book review policy

For Authors and Publishers:

I am happy to accept ARCs and review copies, but please keep these things in mind:

1. As this blog is a non-paying, voluntary labor of love, I’m only able to review a select number of titles as time and space will allow. My "reviews," which comprise roughly 1/3 of the content here, are actually recommendations. My aim is to only share titles I truly love and to support my fellow writers. Therefore, I cannot guarantee a review for every book I receive. If I have actively solicited a book, it will receive priority in my "TBR and reviewed" pile. Please note that I often do monthly or seasonal themes, so on some occasions I may choose to feature a book at a later time in keeping with that objective.

2. My primary focus is food-related books for children, fiction or nonfiction, Picture Book through Middle Grade, with an emphasis on picture books. Nonfiction topics of interest include nutrition, gardening, agriculture, cookbooks, culinary history, and food production. I will review the occasional young adult title if it looks especially delicious. ☺

3. In addition to food books, I welcome innovative and/or quirky alphabet books, multicultural titles (especially those by or about Asian Americans), and books by Hawai’i and Virginia authors. Oh, and I can’t resist good bear books (real or the teddy bear variety)!

4. Since I participate in Poetry Friday every week, I’d love to see more poetry collections with a food tie-in — these could be for either children or adults.

5. I feature both new and older titles on alphabet soup, and often obtain copies from the library. So, if you’re an author who thinks your book (regardless of when it was published) would be a good fit for this blog, please let me know and I’ll check it out.

6. I enjoy interviewing picture book authors and illustrators, and authors of food-related fiction for ages 7-12. Contact me if you’re interested in setting something up!

7. What I don’t review: e-books, board books, novelty books, audio books, adult fiction or nonfiction (except cookbooks and food memoirs).

8. Feel free to email me with any questions or to get my snail mail address: readermail (at) jamakimrattigan (dot) com.