What should a book report include?

The book's title, author, and genre; the setting and main characters; a summary of the plot; the main theme or message; and your opinion with reasons. Older students add a thesis, evidence from the text with page numbers, analysis of the author's techniques, and a citation for the book.

How do you write a book report for elementary school?

Keep each part short and concrete: who is in the story, where and when it happens, what happens at the beginning, middle, and end, the lesson the story teaches, a favorite part, and whether you would recommend it and why. The elementary template uses those friendly headings and a sentence starter for the recommendation.

How long is a book report?

It depends on the grade and the assignment. Younger students often write a page or less, middle-school reports tend to run a few paragraphs to two pages, and high-school reports are usually longer. Follow the length your teacher sets.

Do I need to cite the book in a book report?

In high school, usually yes — teachers often expect an MLA entry and page numbers for quotations. With a single source the list is headed Work Cited. The high-school template builds the entry from the author, title, publisher, and year, for example: Lee, Harper. To Kill a Mockingbird. J. B. Lippincott, 1960.

What tense should a book report be written in?

Use the present tense to describe what happens in the story (“Scout narrates…”, “Brian builds a shelter”). This literary present is the convention for writing about literature. Use the past tense for real events, such as when the book was published or when the author wrote it.

Does the book report generator write the report for me?

No — it organizes what you write. You enter the book's details, your summary, and your opinion, and the tool places them into a structure that fits your grade level, with prompts for any part you skipped. No AI is involved, and nothing leaves your browser.

Book Report Template Generator

Pick a grade level, enter the book's title, author, setting, characters, plot, and themes, add your opinion, and get a book report with the right structure for that level — fill-in sections for younger readers, an analytical report with an MLA Work Cited entry for high school. Honest templates, no AI. Free, no sign-up.

Grade level

Elementary schoolMiddle schoolHigh school

Grades 6–8: an introduction, setting and characters, a plot summary, a theme with an example, and an opinion backed by evidence.

The book

Book title

Author

Genre

Your name (optional)

Year published

Publisher

Used for the MLA Work Cited entry in the high-school report.

The story

Setting — where and when

Main characters — one per line, “Name — description”

Plot summary

Themes — one per line

Your response

Your opinion

Recommendation

Rating

Your book report

9 parts still to write

Book Report

Introduction

Title:

Author:

Genre:

Published:

To write: Open with a hook — a question or a striking detail from the book — then say in one sentence what the book is about.

Setting and Characters

To write: Describe where and when the story takes place, and how the setting shapes what happens.

Main characters

To write: For each main character, give two traits and an example of each trait in action.

Plot Summary

Tip: Cover the main conflict, the most important events, and how the story ends, in one or two paragraphs. Write about the story in the present tense.

To write: Summarize the main conflict, the most important events, and the resolution.

Theme

To write: State each theme as a message, not a single word: not just “friendship”, but what the book says about friendship.

To write: Explain one theme with a specific example from the book.

My Opinion

To write: Give your opinion and support it with two specific examples from the book.

Recommendation and Conclusion

To write: Say who would enjoy the book, and why.

To write: Close by restating your overall opinion in a fresh way.

How to Use the Book Report Template Generator

1. Choose the level. Elementary, middle school, or high school. The facts you enter stay the same; the sections built around them change.
2. Enter the book's details. Title, author, and genre. For high school, add the publisher and year from the copyright page of the edition you read, and the tool formats them into an MLA 9 Work Cited entry.
3. Describe the story. Add the setting, the main characters one per line as “Name — description”, a short plot summary, and the themes, each written as a message rather than a single word.
4. Add your response and export. Write your opinion and recommendation and pick a rating, then copy, download, or print the report. Any section you skipped shows a short prompt instead.

Book Report Structure by Grade Level

A book report shows that you read the book and can think about it. What changes with age is the balance: a young reader retells the story and explains what they liked, while an older one argues a claim about the book and backs it with evidence from the text.

Level	Sections	The focus
Elementary (grades 2–5)	About the Book · Where and When · Who Is in the Story · What Happens · The Big Idea · My Favorite Part · What I Think · Would I Recommend It?	Retelling the story in order and giving reasons for an opinion
Middle school (grades 6–8)	Introduction · Setting and Characters · Plot Summary · Theme · My Opinion · Recommendation and Conclusion	Character traits with examples, and a theme explained with evidence
High school (grades 9–12)	Introduction with a thesis · Summary · Analysis (setting, characters and conflict, themes, style and craft) · Evaluation · Conclusion · Work Cited	A claim about the book, supported with cited quotations or scenes

Book Report, Book Review, or Literary Analysis?

The three are easy to confuse. A book report summarizes a book and responds to it, usually for a teacher who wants evidence that you read it closely. A book review judges a book for readers deciding whether to pick it up, so it summarizes less and evaluates more. A literary analysis makes an argument about how the text works — its themes, characters, or techniques — and summarizes only what the argument needs. The high-school template sits between a report and an analysis, which is what most high-school assignments ask for.

Common Book Report Mistakes

Summary that takes over. Retelling every chapter leaves no room for thinking. From middle school on, keep the summary to a paragraph or two.
A topic instead of a theme. “Friendship” is a topic; “real friends help each other even when it costs them” is a theme. Write themes as messages.
Opinions without reasons. “I liked it” needs a because: a scene, a character, or a choice the author made.
Quotations without page numbers. In MLA style a quotation is followed by the author's surname and the page number, with no comma: (Lee 112).
Tense that drifts. Write about the story in the present tense — Brian builds a shelter — even though the book was published years ago.

Frequently Asked Questions

What should a book report include?: The book's title, author, and genre; the setting and main characters; a summary of the plot; the main theme or message; and your opinion with reasons. Older students add a thesis, evidence from the text with page numbers, analysis of the author's techniques, and a citation for the book.
How do you write a book report for elementary school?: Keep each part short and concrete: who is in the story, where and when it happens, what happens at the beginning, middle, and end, the lesson the story teaches, a favorite part, and whether you would recommend it and why. The elementary template uses those friendly headings and a sentence starter for the recommendation.
How long is a book report?: It depends on the grade and the assignment. Younger students often write a page or less, middle-school reports tend to run a few paragraphs to two pages, and high-school reports are usually longer. Follow the length your teacher sets.
Do I need to cite the book in a book report?: In high school, usually yes — teachers often expect an MLA entry and page numbers for quotations. With a single source the list is headed Work Cited. The high-school template builds the entry from the author, title, publisher, and year, for example: Lee, Harper. To Kill a Mockingbird. J. B. Lippincott, 1960.
What tense should a book report be written in?: Use the present tense to describe what happens in the story (“Scout narrates…”, “Brian builds a shelter”). This literary present is the convention for writing about literature. Use the past tense for real events, such as when the book was published or when the author wrote it.
Does the book report generator write the report for me?: No — it organizes what you write. You enter the book's details, your summary, and your opinion, and the tool places them into a structure that fits your grade level, with prompts for any part you skipped. No AI is involved, and nothing leaves your browser.

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