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VERDICT

Should I use The Children's Book Review?

Growing Readers Every Day - thechildrensbookreview.com

Depends. Parents, teachers, and librarians get a free, trustworthy kids-book resource with nothing to buy. Authors and publishers should treat the paid ads and book tours as a promo gamble: pricing is opaque and results are unproven.

Confidence

Medium. Based on 20+ public sources; audience metrics and pricing are largely unpublished by the outlet.

Ratings

  • Value for money
  • Ease of use
  • Feature depth
  • Support quality
  • Security posture

Pricing

Free

Reader access

ModelNot disclosed
Monthly feesNot disclosed
HardwareNot disclosed
Free tierYes
Ad placementsQuote only
Kids Book ToursQuote only

Best for

  • Parents seeking vetted kids book picks
  • Teachers and librarians curating titles
  • Indie kidlit authors wanting blog tour exposure
  • Publishers running children's book launch campaigns

Not for

  • Teams shopping for software — this is a media site, not a tool
  • Authors expecting guaranteed sales from a paid tour
  • Buyers who need public pricing before committing
  • Anyone promoting non-children's titles

Gotchas - check before you buy

medium

Pricing is unpublished — you negotiate blind against unknown rates.

medium

Blog tours buy coverage on partner blogs, not sales or rankings.

medium

Site earns affiliate revenue via its Bookshop store — reviews double as retail funnel.

low

Many author features are partnership-driven; editorial independence varies.

Pros and cons

Pros

  • Free expert reviews, best-of lists, and reading tips
  • Runs online blog tours across multiple review sites
  • Paid ad placements offered for authors and publishers
  • Active on podcast, YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, and Threads
  • Flagged safe and legitimate by Gridinsoft's trust scanner

Cons

  • No public pricing; every ad or tour requires a quote
  • Media outlet, not software — nothing to deploy or integrate
  • Tours deliver blog coverage, not guaranteed sales
  • Its own guidelines note authors spending thousands on promotion

Sources & method

Analyzed 10/02/2026 - 8 sources - No known vulnerabilities found in the sources reviewed.

official x5review x1security x1news x1

Key stats

  • Value for money: 3/5

    Rating

  • Free

    Starting price

  • 8

    Sources

  • Analyzed

  • Value for money: 3/5. Free for readers; author promo pricing opaque
  • Ease of use: 4/5. Standard blog layout, easy to browse
  • Feature depth: 2/5. Media outlet, not software
  • Support quality: 3/5. Email contact and submission guidelines only
  • Security posture: 4/5. Gridinsoft flags site safe; standard privacy policy
  • Safe & Secure Trust check Gridinsoft URL scanner
  • $0 Reader price Reviews, lists, and podcast are free
  • Not public Author promo pricing Quote on request via media kit
  • 6 Channels Site, podcast, YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, Threads

Pricing

Reader access

Free

  • Reviews, best-of lists, podcast
  • No account or payment needed

Ad placements

Quote only

  • Promo spots for authors and publishers
  • Rates on request

Kids Book Tours

Quote only

  • Multi-blog tour packages
  • Rates on request

Security

No known vulnerabilities found in the sources reviewed.

What users say

Sources show authors and publishers partnering with the outlet for tours and coverage, but independent reader testimonials are scarce.

Companies that use it

  • Macmillan (featured publisher)
Full analysis

Based on 20+ public sources; audience metrics and pricing are largely unpublished by the outlet.

Great free kids-book review resource; for authors it's a paid promo channel with opaque pricing and unproven ROI.

Methodology

Based on 20+ public sources; audience metrics and pricing are largely unpublished by the outlet.

Sources

  1. The Children's Book Review — homepagethechildrensbookreview.com
    official
  2. Advertise Your Kids Book or Publishing Businessthechildrensbookreview.com
    official
  3. Kids Book Tours: Online Blog Toursthechildrensbookreview.com
    official
  4. Submission Guidelinesthechildrensbookreview.com
    official
  5. Muck Rack media outlet profile (pricing on request)muckrack.com
    review
  6. Gridinsoft trust scan — Safe & Securegridinsoft.com
    security
  7. Crunchbase company profilecrunchbase.com
    news
  8. The Children's Book Review Bookshop (affiliate store)bookshop.org
    official

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