
Central problem or conflict
Characters
Cost
Cover art
Genre
Gift
Literary element
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Movies based on books or books based
on movies
Number of pages
Reading level
Recommendations of friends, relatives,
teachers, librarian
Sequel or Prequel to books read
Setting
Size of print
Topic
Tone
Title
Pre-Reading Response Entry
The Pre-Reading Response entry will be the first entry for every book you begin reading.
This entry may take longer to write than the 5-minutes, but you won’t be reading for the 25minutes.
This entry consists of two parts. The first part is an explanation of how you chose the
book; describe which characteristics you used and what specifically appealed to you. The
second part is an anticipation response; after reading the title, cover, summary, excerpt,
reviews, cover flaps, and the first few pages of the book, write a response entry explaining
what in the text appeals to you. You may also make predictions about the plot or ask questions
that the text will answer later.
Guidelines:
Choose a book and respond to the following:
 Title
 Author
 Cover art
 Genre
 Any synopsis or excerpt on the back cover or inside jacket
 Anything else that grabs your attention (flip through the book)—for example
number of pages, length, chapters, pictures, reading level, font, print size,
subheadings
 First few pages of the text (your reading for that day)
An example Pre-Reading Response entry is on the back side. While you do not have to
address as many different characteristics as I did, you do need to be thorough. List AND explain
your thoughts.
Carefully selecting a book and thinking about the text will help you to choose books that are
truly interesting to you; as a result, you will look forward to reading, and you will finish more
books.
Example:
The Boys in the Trees by Mary Swan
Mrs. Runyon’s Anticipation Response
How I chose the book:
I found this book on one or the sale carts at Books-a-Million in Terre Haute. All the
books were only $1, $2, or $3, so I thought even if I didn’t like a book that I bought, I
wasn’t out a lot of money.
I chose to look at this book first based on the title. I have two boys who like the
woods, so I thought the characters in The Boys in the Trees might be like my sons. The
title also reminded me of the pivotal incident in A Separate Peace, so again I thought
the book might have a similar plot. The size also appealed to me; because it was small,
I thought it would be a quick read.
After taking it off the cart, the cover art really caught my attention. The green
background with the shadow of trees and birds and other birds drawn in red made me
more interested in finding out about the plot and characters.
Finally, I read the summary on the back. Although I was able to easily figure out
what the conflict would be, the fact that the story was historical fiction and that the
story examined the conflict from different points of view sealed the deal since I like to
read that genre and that literary element.
Anticipation response:
The summary says, “when accusations of embezzlement spur William to commit
an unthinkable crime” and then discusses the daughters and the wife; I predict that
William has killed his family. The summary also mentions that one of the characters
troubled by the murder is a teacher, and I think that I will make a personal
connection with that character.
On the front cover is a review from Alice Munro, a popular author, “This is a
mesmerizing novel—it can truly claim to be filled with a terrible beauty.” I want to read
a book that I can’t put down, so I hope that I am mesmerized like Munro. Also, I am
even more interested in the novel because the title The Boys in the Trees doesn’t seem
to fit with a man who has killed three women or the idea of beauty.
I read the first chapter. The chapters have titles but are not numbered; maybe
they could be put in a different order without changing the events. The first chapter is
titled “Before,” so I know that the events in this chapter happened before the
unthinkable crime. The boy character in this chapter is not named, so I don’t know if it
is the father or the doctor mentioned on the back cover. But it is a boy seeking a hiding
place from an abusive father by running into the woods and climbing a tree. I predict
that other characters will seek shelter from abuse in the woods. I hope, though, that
the novel is not about abusive families. That is not a genre I am interested in reading.