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Original poster

Age Guidance on Children's Books - What do you think?

29 replies

HelenWaller · 07/08/2009 13:39

Hi everyone
I was wondering if you could help me. I'm currently doing an MA dissertation on whether children's books should have age guidance on them and was hoping to get some mums who buy books for children to give me their opinions. It would be great if you could post any comments you have. For instance:
Do you think there should be age guidance on the back of all children's books?
Should age guidance be about the child's reading age or content suitability or both?
Would you buy more children's books if they had age guidance on the cover?
How easy or difficult do you find establishing what age a book is suitable for?
Are their any alternatives to age guidance?

Any comments would be much appreciated.

Thanks

Helen

OP posts:
bruffin · 10/08/2009 10:06

I think reading age is usually fairly obvious, but I would like to have had content suitability.

Takver · 07/08/2009 14:38

I would find it helpful - maybe just a very broad age band. Many of my old Puffin books say something inside the front cover along the lines of 'likely to be enjoyed by children age x to y' or 'likely to be first read by children age from x' which is pretty non-committal.

(Actually, to be fair, they usually say 'boys age x to y' or 'girls age from x', but I guess that was the 70s for you.)

My dd is age 7, she's a very keen reader but we mainly buy 2nd hand or borrow from the library.

TBH I doubt we would buy any more new books if they had an age guidance - making them longer, cheaper , and less shelves full of magic sparkly fairy puppy tat would have more effect .

I struggle to find interesting looking new fiction books that look as though they will stand many readings, even in large bookshops, other than the classics which we can easily buy 2nd hand. The multifarious series books (Animal Ark et al) we get from the library.

Original poster
HelenWaller · 07/08/2009 14:23

If you don't mind Could you also maybe tell me the ages of child you generally buy for, and perhaps how often you buy children's books.

(Thanks for your comments mopsyflopsy!)

OP posts:
mopsyflopsy · 07/08/2009 13:43

In Germany (where I buy a lot of books)children's books have an age recommendation, and I find it very useful (especially when buying online).

The recommended age refers the the CONTENT, as it is this what is relevant and applies to most kids of a certain age. (Reading ages, of course, vary immensly, so no point referring to these).

Films and movies have age recommendations too.