Strict adherence to 'reading age' on back of book

[satinpillowcase]

Just wonder if others find this policy as batty as i do...
I have a child in primary school who has always been an unusually avid reader. She is also a very competent reader.
She has ploughed her way through many books... She has just read all but one of the Percy jack sons and the heroes of Olympus the adventure islands and the narnia series for e.g.

She went back to school this week and I suggested she take the final Percy Jackson from the school library (to save me getting it....). She came home and told me the librarian would not let her take it out because she is eight and a half and it says nine plus on the back. I thought she was making it up, but (by chance I was in the library yesterday and) I asked the librarian and she said it was true, and because some parents apparently complain when their kids bring home age inappropriate books she strictly adhered to reading age as stated on the back of the book.

Is t this a bit bonkers? Reading age is a guideline not a law! I looked on the shelves and my daughter has already read swathes of the books that the library only makes accessible to year five and year six.
Quite a few of her friends are equally voracious readers.
We had this problem end year 2 as well when she was only allowed to read rainbow fairies (ie sexist bolkox) and picture books in the infant library, even though she's been reading proper books at home and at her old schools for a year.

I know I can get the books out of the public library and in fact My child has access to all the books she needs. But in principle it strikes me a ridiculous and lazy policy. At her old (state) school for example she used to be allowed to choose books from the junior library, even iat the start of year 2.. No one vetted them (I mean, it's not going to be porn In a primary school, is it) and it worked fine.

Can someone make me see this policy in a positive light? I struggle to see it as anything but a bit... Stupid.

also, to add, the school has a dedicated and experienced librarian who knows the children.... so presumably knows their reading ability/their character etc and also presumably knows books and therefore doesn't rely on the estimated reading ages printed on the back. its the kind of school where the teachers know all the pupils by name.

I can actually understand the librarian's point of view on this. A lot of the time when children are "ahead" with reading it means that they end up taking home books which perhaps don't have age-appropriate themes. I have seen threads about it on here in fact about parents complaining that their children have done just that! I suppose she is covering her own back and the policy has potentially been created because of previous instances.

Ridiculous. There is an issue for competent readers with regard to getting age appropriate stuff, and I can see how this is difficult for schools to manage, but a blanket ban on books aimed at a slightly older age group is just silly. My dd would probably have gone off reading long ago if she had been restricted to books aimed at her age range!

I understand it. I was a very advanced reader, and still remember the look on my teachers face when I rocked up with my mums nightmare on elm street book in year 5 (I don't know how old year 5's are... 10?)

Maybe if you put it in writing that your child has permission to read out with her age group, the librarian might bend the rules. You'd have to be prepared to take responsibility if your DD read something that she wasn't emotionally mature enough for.

It must be hard for the librarian with some parents complaining the books are too mature, and others not mature enough. I think the only reasonable thing they can do is make the kids follow the recommended reading ages.

I don't see this as the fault of the librarian at all, but of the way some parents complain about evening and ruin it for everyone else.

I think there are two different things at play here.

guideline reading age for difficulty of text - doesn't need to be followed
guideline age due to content - does need to be followed

At our school there are 'year 6 books' which only y6s can borrow due to their content (Hunger games for example I think). This makes sense to me.

Of course the policy is stupid, in that it doesn't take the individual child into account. But it creates a safe space for the school librarian who then is not required to think or use any judgement.

I agree that where a guideline is for reading ability, it should be ignored (because reading ability is not age dependent), but where it is related to content it is more tricky. I have a DD who, whilst she is reading way above her age on ability, hates any form of threat (emotional or physical). Even Heidi was too emotionally 'real'. I can understand the librarian's difficulty. In a small school, where they can get to know the children really well, I would expect flexibility. But in a bigger school, it must be hard.

I can totally understand it.

You as a parent who knows your child best, how sensitive they are, how mature they are, what bad language you are prepared to allow have the right to allow them to read books meant for older children.

A teacher or librarian doesn't have that right & so needs to cover themselves.

I understand this thinking
But I also think that if the school has a dedicated librarian who presumably loves books then it is reasonable to expect a more nuanced Approach (I suppose my back went up in y2 with the library offering rainbow fairies which may have been age appropriate but were 1. Crap 2. Of no literary worth 3. Sexist drivel and 4 clearly far too easy ... I couldn't make sense of a librarian thinking this was more appropriate than say the famous five or secret seven or American girl mysteries or nancy Drew or david walliams or rials Dahl any of a myriad of easy going books that six and seven year olds like...)

I may write a note absolving school of blame if she reads something upsetting (though she is likely to put it down if it is upsetting...).

Not a fight worth having!

I'm a librarian, if this was me and I wasn't sure, I'd read the book myself to check for content.
Doesn't take that long to skim read a kids book!
I'm in two minds about age guidance on books - can be helpful to give an idea of intended audience, but I do worry that it can be used to stop readers accessing good books.

