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Original poster

Jacqueline Wilson, how can you tell how age appropriate they are?

32 replies

lexcat · 28/03/2009 10:10

DD soon to be 8 has just read the Suit Case Kid which she's loved, the only problem is some of the language. DD for example asked me what "slut" meant. I don't know if that was the only bad language used but was a little shocked as the book was from the school library.

She's keen to read more JW which I don't mind but hope to be able to help her choose what is suitable for her age. This made harder by the fact she has a reading level of a 10.5 year old, therefore can read book beyond what may be suitable. But having gone from bookworm to hardly reading last year, she's now reading again but not as avidly as she was so don't like to discourage her in any way.

OP posts:
snice · 29/03/2009 19:01

Well actually theyre not rated in our library! The Were-Puppy is next to say Diamond Girls which causes all sorts of problems with my daughter. Only the older teenage fiction is in a seperate section.

When I asked the librarian for advice she said she wished there were age recommendations on the covers as some of them were unsuitable for under 10s. DD is 7 going on 14 by the way.

girlandboy · 29/03/2009 18:56

Go to your library because the books are already sorted into suitable age ranges.

I work in a library and frequently have to explain to parents that a book marked as teenage or 15+ is unsuitable for little 8 year old dd because of the content. Most parents are ok, though some will argue that "well, she's quite capable of reading older books." I don't dispute this, but the content will be unsuitable.

The books will be rated in the library just like films have a rating.

MitchyInge · 29/03/2009 18:55

read them first, that's what I do

seeker · 29/03/2009 18:42

I wouldn't give a child of this age any but the younger titles. And a warning - my dd was BADLY upset by the Cat Mummy at this age - I would strongly advise reading it first. It won't take long.

I would try Karen McCombie or Hilary Mackay as more suitable but still the same sort of 'issue based' books. And both, in my opinion, significantly better written than JW - who, by virtue of clever marketing appears to have cornered the market!

Original poster
lexcat · 29/03/2009 18:36

What I like to see is her reading and enjoying books weather they be to easy or not. The easy ones just get read very fast and the harder ones last 2-3 nights.
My main worry is the suitability, we've just got "The Cat Mummy" and "The Were-puppy" from the library yesterday she's already read the were puppy (and loved) and hoping to read the cat mummy tonight. Just hope their OK they were in the younger children's section.

OP posts:
librarymice · 28/03/2009 20:46

Her youngest titles include "Buried Alive", "cliffhanger", "The cat Mummy", "sleepovers" but she might find them too easy. "Double Act" or "The Lottie Project" could be ok but more or less all of her "older" novels deal with social issues. You could try her on "Jacky Daydream" which the first of her autobiographical novels.

BlueCowWondersWhenItsChocTime · 28/03/2009 11:21

bumpity bump - same query here!

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