Book Talks
I like to use the analogy of a movie trailer. The purpose of a booktalk is to “sell” the book. You want to give enough of the plot to interest the listeners but you are not giving a summary of the book. You don’t want to give away the important parts of the book. You certainly never want to give away the ending. You want to highlight the interesting points. You may want to read certain passages to your listeners. The main purpose of a booktalk is to grab the audience’s interest and make them want to read the book. It’s always a good idea to end the booktalk with a cliffhanger. Booktalks are usually presented to groups of students. The booktalker presents the booktalks orally and usually has the book as a visual prop.
I used the same definition that Nancy Keane uses on her website.
