How to Get More Book Reviews for Your Children’s Book (7 Proven Tips)

Book reviews can make or break your children’s book sales—especially on Amazon. Reviews boost your book’s visibility in search results, build trust with buyers, and influence whether someone decides to click “Buy Now.”

But if you’re a children’s book author wondering how to get more book reviews, you’ve probably realized it’s not as simple as just asking a few friends. In fact, Amazon’s review policies make it tricky—and there’s a right way and a wrong way to approach it.

In this post, we’ll share 7 proven ways to get more book reviews for your children’s book—plus a bonus tip to help you start strong before your book even launches.

Why Book Reviews Are Important

Book reviews aren’t just “nice to have”—they’re essential for long-term sales. Here’s why:

• They build credibility with potential readers

• They influence buying decisions (especially for parents, teachers, and librarians)

• They improve organic visibility on Amazon and other marketplaces

• They boost marketing results—ads, social media posts, and press features are more effective when your book has reviews

• They can be repurposed for your website, social media graphics, and media kits

💡 Pro tip: For Amazon ads to work well, aim for at least 20 reviews before heavily investing in campaigns.

Amazon’s Book Review Policies You Need to Know

Before you start requesting reviews, make sure you understand Amazon’s rules. Violating them could result in reviews being removed—or even account penalties.

You cannot:

• Ask for positive reviews (you can only ask for honest reviews)

• Use friends and family (Amazon can detect connections and will remove the review)

• Post your own review or have your illustrator post one

• Pay for reviews (unless through Amazon-approved programs like Amazon Vine)

• Post reviews with offensive, unrelated, or promotional content

📎 Learn more here: Amazon’s Community Guidelines

7 Proven Ways to Get More Book Reviews

Reach Out to Children’s Book Reviewers and Bloggers

Submitting your children's book to book bloggers and reviewers is an effective way to get more reviews and increase exposure for your book. Be careful though - while this is a great way to increase your product reviews, authors often follow book blogs and book review accounts rather than your target audience so this isn't always the best way to gain visibility with potential customers.

When submitting your children's book to gain book reviews:

1. Research those who specialize in children's books. Look for bloggers who have reviewed books similar to yours and have a significant following and engagement with their audience. Many book bloggers and reviewers have submission guidelines on their website or social media channel, so read them carefully before reaching out.

2. Personalize your outreach. Address them by name, mention their blog or website, and explain why you think your book would be a good fit for their audience. Be sure to include a brief summary of your book and a link to where they can find more information about it.

3. Pay attention to whether they require a physical or digital copy of your book.

4. Follow up after the review. Thank them for their time and effort and share their review with your audience. Consider building a relationship with the blogger or reviewer and continuing to submit your future books for review.

Collaborate with Influencers Who Reach Your Target Readers

One of the best ways to get more book reviews is to network. Reach out to bloggers and social media influencers who don't regularly review books. Instead, try to find accounts that connect with your subject mater in some way.

For example, if your picture book teaches STEAM or science concepts, try finding influencers who are homeschool moms or elementary teachers with an interest in sharing science lessons and activities. Since your children's book fits their content and what their audience cares about, this is often more effective for brand awareness and sales than seeking out book bloggers or reviewers.

Book reviewers get inundated with requests so it could take them weeks or months to follow through, if they ever do at all. But an influencer in a non-book niche doesn't get as many requests and your book will resonate with their audience.

Start by researching influencers who have a significant following and engagement on their website or social media channels. Then, reach out with a personalized message, and offer to send them a free copy of your book in exchange for an honest review and/or sharing with their audience.

Add Review Requests to All Your Author Platforms

Put a reminder to leave a book review in your email signature, add it to your website, mention it in your press releases or media features, include it in your social media posts...the list goes on.

And if you've self-published your children's book, you can even add something in the back matter of the book itself!

The reality is that the average person won't think to leave a review on their own and they certainly don't know how important it is to authors. The more you talk about it, the more people will help you out!

Ask Your Email List for Book Reviews

Done right, your email subscribers should be your most engaged following. They've downloaded your lead magnet or opted into your email list because something about what you or your brand offers is exciting or relatable to them. So if you send them a personalized email thanking them for their support and asking them to leave an honest review of your book, many should follow through!

Need help to grow your email list? Check out the video below.

Run a Free Children’s Ebook Promotion on Amazon

Offering your book for free for a limited time is a great way to get more readers and reviews. You can do this by enrolling your book in KDP Select.

This program allows Kindle Unlimited members to read your book for free at any time but it also gives you 5 days every 3 months that you can run a free promotion. On the dates you choose, your ebook will be FREE for anyone to "buy" for $0.00.

To make the most of this opportunity, you'll want to share your promotion on social media, run advertisements, notify your email list, etc.

But the most important part? Be sure to ask readers to leave a review.

People don't always think to leave a product review so add it to your graphics, ask in your captions, and share, share, share!

Ask Your Social Media Followers to Review Your Book

Your social media following is another great source of potential reviewers. Post about your book on your social media platforms and ask your followers to leave a review. You can also run a social media contest or giveaway where readers who leave a review are entered to win a signed copy of your book or other prizes.

Try a Reputable Book Review Service

Another way to get more reviews is to use a book review service. These services typically offer a range of packages that include book reviews, author interviews, and promotional features on their website and social media channels. While some book review services charge a fee, others are free. Some great ones are Booksprout, BookSirens, NetGalley, and Pubby.

Bonus Book Review Tip: Build a Launch Team

If your children’s book hasn’t launched yet, a launch team can be your secret weapon for gathering reviews quickly.

A launch team is a group of people—ideally in your target audience—who agree to read your book early and post reviews during release week. This gives your book instant credibility and can boost Amazon rankings.

If you'd like to learn more about launch teams, check out this blog post.

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Getting book reviews takes time and consistent effort—but the payoff is worth it. By combining outreach, strategic partnerships, and reader-friendly systems for leaving reviews, you’ll see your review count (and sales) grow.

If you want step-by-step support on marketing and promoting your children’s book, check out our Profitable Picture Books self-paced course. You’ll learn how to write, publish, and sell your book successfully—without the overwhelm.