The author himself says "roughly age 9 to 14" but advices parents to read any book aimed at older readers before deciding if the content is suitable for their child ...good advice!

It's a tricky one especially as she is so near to being 9. But then if it's suitable for 14 year old it may not be suitable for her. I took adult books out of the library for about a year when l was 11 as bored with the kids section. My parents never noticed until l showed my younger dsis a swear word in one of them and she told on me. There was war and l was back on baby books!

I'm not sure what there is in these books that is Unsuitable for an 8 year old ...no sex ... no foul language ... Some violence in the context of the heroes fighting mythical monsters [puzzled]

To be fair the librarian has given you the reason why. It sounds like she thinks it's a bit silly too, but people have complained before.

At DD's state school, there is a section for older readers but a few younger children are allowed to borrow from it. DD could, but doesn't, because last time she did it was too frightening.

I think the age ranges on the back of books tend to on the high side anyway. I've just checked the BFG and that says 9-12!

My daughter just told me she overheard the librarian being berated by a father for allowing his son to bring home a beast quest which was 8plus ... He was 7.
So maybe I should be more sympathetic.

Wow. My son's Y1 teacher recommended beastquest!

TBF he never tried them because he found the cover too scary.

Beast quests are fine for 7 year olds, IMO.

But now the poster who accused the librarian of not thinking for herself can see what she's up against!

I would try the letter as that might help.

I think beastquest is the boy equivalent of rainbow fairies. I hope it is better though as they can't be much worse!

I think beastquest is the boy equivalent of rainbow fairies.

That's what I always thought, too. In other words, aimed at around 5-7 year olds!

Our school has this policy, teacher told me to send her in whatever books she wanted to read from home/public library.

Hmm not sure book snobbery is that valuable to be honest.Not sure I'd want my kids thinking that they are too superior to read anything.

Beast Quest and Rainbow Fairies have their place and both played a valuable part in my very able early reading children. Beast Quest was what hooked one of mine onto quest type books.

I think school libraries need to support all children and yes there may be parents who don't want their kids at that age exposed to battle and mild gore if they're uber sensitive. They could have a shelf for early able readers, I think that it was my DC picked their books from but that said it is very easy and free to order books from your county library so it's not exactly a big issue.

I get the point about age appropriateness. my 6 year old brought home "bad girls" by Jacqueline Wilson, she is perfectly capable of reading it but the themes involve suicide, foster care and shoplifting! But I think slavish adherence to the age on the book is bonkers.

I agree and disagree with the librarian.

I would allow my dc to read books that are aimed at older children because I know what they can cope with. Dd1 and ds love the exciting adventures, and don't get scared, so wouldn't worry about them reading things. They also tend to be able to put aside things that are aimed at older ones and come and ask about it, and deal with it easily.
Dd2 does not. She can be in tears over books, have nightmares, and internalises things. I don't know what she had read the other night (she's 11yo) when she came through in tears because she'd heard a noise and was sure there was a rattle snake in the corner of her room.
She also struggles with separating fact from fiction, which the other two don't. She always had since she was about 2yo and used to look down under any pine trees (of which there are a lot round here) in case a "jagular" dropped on her (Winnie the Pooh).

She's the only one I have removed a book from midreading-and interestingly it was the same as softhedgehog says. Only this one was about anorexia, which as she's stick thin and says she's fat at times I thought was a particularly bad idea. She was 8yo at the time.

Now they've all been reading above their reading age, but I know that some books are aimed at above their age and are fine (eg dd1 read Narnia at 6yo) but some they are able to read, but the content is not ideal. Dd1 got given "Flour Babies" by (I think) Anne Fine at 7yo for a reading book. Which was perfectly able for her to read, but I felt both not particularly appropriate, but also not tremendously interesting for a 7yo.

But the thing is I know my children. The librarian doesn't. Also if she says "I don't think that's appropriate, but this one that says the same age bounds on it is" then it becomes her opinion, and parents will disagree both ways. For example I remember getting slightly slated on here saying dd2 had read "When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit" aged 6yo. Although the basic book is about a child fleeing the Nazis, it is much more about the fun time Anna had adjusting to different cultures. Dd2 didn't have a hint of being terrified, or upset by it. Whereas she was totally traumatised at a similar age reading Famous Five!

So it can depend on the child and people's perception of the book. A book you think is fine, may not be according to a different parent. And sometimes something you think is really scary, children have no issues with. For example, I found HP and the Chamber of Secrets really scary, and loved Prisoner of Azkaban. I mentioned this once to another parent and they had thought the first two books were fine and non-scary, but no way could their child read Prisoner (or any afterwards) because they got much more terrifying from then on.