Reviews for The Undergraduate's Companion to Children's Writers and Their Web Sites

The average rating for The Undergraduate's Companion to Children's Writers and Their Web Sites based on 2 reviews is 3 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2018-05-28 00:00:00 Frank Slavin Buker does a great job of these genres. The book starts off with a 20 question quiz to test your knowledge on your sci-fi/fantasy genres, books, films and even literary awards. Each section of the Sci-Fi and Fantasy genres are split up into at least 10 subgenres each, all complete with a 'definiton', the father of the subgenre or how it got its name, 3-5 titles complete with authors and descriptions, a small list of 3-10 read-alike's, the author's pick, and even a title from the list for the reluctant readers. It also features a list of every award winner of the Hugo/Nebula/World Fantasy and other awards (up until 2001, which will eventually date the book). The only downside is that most of the books featured in all categories are award-winners and are generally older titles. This book is also ONLY geared towards adult readers.

Review # 2 was written on 2014-07-11 00:00:00 William Lindner This introduction to science fiction and fantasy can fill a need for librarians that are not readers of either genre. Each chapter contains a brief description of the main components of a certain sub-genre, followed by about five highlighted titles or series with a paragraph or two describing the story elements. Then a list of 10-15 other titles appears. My favorite part of each section was the "Derek's Pick" and "Best pick for reluctant reader". One of the highlighted tales is listed for each. However, I am disappointed in the absence of some authors' works. I realize that it's impossible to cover every author, but these jumped out at me: Williams, Tad. His Otherland series should be included in "Virtual reality." Kurtz, Katherine. Her Deryni/Camber series might go in "Historical fantasy." Kay, Guy Gavriel. His Fionavar tapestry series could in in "Crossing over to the other side." Rosenberg, Joel. A couple of his series are appropriate for "Crossing over to the other side." and/or "Sword and sorcery." These are a few that jumped out at me. Two other points bother me as a librarian. The index seems weak. For instance, Tad Williams is listed on 176-77 for Tailchaser's song. His Memory, Sorrow and Thorn series is listed in the "M"s only, not under his name. If this is evident for one author, I'm not sure how other authors are handled. The other point is the inclusion of Anne McCaffrey's Pern series under "Fantasy". Although dragons are an integral point to the stories, they are genetically bred. The back story and this put it firmly in the science fiction genre. (Yes, I agree that readers of fantasies may also enjoy the series). So, in summary, a useful book for librarians and their customers, but should only serve as a catalyst. Practitioners should read even more widely and find other authors and titles to also recommend from the local collection.