About the Book
Eva the Evaluator is a story about Eva trying to understand what her father does for a living (evaluator). The father answers Eva's questions as she imagines herself engaged in the scenarios being described. Some mischievous characters appear highlighting that evaluation is not without pitfalls. Although a children's picture book, Eva the Evaluator is an effective way of introducing non-evaluators of all ages to the profession.
"I so very much wish I had had this book when I had young children. But I'm hopeful of grandchildren soon and this will be the first book I read to them -- over and over and over. I love it. (And I can see giving it to my adult clients who are more confused about evaluation than many children.)" Michael Quinn Patton Found and Director- Utilization-Focused Evaluation Former President, American Evaluation Association
"At last! A book to explain to my children, and to my mother and brothers, what it is I do. My graduate students in evaluation will also enjoy the insider jokes in the illustrations and the chance to explore these and other metaphors for evaluation work."
Patricia Rogers Mother, evaluator, and Professor of Public Sector Evaluation, Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, Australia
"A delightful and charming story of a little girl's struggles to understand what her father, an evaluator, does. It will be a must for all evaluators with or without young children, as who among us has not struggled to explain not only to children, but also to partners, relatives, and friends what exactly it is that we evaluators do for a living! It is a quick read that does it for you, simply and well."
Linda Morra Imas Co-author of The Road to Results: Designing and Conducting Effective Development Evaluations, co-director of IPDET, and M&E consultant.