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What Makes Children's Books Age Appropriate?
What Makes Children's Books Age Appropriate?
What Makes Children's Books Age Appropriate?
Jessica Rogers
English 59
Professor Horton
June 6, 2017
Many childrens books that are now considered classics have a well said
message. The authors of these books do a great job of getting these messages across in
a way that remains appropriate for their marketed age range. Some examples of a
message are; loving where one comes from and showing it to those they consider
more than just going through puberty, or that bullying is never okay no matter the
circumstances. There is obviously a reason that these books have stood the test of
time. But what is it? Could it be related back to the authors background? The writing
psychology? It is a combination of these things that makes these books classics, in the
minds of those who had read them and those who will read them in the years to come.
An important part of the writing of childrens books is figuring out what age
range that the book is marketed towards. Sometimes the age that the publisher or
writer believes the book is suitable for isnt the correct age range in regards to their
stage of development. Childrens books are usually split into age ranges; starting with
the picture books that are marketed to children age 2-7, going into early readers for
children age 7-12, and lastly young adult books that are for ages 12-15. Each of these
age ranges relate to levels and stages of psychological development. Obviously, these
are age suggestions, since some children may be reading young adult books early. An
example of this being 5 or 6-year-olds reading the Harry Potter series, books that are
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marketed to children in the age range of 8-12. Each of these age ranges correlate to
different psychological development stages in children. The age range of 2-7 years
Initiative versus Guilt (Russell 25). The next age range of 7-12 years correlates to
Piagets Period of Concrete Operations (Russell 24) and Eriksons stage of Industry
versus Inferiority (Russell 26). The last age range of 12-15 years correlates to Piagets
Period of Formal Operations (Russell 24-25) and Eriksons stage of Identity versus Role
Confusion (Russell 26). Each of these stages correlate to specific types of books, and
The books written for the first age group are the books written for small
children, ages 2-7. These are usually picture books because at this age a book is
something that is read to the child and the pictures are what catches their attention.
Quiara Alegria Hudes. While looking at this type of book, one which has text
completely in Spanish, it is important to look at one of the many things that are
important to the background of a book. Sometimes the background of the author will
be an influence on the book, but not always. One would want to look at what their life
was like as a child, where they went to school, things they experienced in both
childhood and adulthood, and other projects and endeavors of theirs besides their
writing. Sometimes these endeavors outside of their novels or picture books will be a
major influence to the writing and/or the overall message of the book. This author is
most well known for her work in the musical theatre world. The best-known musical
that she has worked on is In the Heights (Hudes/Miranda). This is a musical about the
Puerto Rican, Dominican Republican, and other Latino/a ethnic peoples from the
culturally rich barrio in Washington Heights in New York City. She wrote the book that
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this musical is based off and worked closely with the composer Lin Manuel-Miranda,
another Puerto Rican member of the musical theatre world. Working with this musical
and the story of this barrio could have easily been something that influenced her to
write this childrens picture book. That and maybe her upbringing as well as her
ethnicity. Q. A. Hudes has a Puerto Rican mother and a Jewish father, and obviously
knows about the way that minorities live, seeing as she grew up in the West
Philadelphia neighborhood that may have been an inspiration for the setting of this
book.
love about a neighborhood by showing it to others. Although the message of the book
might be difficult for a child under 5, it is important to read this to them because the
exposure to this idea can change their way of thinking. And, by the time they are 6 or
7, they may catch the underlying messages of accepting diversity and loving where one
comes from. This book follows a little Latina girl and her friend who comes to visit,
who happens to be a little Asian boy. Already this book is representing diversity with
the characters chosen, as well as making it so that both young girls and young boys
would want to either read it or have it read to them. She shows him around her barrio,
which is the Spanish term for neighborhood, and it is done using each letter of the
alphabet. Starting with A being for Abuela, which in Spanish means grandma, and
going to Z being for zona escolar, which means school zone. The text is completely in
Spanish, but the illustrations give someone who doesnt speak Spanish, or someone
who isnt fluent, an idea of what is being said. This books illustrations are straight
forward while still maintaining a sense of uniqueness to them that could relate to the
This book, overall, can appeal to this age range because of the stage of
psychological development in the children that it is marketed to. These children, aged
2-7, belong to Piagets Preoperational Period where children become less egocentric
and start making friends (Russell 23). As well as Eriksons stage of Initiative versus
Guilt, where children decide what they want to do and when (Russell 25). This book
fits into the Alphabet Book category, books that most of the time have no story and
may just be an aesthetic treat for readers to enjoy (Russell 90). However, this story
has an underlying message, which is not very common, and is a book that the reader
The next age range that books for children are marketed towards are the early
readers. These being beginning chapter books that are marketed to children ages 7-12.
These books are where stories begin to have a plot. An example of a book for this stage
is A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine LEngle. This story has the message that not
everything seen must be explained, and that ones differences are what bring people
together. There are three main characters in this book; Meg, Charles Wallace, and
Calvin. Seeing as two of these characters are male, boys reading this story can most
likely relate to one of them. And since Meg is very tomboy-ish, that character wouldnt
alienate boy readers in the same way as Margaret from Are You There God? Its Me
Margaret would. Given the characters, this story can appeal to all genders, especially
of children in the age range of 7-12, although 12 may be a bit old for the writing style.
