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I’m thrilled to announce that RAMP IT UP! got a starred review from School Library Journal!

Well, technically, the Spanish version, ¡ELEVA LA RAMPA! did. (Yay for Wendy Wen’s illustrations and Anyeliz Pagan Munoz’s translation!) The reviewer says “Zoe’s colorful world is happy and inviting and full of positivity” and concludes: “VERDICT: This fun picture book is an excellent way to share with young readers the ways STEAM is present every day and is sure to inspire readers to make their own creations. A great addition to Spanish collections for children.” Look for the full review in the October issue of SLJ.

But…what is a starred review, anyway? I was pretty confused when I first started following publishing! Like most people, when I thought of reviews, I thought of consumer reviews, where regular people rate books on Amazon or Goodreads on a 5-star scale. 

I knew there were also professional book reviews, but I wasn’t sure exactly how they worked. I knew newspapers had book sections (or used to), but most of my media critic knowledge came from watching Siskel & Ebert back in the day with my Dad!

Eventually, I discovered that professional book reviews are published in trade magazines. Trade magazines are aimed at people in publishing: librarians, editors, booksellers, etc. So, people in “the trade”. Some publications review both adult and children’s books, like Publishers Weekly, Kirkus, Booklist, and Shelf Awareness. Others only cover kids’ books, like The Horn Book and The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books. Librarians split the difference, with Library Journal for adult and School Library Journal for kids’.

Professional reviewers get early copies of books called ARCs (Advanced Reader Copies). They usually write and publish their reviews before the book’s publication date to help libraries and bookstores decide which books to order. You may also come across these reviews as a consumer, in the “editorial reviews” section of a book listing on sites like Amazon or as a quote in a book ad.

So, that’s what trade reviews are, but what about those stars??

When I first saw books advertised as getting “five stars,” I assumed it meant professional reviewers used a 5-star ranking system, like consumer reviews do. I thought maybe they were advertising that their average professional review score was high—something like Rotten Tomatoes. 

But then I saw books celebrated for having two or three stars, which seemed strange. And I then I saw one with six stars! That’s when I knew something else must be going on. 

Turns out, starred reviews work on a totally different system! A starred review isn’t a rating, it’s a special honor. 

Each review publication chooses which books to review. The reviews can be positive or negative or in-between, but they don’t have a rating system—just a written review. Then, of the books they review, they pick their favorites and give them a star. SLJ says a star means “Excellent in relation to other titles on the same subject or in the same genre.” So it’s a way to highlight books, to say, “We think this one is really great, make sure to take a look at it!”

Each magazine has their own system for awarding stars. Some give each reviewer a certain number of stars for the year, others have to agree as a team. At SLJ, individual reviewers suggest books they think deserve a star and the editors make the final decision. The exact number varies, but most publications give stars to fewer than 10% of the books they review. Since SLJ reviews are written by librarians for librarians, an SLJ star especially helps increase library sales!

If you want a deep dive on the SLJ review process, check out this video!