Magazine
Children's books by age, and what age the classics are for
Publishers write “from 3” or “9 to 12” without always saying why. Here, for each book, you'll find the age the publisher, BookTrust or Common Sense Media gives, what the book asks of a child and what people debate about it, with a source for every detail. Plus lists by age, from two to twelve. These are other publishers' books; we don't sell them.
NewThe Children's Book AtlasClassic books by values, violence and darkness, in a space you can turn.By age
The books that suit each stage, and why at exactly that moment.
Books for 2 year olds: seven picture books for pointing, naming and joining inSeven books rated from two, from Goodnight Moon to The Tiger Who Came to Tea, for the age when a picture becomes a sign.11 sources · 5 min read
Books for 3 year olds: seven picture books for the age of whySeven picture books for the age of why and how, from Room on the Broom to Where the Wild Things Are, each with the age BookTrust or Common Sense Media gives.12 sources · 5 min read
Books for 4 year olds: six books for longer storiesSix books for four-year-olds, from Stick Man to Winnie-the-Pooh, for the year of longer stories and, in Ireland, the first year of school.11 sources · 5 min read
Books for 5 year olds: six books for the first year of schoolSix books for the first year of school, from The BFG and Matilda to an Irish legend, for reading aloud while your child learns their first letters.11 sources · 6 min read
Books for 6 year olds: six books for first chapter booksSix books for the year of first chapter books, from Magic Tree House to Paddington, some to read alone and some to keep reading aloud.11 sources · 5 min read
Books for 7 year olds: six classics for reading aloneSix books for seven-year-olds, from Charlotte's Web to Pippi Longstocking, for the age when a child starts reading whole chapters alone.10 sources · 5 min read
Books for 8 year olds: six novels to get lost inSix books for eight-year-olds, from Ronia, the Robber's Daughter to Inkheart, for the age of longer novels and books that last a whole term.8 sources · 5 min read- Books for 9 year olds: seven books they'll want to finishSeven books for nine-year-olds, from Diary of a Wimpy Kid to The Neverending Story, with two Irish titles from Little Island.11 sources · 5 min read
Books for 10, 11 and 12 year olds: seven novels for the last years of primary schoolSeven books for ten, eleven and twelve-year-olds, from Inkheart to two Irish classics, for the years when a love of reading is won or lost.10 sources · 6 min read
The classics
Books that shaped generations: what age they're for, and what they still do today.
What age is Harry Potter for? Book by book, and what people debate todayThe seven books change a lot from the first to the last. What age each is for, what publishers say, and the debates around the series today.7 sources · 7 min read
Winnie-the-Pooh: what age is it for?BookTrust gives Winnie-the-Pooh an interest age of four and a reading age of seven. What that gap means, and how to read the stories at each age.3 sources · 5 min read
Horrid Henry: what age is it for?BookTrust gives Horrid Henry an interest age of four and a reading age of six. Why the books work so well for first readers, and what parents ask about Henry.3 sources · 5 min read
Roald Dahl age range: what age for each book?BookTrust puts The BFG and Matilda at 5 to 14, and James and the Giant Peach at 9 to 14. What those wide ranges mean, and when to start with Dahl.3 sources · 5 min read
Paddington Bear: what age are the books for?BookTrust gives A Bear Called Paddington an interest age of six to eight and a reading age of seven. What that means for reading it aloud and alone.3 sources · 4 min read
Pippi Longstocking: what age is it for?Oxford University Press gives Pippi Longstocking “from 7” for the edition illustrated by Lauren Child. What the book asks of a child, eighty years on.3 sources · 4 min read
The Very Hungry Caterpillar: what age is it for?BookTrust gives The Very Hungry Caterpillar an interest age of two to five, Common Sense Media “age 2+”. Why a book with holes still works at five.4 sources · 4 min read
Where the Wild Things Are: what age is it for?Common Sense Media rates Where the Wild Things Are “age 2+”. Why a book about anger and monsters works so young, and why it still works at six.4 sources · 4 min read
Inkheart: what age is it for, 8 or 9?Chicken House gives Inkheart as 9+; BookTrust gives an interest age of 8+ and a reading age of 9+. Which one fits your child.4 sources · 4 min read
The Neverending Story: what age is it for?The Puffin edition gives a reading age of 9 to 12, for 528 pages. What the book asks of a child, and how the film differs from it.3 sources · 4 min read
The Rainbow Fish: what age is it for?Waterstones gives The Rainbow Fish 3 to 6. What a book about sharing offers a three-year-old, and what to talk about at five.3 sources · 4 min read
Tom Gates: what age are the books for?BookTrust gives The Brilliant World of Tom Gates an interest age of 9 to 11. Why a book full of doodles gets reluctant readers going.3 sources · 4 min read
The Worst Witch: what age is it for?BookTrust gives The Worst Witch an interest age of six and a reading age of seven. A first school story that children can soon read alone.3 sources · 4 min read
Something Else: what age is it for?BookTrust gives Something Else an interest age of four and a reading age of six. A picture book about belonging that won a UNESCO prize for tolerance.3 sources · 4 min read- Diary of a Wimpy Kid: what age is it for?Common Sense Media rates the first Diary of a Wimpy Kid “age 9+”. Why children who don't read anything else read Greg, and what parents ask about him.3 sources · 4 min read
Choosing well
How to spot a good book before you buy it.
How much text per page for a children's book?How long a picture book should be, and why the most quoted rule about children's attention span has no source.6 sources · 7 min read
Gender roles in picture books: what the figures sayAn analysis of 3,280 books over sixty years: the gap between male and female characters is closing among humans, and stays wide among animals.2 sources · 6 min read
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