How to use McKelle's Books

Answer a few questions, then tell us what you think.

Start with the interview. It asks what the reader wants right now, which books they have loved and why, and what they would rather avoid — and it stops asking as soon as it knows enough to suggest something.

You will get a short shelf of books, each with a note about why it is there. Say yes, maybe or no to each one; those reactions teach the shelf more than another question would.

Come back another day and the interview is much shorter, because it already remembers what the reader loves.

Who gets the most out of it

Best used by someone who already knows the reader.

It works best when a parent, librarian or teacher answers on the reader's behalf. They can usually tell the difference between what a child says they like and what they will actually read.

The sweet spot is the middle years — roughly grades three to eight — where interests narrow and the gap opens between what a reader can read and what they will choose.

Start the interview