Resource Spotlight: Kirkus Reviews

Kirkus Reviews, one of the oldest book review sources, may seem a little obvious to call out as an interesting resource. But with its change in ownership last year also came a website redesign — one that’s sharp, modern, and easy-to-use. Besides current and upcoming pre-pub reviews, the site has thousands of archived reviews that are freely available to non-subscribers. It’s also simple to see just the starred reviews among the results you’re viewing.

The reviews are great for collection development, of course, but the Kirkus editors are also frequently creating fantastic curated lists of books that are useful for creating displays and recommended booklists. Some recent YA lists include:

• YA’s Gory Horror Stories
• Better Native American Representations
• Bullies, Bullying and Being Bullied

and the uber-specific:

• Horse Stories and Circus Acts in YA Historical Fiction

If you haven’t taken a look at Kirkus Reviews lately, it’s worth poking around to learn about some great books, both new and old, for yourself or for your library.

September 7th, 2011  ♥  Resource Spotlight  ♥  No Comments »