Book review template for KS1 (free, printable)

In KS1 a book review is mostly talk, with a little writing on top. Before your child writes anything, ask them about the story: who was in it, what happened, which bit they liked best and why. The National Curriculum asks Year 2 children to listen to, discuss and express views about a wide range of stories, poems and non-fiction, and a review is simply a way of writing a few of those views down. If the talk is good, the writing has something to say.

Drawing counts. Many Year 1 children can say far more than they can write, so the template has a big box for a picture of the best part. Ask your child to tell you about their drawing, and help them write one caption underneath. A grown-up can write down the words a child says; that is still the child’s review, and it shows them that their ideas are worth recording.

Use the sentence starters as a ladder, not a test. “My favourite character was…”, “I liked it because…” and “It reminded me of…” give a child the first half of a sentence so they can put their energy into the second half. In Year 1 one finished sentence is a good review. In Year 2, aim for two or three, and encourage “because”, which turns a plain opinion into a reason.

Make the stars a talking point. Children often give everything five stars, which is lovely but tells a reader nothing. Ask, “What would have made it a five?” or “Why not three?” There is no wrong answer, but explaining a score is the start of the reasoning older children will need for a KS2 review. Asking for a favourite word or phrase works the same way: it sends a child back into the book to look closely at the language, and new words picked up this way are often the ones they start using in their own writing.

Choose a story your child cared about. A review of a book they found dull will be short and flat, while a review of a favourite bedtime story, a book from the library or a story they listened to will be full of things to say. Stories read aloud to them are fine to review in KS1; understanding a story they heard is just as real as understanding one they read. The free interactive story The Whispering Woods, written for ages 6 to 8, is short enough to read and review in one sitting.

To use the template above, type the title and author, choose the stars, then fill in as many sentence starters as suit your child; you can leave any box empty. Press “Print my review” for an A4 sheet with your words and an empty box to draw in, or “Print a blank review” for a copy to fill in by hand. Nothing you type is saved or sent anywhere, so print before you close the page.

Help with spelling without taking over. Point out that the title and the author’s name are printed on the cover, so they can be copied letter by letter, and so can character names inside the book. For other words, a spelling that sounds right is fine in a review; the aim is getting ideas onto the page. If your child is worried about a tricky word, write it on a scrap of paper for them to copy rather than taking the pencil.

In class, keep a pile of blank reviews in the book corner and pin finished ones next to the books they describe, so other children can see what their friends recommend. Reading a review aloud to the class gives children a real audience, and they soon notice which reviews make them want to read the book.