Objective: Convince the Audience to Read the Book You Are Recommending. This Is Essentially

Objective: Convince the Audience to Read the Book You Are Recommending. This Is Essentially

Book Talk

Assignment: Present a three minute book talk about a novel of your choice. The novel must meet the following criteria: 1. It must be appropriate to your ability. 2. It must be a novel you haven’t read before.

Objective: Convince the audience to read the book you are recommending. This is essentially an argumentative speech designed to persuade the audience to read a specific book. A Book Talk is similar to a trailer for a movie, which shows you just enough information to convince you that you should watch the movie.

Visual Aid: You must include a visual aid (drawing, collage, map, book cover, etc.) to present to the audience as you give your speech. This can be something you have up on the SmartBoard as you speak or something you have done without the use of technology. It’s up to you, but part of the visual aid grade will reflect the amount of creativity you show with the visual.

Other Factors: You may use notes/note cards during your presentation. The book talk should cover multiple elements of the novel, but your focus should be on the overall plot and conflicts.

Requirements:

Introduction: Use the quote hook technique to get (and hold) the audience’s attention. Choose carefully and deliberately to capture the audience’s attention. Options might include an especially mysterious or exciting quote from the book. You must also explain WHY you chose the quote. Clearly introduce the novel’s title, author, and genre.

Middle: Cover the setting, characters, and plot of the novel without giving away too many details. Tell the audience a little about where/when the novel is set, who the main characters are, what kind of action or conflict is involved in the story, and what it is generally about. Under no circumstances should you give away the ending of the novel. Do not just list the characters and setting. Do not give a long summary of the entire novel. Remember, THIS IS NOT A BOOK REPORT!

Conclusion: Without giving away the ending, convince the audience that you loved this novel and that it is what they should read next. If the novel has won any awards, this would be the time to mention it.

Example: Check out the back of this sheet for an example of a Book Talk.

Example: Here is an example of a book talk on The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman.

“There was a hand in the darkness, and it held a knife.” This line comes from the first chapter of the novel, and it certainly cues readers into the dark and mysterious story they are about to enjoy. So begins the story of Nobody Owens, also known as “Bod.” Written by Neil Gaiman, The Graveyard Book is an amazing mix of fantasy and horror that follows the weird, early life of one unique boy.

On the night his parents are brutally murdered, two-year old Bod calmly climbs out of his crib and toddles out of the house to a nearby cemetery. There he is adopted by Mr. and Mrs. Owens (childless, and dead for 250 years!), who gladly care for the child and protect him from harm. With loving parents, teachers, friends, and protectors, Bod grows from age two to fifteen in the graveyard. He learns to read and do math, and he also learns some ghostly skills. But not all the residents of the graveyard are friendly. There are witches, ghouls, and creatures, not to mention the evil Jack—out to finish the job he started with Bod’s birth parents.

Filled with great illustrations, this is a sometimes-funny, exciting, and suspensful story. How will Bod survive? Will he? Can his loving adopted family and friends really protect him from the evil Jack? This delightfully gruesome tale will appeal to anyone that likes adventure stories, suspense, and some action. The Graveyard Book won the Newbery Award in 2009, which called it “a delicious mix of murder, fantasy, humor, and human longing.” You should definitely read this book.

*As far as visual aids go, this one is pretty poor. It shows us the book cover, but doesn’t show any creativity or effort (it took me less than a minute to find and insert this picture). It also doesn’t do much to add to the presentation or help explain the novel.