Age is just a number
Our eleven year old daughter is rarely without a book. Yes, she loves her computer. DS and MP3 player, but she’s still happiest with a book in her hand. And like me, she enjoys a broad range of books, fiction and non-fiction.
Over the years, she has been allowed to choose pretty much want she fancies reading, whether from the library or the bookshop. She loves having the chance to buy a new book and pores carefully over the synopsis on the back and any other information which might guide her. If I buy her a book, I may buy another by the same author as one she’s enjoyed, or look for a similar style – or just something I think she’ll love.
I was concerned to read that British publishers intend to bring in an age-banding scheme for books, with the age range that the book is suitable for marked on the back of the book. Not as concerned it appears as many of our top children’s authors. Phillip Pullman, Terry Pratchett, J.K. Rowling, Michael Morpurgo, Jacqueline Wilson and Dick King-Smith are just a few of those who have signed a petition objecting to the age banding.
Just as every child is different, so is every book. It’s impossible to put them into a neat 2-3 year band for suitability, as is current for most books in the USA. Children may not read books that are suitable, for fear that they will find them too challenging, or a child may stop reading, embarrassed because the book that they want to read has an age younger that their chronological age marked on it.
Although age ranging is seen as guidance, cautious schools and local authorities will see it as a prescriptive label like a film certificate, denying bright children access to the books that they need to keep them motivated.
Those supporting the scheme say that it will aid parents and relatives to choose a suitable book for their child. Not all nine year olds will find age 9-11 books to be suitable or enjoyable, just as not all nine years olds wear age nine clothes. Some adults will limit the type of books that a child can read, whilst other, pushier, relatives may give a five year old a book with 11+ on the back, so that they can boast about the child’s gifted abilities.
Many authors are opposed, because they say that they don’t write for a particular audience. Phillip Pullman says:
“You simply can’t decide who your readership will be. Nor do I want to, because declaring that it’s for any group in particular means excluding every other group, and I don’t want to exclude anybody. Every reader is welcome, and I want my books to say so. Like some other writers, I avoid giving the age of my characters for that reason. I want every child to feel they can befriend them.”
And sometimes a child just wants to relax and read something comfortable and non-demanding, without embarrassment from their peers. My daughter’s favourite book so far this year is The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time. She also enjoyed The Book Thief and is currently reading The Life of Pi, but in-between she has enjoyed revisiting old favourites, such as Michelle Paver’s ‘Wolf Brother’ series and dipping in and out of a range of non-fiction.
I leave the last words to Terry Pratchett:
“When I was a child I read books far too old for me and sometimes far too young for me. Every reading child is different. Introduce them to the love of reading, show them the way to the library and let them get on with it. The space between the young readers eyeballs and the printed page is a holy place and officialdom should trample all over it at their peril.”
It didn’t seem to do him much harm 
You can find out more and sign up to the petition here.
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Related posts:
- Have we fallen out of love with books?
- Now will you leave our children in peace?
- Do you think I’ll come out more educated than I went in?
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