June 16, 2008
Age-Appropriate Labels for Children’s Books
By Bernice Hurst, Managing Partner, Fine Food Network
A row has broken out in the UK between the Publishers’ Association (PA) and numerous literary professionals about how best to encourage children to read.
This having been decreed National Year of Reading by the British government, the PA did some research into ways of encouraging adults to buy more books for more children. Their conclusion was that age guidance should be printed on the back of each book.
Children’s authors and other interested adults, including teachers and librarians, are resisting on the basis that chronological and reading ages vary widely. Attaching a specific reading age to children’s literature is virtually impossible, according to Ben Macintyre of The Times of London, adding “instead of expanding children’s reading, the use of age labels will surely serve to make them more self-conscious of their reading age, and therefore limited in their choices.”
Columnist and critic Mark Lawson of The Guardian agreed, citing authors such as Philip Pullman and JK Rowling in particular, for their elasticity of appeal. He is also concerned about who will set the standards. “Liberal and Christian parents, for instance, might differ greatly in their view of suitable reading for a 10-year-old. To avoid fuss or legal trouble, the age ranges seem likely to be drawn up cautiously, with further risk of infantilizing bright readers.”
Mr. Pullman has spoken against the idea, launching a website with others sharing his feelings: “The proposal to put an age-guidance figure on books for children is ill-conceived, damaging to the interests of young readers, and highly unlikely, despite the claims made by those publishers promoting the scheme, to make the slightest difference to sales. We take this step to disavow publicly any connection with such age-guidance figures, and to state our passionately-held conviction that everything about a book should seek to welcome readers in and not keep them out.” Within a day, more than 250 people had signed up to agree.
The PA, meanwhile, insists that the adults questioned feel they need help because they are often overwhelmed by choice, especially if they buy in a non-traditional bookshop (read supermarket) where no one is available to offer advice on what a child might enjoy or be able to understand. The organization’s chief executive, Simon Juden, responded to authors’ protests by insisting that the guidance “isn’t actually about reading age – it is about content and the appropriate interest level for children.” All he wants to do is help adults wanting help to get children reading by buying more (and more suitable) books.
Discussion questions: Do you think books should carry age-appropriate ratings just like movies and music? Will such guidelines encourage parents to buy more books for their kids? Are publishers well-placed to advise on what material children should be reading at any given age?
- Judge a children’s book by its cover – The Times
- A plan to print suggested reading ages on children’s books has their authors up in arms, and rightly so – The Guardian
- Authors’ statement – www.notagebanding.org
- Publishers’ Association statement on age guidance – The Publishers Association
- National Literacy Trust – http://www.literacytrust.org.uk/
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It seems like whenever consumers want more information about a manufacturer’s products, the companies resist because it adds to the cost. While I can understand that point of view, if the consumer is willing to pay for the data, why should they care? And if it is mandated for all companies, then it wouldn’t put any one company at an advantage or disadvantage. Children’s books sell better on eBay when they are labeled and grouped according to reading levels and/or age levels.
Are the same people that are against this also against country of origin labeling? Anything that helps a consumer make a better informed purchasing decision is a good thing in my view.
As a parent of four small children I appreciate the existing age/level guidance I see on books and would appreciate further assistance.
Levels (1,2,3…) would get around the issue others have noted about not wanting to put specific ages on specific books.
My biggest frustration as a parent teaching small children to read has been the inconsistency across authors and publishers. The guidelines need to be consistent and legible of level zero readers.
This is a touchy subject, but I’ll go out on a limb and say that if you’re not actively teaching your own children to read (or at least did so in within the least few years) you’re probably not well qualified to be part of the decisions made on this topic.
Two possible approaches to the age-range issue for children’s books: (1) put a peelable sticker on the cover with an age range or (2) put an RFID tag into every children’s book and give every parent and grandparent in the UK an RFID receiver that shows the age range. Since solution #1 is easy to implement and costs almost nothing, while solution #2 is complicated and will cost hundreds of millions, it’s obvious that solution #2 is far superior.
Having owned and operated a small bookstore for twelve years, I can say with good authority that putting an age level on a book is the worst idea for readers. It has been proven over and over again in the educational field that readers develop very differently. This feels like yet another way to turn children away from reading for pleasure.
