Classics · Something Else
Something Else: what age is it for?
4 min read3 sources
Kathryn Cave and Chris Riddell's Something Else is a short picture book about a creature who doesn't fit in. It's one of the best-known British books about belonging, and it won a UNESCO prize for tolerance.
Here's what age BookTrust gives, what the book is about, and how to talk about it with a young child.
In brief
- Interest age 4+, reading age 6+, according to BookTrust.1
- The first UNESCO prize for children's and young people's literature in the service of tolerance.1
- A British book. Kathryn Cave and the illustrator Chris Riddell are both British; the current edition is published by Puffin.1
- The right age for it. From about three, children start to really understand others.2 At four, a story about being left out lands.
What the book is about
Something Else tries hard to be like the others: he plays their games, eats their food, draws their pictures. It never works, and they tell him he doesn't belong. Then someone even stranger turns up at his door, and Something Else has to decide how he'll treat a newcomer.
The twist is what makes the book: the child who was left out now has the chance to leave someone else out, and chooses not to.
At four, and at six
At four, the feeling. Most four-year-olds know what it's like to be left out of a game. They recognise Something Else straight away.
At six, the question. Older children can talk about the twist: what would you have done when the stranger knocked? The reading age BookTrust gives is six, so they can read it themselves too.
If friendships are on your child's mind right now, our page on making friends may help.
Frequently asked questions
What age is Something Else for?
BookTrust gives an interest age of four and a reading age of six. It's a picture book to read aloud from four, and one children can read themselves from six.
What is Something Else about?
A creature who doesn't fit in tries hard to be like the others and is rejected. When someone even stranger arrives, he chooses to be kind. It's a book about belonging and tolerance.
What prize did Something Else win?
The first UNESCO prize for children's and young people's literature in the service of tolerance.
Who wrote Something Else?
Kathryn Cave wrote it and Chris Riddell illustrated it. Both are British.
Sources
- 1.BookTrust Bookfinder: Something Else.What it confirms: Interest age 4+, reading age 6+; Puffin; the first UNESCO prize for children's literature in the service of tolerance; Kathryn Cave and Chris Riddell.
- 2.NHS Best Start in Life: Early learning and development.What it confirms: Friendships begin to form from about two; a real understanding of others from about three.
- 3.BookTrust Bookfinder.What it confirms: Books listed with two ages, an interest age and a reading age.
A word about us
A story where your child belongs
Something Else finds a friend in the end. Children love stories that tell them they belong.
At Sagalino, your child becomes the hero of a story with their name, in one of our 21 illustration styles. You read the whole story for free, and only pay afterwards.
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- The Worst WitchBookTrust 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.
- Tom GatesBookTrust gives The Brilliant World of Tom Gates an interest age of 9 to 11. Why a book full of doodles gets reluctant readers going.
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