About The Indie Pendant Book Award

To help you understand how we evaluate books for our annual awards, we use three main criteria: readability, accessibility, and educational value. Each criterion is rated out of three stars. Here’s a breakdown of what we look for:

Overall Evaluation Process:

  • Summary Review: A one or two sentence summary highlighting what makes the book great.

  • Detailed Evaluation: An analysis of the book’s readability, accessibility, and educational value, with each point discussed in one or two sentences.

Criteria for Evaluation:

Readability:

  • Clarity of Writing: Is the language clear, concise, and free of jargon?

  • Engagement: Does the book hold the reader’s interest throughout?

  • Structure and Organization: Is the book well-organized with logical flow and clear headings and sections?

  • Ease of Understanding: Are complex concepts explained in an easy-to-understand manner?

  • Appropriate Level: Is the content suitable for the intended audience’s educational level (beginner, intermediate, advanced)?

Accessibility:

  • Use of Examples: Does the book use examples, illustrations, and analogies to clarify concepts?

  • Visual Aids: Are diagrams, charts, and illustrations effectively used to support the text?

  • Design and Layout: Does the book have a professional and visually appealing design and layout?

  • Typography: Is the text easy to read with appropriate font size and spacing?

  • Interdisciplinary Connections: Does the book make connections between different STEAM fields where appropriate?

  • Experimental and Hands-On Learning: Does the book include experiments, projects, or activities that promote hands-on learning?

Educational Value and Impact:

  • Accuracy: Is the information presented accurate and up-to-date?

  • Critical Thinking: Does the book encourage critical thinking and problem-solving skills?

  • Real-World Applications: Does the content include real-world applications and implications of the concepts discussed?

  • Motivation: Does the book inspire and motivate readers to learn more about the subject?

  • Practical Applications: Does the book provide practical knowledge that readers can apply in real-life situations?

  • Broad Appeal: Is the book appealing to a wide audience, not just specialists in the field?

How We Rate:

Each book receives a single star rating out of three possible stars. A summary review explains the book’s value. A detailed explanation covers how the book fares in terms of readability, accessibility, and educational value.

Somitemes several contestants are equally well written and it is up to the final discretion of the judges to pick a final winner.