If the industry is intent on selling more books, they should find a way to work with legitimate booksellers who read juvenile literature and help their customers make wise decisions. Helping Megamarts sell more books may seem wise in the short term but it will not help publishers continue to develop lifelong readers who will be buying their adult titles in the future.
I think that labels will help with sales but on the other hand, how can great works be age branded? My daughter loves going through her old board books just as my youngest loves being read stuff that wouldn’t be appropriate for her. From a Sales point of view, I would say it’s a good thing but on the whole, we shouldn’t classify books by age as we want everyone to read and labeling may isolate certain age groups from enjoying books that are not meant for them.
Books-in-Print has requested this information from publishers when they apply for an ISBN number. This information is already available to booksellers online. It is simply a question of implementing this information an add-on, like EAN, to the ISBN bar code already on all commercially marketed books.
To read and sign the petition against this total absurdity, go to http://www.notoagebanding.org/
Age appropriateness should be placed on books much like toys. It is a guideline for the purchase. Toys and games have had age listed on them for years, why not books? It would help parents but more importantly, it would assist the buyers of gifts such as grandparents, aunts, uncles, etc. Many of these consumers don’t have children and have no idea what is appropriate. Age definitions would certainly help them with their purchase and add to buying books vs. toys.
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It seems like whenever consumers want more information about a manufacturer’s products, the companies resist because it adds to the cost. While I can understand that point of view, if the consumer is willing to pay for the data, why should they care? And if it is mandated for all companies, then it wouldn’t put any one company at an advantage or disadvantage. Children’s books sell better on eBay when they are labeled and grouped according to reading levels and/or age levels.
Are the same people that are against this also against country of origin labeling? Anything that helps a consumer make a better informed purchasing decision is a good thing in my view.
As a parent of four small children I appreciate the existing age/level guidance I see on books and would appreciate further assistance.
Levels (1,2,3…) would get around the issue others have noted about not wanting to put specific ages on specific books.
My biggest frustration as a parent teaching small children to read has been the inconsistency across authors and publishers. The guidelines need to be consistent and legible of level zero readers.
This is a touchy subject, but I’ll go out on a limb and say that if you’re not actively teaching your own children to read (or at least did so in within the least few years) you’re probably not well qualified to be part of the decisions made on this topic.
Two possible approaches to the age-range issue for children’s books: (1) put a peelable sticker on the cover with an age range or (2) put an RFID tag into every children’s book and give every parent and grandparent in the UK an RFID receiver that shows the age range. Since solution #1 is easy to implement and costs almost nothing, while solution #2 is complicated and will cost hundreds of millions, it’s obvious that solution #2 is far superior.
Having owned and operated a small bookstore for twelve years, I can say with good authority that putting an age level on a book is the worst idea for readers. It has been proven over and over again in the educational field that readers develop very differently. This feels like yet another way to turn children away from reading for pleasure.
If the industry is intent on selling more books, they should find a way to work with legitimate booksellers who read juvenile literature and help their customers make wise decisions. Helping Megamarts sell more books may seem wise in the short term but it will not help publishers continue to develop lifelong readers who will be buying their adult titles in the future.
I think that labels will help with sales but on the other hand, how can great works be age branded? My daughter loves going through her old board books just as my youngest loves being read stuff that wouldn’t be appropriate for her. From a Sales point of view, I would say it’s a good thing but on the whole, we shouldn’t classify books by age as we want everyone to read and labeling may isolate certain age groups from enjoying books that are not meant for them.
Books-in-Print has requested this information from publishers when they apply for an ISBN number. This information is already available to booksellers online. It is simply a question of implementing this information an add-on, like EAN, to the ISBN bar code already on all commercially marketed books.
To read and sign the petition against this total absurdity, go to http://www.notoagebanding.org/
Age appropriateness should be placed on books much like toys. It is a guideline for the purchase. Toys and games have had age listed on them for years, why not books? It would help parents but more importantly, it would assist the buyers of gifts such as grandparents, aunts, uncles, etc. Many of these consumers don’t have children and have no idea what is appropriate. Age definitions would certainly help them with their purchase and add to buying books vs. toys.