The language of this book is fairly simple, anything difficult wasnt spoken by the main
characters, but instead by Mrs. Who, who speaks in quotes. All of the quoted material
was in a different font and if it was in another language, it was translated for the
reader to understand. These quotes were from other pieces of literature, giving these
young readers different ways to think about problems. There were very few
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illustrations, about three total, and they were only used to explain the theory of
wrinkles in time, which allow our main characters to travel through space to save Meg
This book falls into the genre of science fiction and speculative fiction (Russell
215). These books have settings that are only there to catch the readers attention and
to give a backdrop to tell a story with more substance. This age range correlates to
Piagets Period of Concrete Operations, where children learn to use the tool of
assimilation. This being the way that children can relate fantastical ideas to their
everyday life (Russell 24). The fantasy characters and events dont actually exist but
they can now begin to relate them to reality. This age range also correlates to Eriksons
stage of Industry versus Inferiority where these children desire success and friendship
(Russell 24). This being shown in the strength of friendship between the main
characters in order to succeed and defeat IT. Overall these books embrace the ideas
and settings of fantasy in order to get these children thinking about deeper issues by
giving them a sense of escapism, such as going to different planets, even though these
Sometimes books for children cover topics that should be read by children of a
certain age group and of certain genders, such as Are You There God? Its Me,
Margaret by Judy Blume. This book fits into those marketed towards the next age
range of 12-15. These are young adult books and they usually cover tough topics that
are age specific. The book in question, Are You There God? Its Me, Margaret by Judy
Blume, covers the topic of growing up by following a girl who is waiting to get her
period. The main character is dealing with wanting to be normal. This meaning,
wanting to be just like everybody else and wanting to get her period, without
understanding these things happen at different times to different people. She is also
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struggling with other parts of growing up. Including discovering how she deals with
This book is in first person and it has very simple language. Any time the reader
sees Margaret talking to God, the text is in italics. The lack of illustrations in this book
does nothing to detract from the story. The addition of illustrations probably would not
add to the story either, seeing as this age range is past picture books and early
chapter readers and no longer need prompting for visuals. They can imagine things
themselves. Given the subject matter, this book is obviously marketed to pre-
pubescent girls, or girls who recently got their period. It is unlikely that a boy would
read this book given its subject matter. Given the subject matter, this book falls into
the genre of the problem novel, covering topics like sexuality in a way that is
sensitively written, since it gives no graphic descriptions of anything and gives the
reader the opportunity to think things out with Margaret (Russell 28). It would
probably be a book that can be read while asking an adult about any questions they
Such types of books, the ones that cover tough topics, are ones that should be
introduced to young readers delicately. Another example of this kind of book that
covers a different difficult topic is Harriet the Spy by Louise Fitzhugh. This book
attempts to discuss bullying, in a way that is not too subtle. Harriet is an aspiring
writer, and writes things about people she watches into a spy notebook. Whether these
things are good or bad, it doesnt matter to Harriet because who is ever going to read
it? When those at school read the notebook, Harriet learns a valuable lesson. That
lesson being that you shouldnt say or write things down without thinking about them,
because all words have consequences. Although Harriet, at the time of writing these
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things down, doesnt understand that they can be taken badly, she also has a bad
attitude. This along with Harriets need to have things go her way, like when she and
her friend Scout play town, she is not a good role model to have in a book for
children. This book does a great job of covering a topic like bullying in a great way, but
the main characters personality detracts from the overall message because it seems
like Harriet doesnt learn her lesson and maintains her poor attitude even at the end of
the book.
The books for this age range correlate to later psychological stages. Piagets
Period of Formal Operations and Eriksons stage of Identity versus Role Confusion.
Piagets stage is where these children reach full cognitive maturity and are ready for
more mature topics (Russell 25). These mature topics can be things like taking
responsibility for your actions and learning your role in society. Eriksons stage states
that these children begin to discover who they are and that they crave openness and
honesty, preferring stories about others like them (Russell 26). Much like how
Margaret is learning to grow up, these children reading these stories will learn about
life events through the characters, events that they too may have experienced. These
books begin to tell readers exactly what they need to hear in a way that allows them
to engage in a true exchange of ideas (Russell 24-26). These books prepare them to
deal with real life ideas and allow them to form opinions of their own.
Books for children cover topics across the entire board, from diversity to
puberty to bullying. Some do a great job of this and others fall short because of the
characters actions, not so much because of the story or message itself. The things
that build into the age appropriateness range from the language, to the
important of all the pieces that decide age appropriateness is the correlation to child
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psychology. If they correctly correlate to each age ranges stage of development, they
are most likely an age appropriate book which, all things considered, makes these
Works Cited
-Blume, Judy. Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret. New York: Delacorte, 1970.
Kindle E-Book.
-Fitzhugh, Louise. Harriet the Spy. New York: Yearling, 1964. Kindle E-Book.
-Hudes, Quiara Alegria and Lin-Manuel Miranda. In The Heights: The Complete Book
And Lyrics Of The Broadway Musical. Milwaukee: Applause Theatre & Cinema
-Hudes, Quiara Alegria. "The Playwright." Quiara Alegra Hudes. Web. 16 May 2017.
<http://www.quiara.com/theplaywright>.
-L'Engle, Madeleine. A Wrinkle in Time. New York: Square Fish, 2007. Print.
<http://www.madeleinelengle.com/>.
-Russell, David L. Literature for Children: A Short Introduction. 8th ed. Boston: Pearson