Your book talk should have three main sections: the Book, the Quick Look, and the Hook.
First, the Book. You want to introduce your book, with the title, the author, and the genre. This is a good time to tell people if your book has won any awards, or any other special things about it. You should bring a copy with you so that your audience can see the cover, too, or have an image of the cover ready to present. You could email it to me and I can put it up on the Promethean Board.
Next, you need your Quick Look. Since book talks are generally very short, this section is just an overview of the important literary elements and some reasons why you thought it was a worthwhile read. I like to summarize the plot (not the ending!), talk about the characters, setting, and the main conflict in the story. Then, I talk about what makes the book special! This is your time to champion your book! Was the narrator hilarious? Did you like the creative setting? Did the characters feel real to you? Tell us!
Finally, the Hook. This is the part of the presentation that gets your audience interested in reading the book! Leave them with a cliffhanger! The Hook can be a passage you will read aloud, which you’ll want to choose carefully. The main thing about a Hook is that it needs to be exciting! For example, a passage describing the central conflict in the plot, perhaps, or a moment of intense action could make a great Hook.
Keeping Cool
Before your presentation, practice! Time yourself (shoot for 1 minute, and do not go over 2 minutes), film yourself, practice in front of a mirror, get comfortable reading your Hook and talking to your audience. The more you rehearse, the more comfortable you’ll be when it comes time to present! You can try using notecards, or writing a script for yourself (I do this sometimes!) if you are worried about forgetting what to say.