Lynn Rutan

Bookends, a review blog written by two middle-school librarians, is a useful source for suggestions for books that young readers will enjoy, but not a resource for critical reviews. The concept behind Bookends is that two librarians review the same book or give individual perspectives on a particular topic. The appeal of this concept is the possibility that the two reviewers will have differing opinions, so that the reader can make an informed decision about the reviewed title. In reality, all of the recent posts feature nearly identical opinions, and always favorable ones. The writing is creative, sometimes poetic, and often funny without being snarky. Many of the recent posts are suggestions for selections rather than reviews. Discussions of specific titles read more like extended book talks than reviews. The most significant drawback to using Bookends is accessing the posts; because it is part of The Booklist Reader and does not have its own webpage, Bookends does not come up in Google searches, and the posts are mixed in with the work of other bloggers on Booklist’s children’s media page. It is possible to filter out other bloggers by selecting the “Bookends” tag at the end of a post. The Booklist Reader site has a clean design that does not distract from the content. Bookends is a helpful resource for finding new youth titles, but readers should look elsewhere for critical reviews. Recommended. Professional.… (more)

Bookends is hosted by Booklist and provides readers with more in depth reviews of books. Cindy Dobrez and Lynn Rutan are practicing middle school librarians and bring insights from working in school libraries into their reviews of young adult and children's books. Some of the reviews are written by only one f the two, while others are written by both but divided into sections. Having multiple reviewers means that the blog is able to provide multiple perspectives on both individual books and more broadly. The blog format, as opposed to the more traditional book review format, also allows them to expand upon ideas more fully than they would otherwise be able to, especially when it comes to the best way to use a specific book, whether that's in some sort of programming or is about suggesting a book to certain types of students. This makes Bookends a valuable resource for youth, young adult, and school librarians.… (more)

http://bookends.booklistonline.com/

Dobrez and Rutan are Michigan middle school librarians blogging for Booklist. They review children’s and young adult books. The dual perspective of two writers adds a fun dynamic to this blog. In some cases, Dobrez and Rutan review the same book, and and in others they review separate books with a common theme. If they are reviewing the same book, one writer will often focus on the book’s features, while the other provides ideas for applications.

Oftentimes include entertaining anecdotes of their experiences reading the book and their emotional responses. Their openness will aid teachers, parents, and other librarians in evaluating whether the reviewed will spark a similar positive response in the children they know.

Dobrez and Rutan frequently cite Common Core standards that the book reviewed could support. They offer ideas for assignments or activities to conduct with students.

The blog’s main page presents posts by date in order of most recent. A side bar allows users to search for past posts by category -- genre or grade -- or by month.

The blog writers post with teacher concerns in mind, but parents, particularly those concerned about Common Core, will also find this blog useful for connecting their children with engaging books.… (more)

In this review blog, two middle-school librarians, Cindy Dobrez and Lynn Rutan, collaborate on writing reviews of children’s and young adult books. For some of the books that Dobrez and Rutan review, they provide Common Core Connections and ideas for activities to do that use specific books to meet these standards. On the bottom of each blog post is a list of tags, which help users find related reviews. On one side of the website is an extensive list of categories, ranging from grade levels (i.e. grades 2-4, grades 9-12) to subjects (i.e. holidays, nature) to types of books (i.e. fiction, nonfiction, graphic novels), which helps with ease of access to different kinds of past reviews. The site also includes a search bar for searching titles or keywords, links to archived posts, information about Cindy and Lynn, and links to other book blogs. Overall, this site is highly recommended because of the wide extent of books reviewed, the unique perspectives provided by the two reviewers, the ease of navigation, and the connections between books and Common Core State Standards.… (more)