I was just wondering if anyone could seperate the age catergories for novels for me. I mean i know young adult and stuff but what ages of readers do they could that as? Thanks! and sorry if this isn't the place for this post
Age catergories
- Thread starter Hogwaffle
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The way I understand it is:
Babies & Toddlers
Ages 4-8
Ages 9-12
Teens 13-19
Young Adult 20-24
but how many older adults read J.K. Rowling?
But really, I guess, it is a matter of perception by the publisher and editor.
Babies & Toddlers
Ages 4-8
Ages 9-12
Teens 13-19
Young Adult 20-24
but how many older adults read J.K. Rowling?
But really, I guess, it is a matter of perception by the publisher and editor.
Hogwaffle said:
Young adult is traditionally categorised as 12 and up (Holes by Louis Sachar) though some publishers also have stronger young adult books for 14 and up (such as 'How I Live Now' by Meg Rosoff). Below that there's the 8-12 category (Harry Potter) and 5-8 (The Worst Witch by Jill Murphy). Any younger and I'm at sea myself.
There are some pretty good threads debating these issues in the Childrens/YA forum. You've got board books, picture books, early reader, easy chapters, middle grade, Young Adult and some are starting to split the MG and YA. A good rule of thumb is that kids like to read about slightly (2-3 years) older children. For example, if your MC is 16, then your work should probably be geared to MG.
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Soccer Mom said:
Most YA books have characters around 16 years old. In my experience, when kids are in middle school, they're no longer reading Middle Grade books. They're reading young adult books. That means the audience for YA books are usually 6th graders and up (11 years and older), despite the fact YA books may say 12 and up or 14 and up.
You can take my experience with a grain of salt, since this is mostly based on me and my friends throughout middle school.
See, that's why there is so much debate. What one person calls MG is what another calls YA. I call it MG because that is what is being actually read by Middle Grade students. Middle grade is full of challenging themes and graphic portrayals of life. MG is no longer the cute and cuddly fiction that it was when I was in Middle School. Those types of works belong in the easy chapter books. BTW--at most places, I see this stuff simply shelved as "teen" so I suspect we torture ourselves unnecessarily about age groups. Kids will read what they like, regardless of what we call it.
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So what you're saying is that the stuff I read as an MG, the Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew and the Bobpsie Twins are now... what? Easy chapter books?
I'm just saying that its what we would probably call "Lower MG" now. I don't if kids still read them. I grew up reading Nancy Drew and Trixie Belden, but I suspect kids don't anymore. Bobsie Twins? Freddie and Flossie? I'm not sure they would sell now, which is too bad.
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