Have you been in a situation, like me earlier this week, when one of your children comes home with a book you are not familiar with? Books are not like movies; they don’t necessarily come with an age rating. Publishers don’t list the objectionable content on the back of the book, in the copyright statement, or even on their website. Some books will include an age recommendation on the inside front jacket flap, but that’s rare. Often, you’ll find the lines between middle grade books (ages 9-12), young adult book (ages 12-18), and adult books become blurry. So what to do? Other than reading the book yourself, or asking our friendly and knowledgeable librarians, there are some places you can go for help:
1. Search for the paperback or hardcover (not audio) version of the book on Amazon. Scroll to the product details and you can often see an age range:
3. Search for category ratings on Compass Book Ratings
4. Search and read the parent and student book reviews on CommonSenseMedia.org
I hope this helps. Happy reading.
Brian Taylor
Assistant Principal, Campus Curriculum Technology Integration