UK Authors Up In Arms About Proposed Age Banding
Wednesday July 16, 2008
More than 700 UK authors and illustrators, including Jacqueline Wilson, J.K. Rowling, Lauren Child, Michael Rosen, and Quentin Blake have signed the online petition on the No to Age Banding website. They are opposed to publisher's plans to put recommended age range bands on the covers of children's books. The website features a statement by author Philip Pullman outlining the reasons the signers are against age banding. In the U.S., publishers sometimes list the reading level and/or the age range in small print on the back covers of children's fiction and nonfiction. Books for beginning readers often list the reading level on the front cover. I have always felt this was helpful, but I do think that the petition signers have some valid reasons for being concerned about a prominent age band on the covers of their books. What do you think? Click on "comments" below and share your opinion.
Comments
I live on a corner of Europe where putting age bands on books is a very recent thing. I personally always feel uneasy when I’m reading a book that says “Above 14″ on the cover and in giant letters.
I also think that for begginer readers books don’t need (it’s useful but not needed) to have an age band. A responsible parent should check by him or herself if the book is appropriated for their children. Teachers have a list of recommended books by the Education Ministery but they should also evaluate by themselves is the book is suitable for their students.
My daughter was slow to learn to read and was already embarrassed when reading “baby” books. Being 9 and having a big label stating “For readers 5-8″ or some such label would have just been the final nail in the coffin.
Parents must still choose books for their children, and need to know that what they choose is within the reading-age of the child they have in mind. Since parents can hardly be expected to know if the prose is of the right age range for their child, some sort of indicator is not merely useful, but is imperative.
The children’s book publishing industry is egregiously stupid in ‘thinking’ that children need nonsense and whimsy. Children seek to understand the world they find themselves in, yet editors give them drivel. No wonder so few children become regular readers: they cannot find, or are not given, books that inspire them to read which provide them with any serious advantage the child can recognize.
Contrary to popular perception, fun and beneficial knowledge are not mutually exclusive. Nonetheless, the industry abandons the latter in the hope that the former will somehow produce a generation of readers. Given that this intellectually bankrupt approach has been used for a century —escalated in each decade— with such obvious lack of positive results, it is pathetic that editors continue to pursue it.
I agree with Miss J. Children learn to read at different rates and an age on the cover has the potential to discourage a child from becoming a reader. For younger readers the best judge is a parent that takes an interest in what they are reading and discusses what they’re reading. If in doubt what is suitable, ask a teacher or teacher librarian. We’ve already see how ridiculous some of the movie ratings are. A recent survey I saw, showed minimal support for recommended ages from publishers, booksellers, authors and book buyers.
I disagree with Richard about modern children’s literature having no intellectual value. Every gerneration has its share of fantasy stories but there are plenty of books that tell the stories of people’s lives,historical events and introduce them to new people, experiences and cultures. Jackie French is an example of an Australian author that writes great books that educate and entertain in equal measure.
Having become an avid reader at a later age (14-15) even though I had actively been involved in the school and public libraries since I was 8-9, having an age band, or branding to describe the “appropriate” age for a book, is plainly an insult to all parents, educators, librarians, authors and readers. I have for many years read things that were targeted to older or younger markets, for many reasons.
However, I, as a parent, should not “need” a guide as to what is appropriate for my children to read. There are many reasons why I might ignore a recommended age group for a book or for that matter anything else that I allow my children, now and in the future to read/access.
It is MY JOB as a parent to ensure that what my children access is age and content appropriate, not some arbitary rating system based in most cases on the lowest common denominator and generalisations. Rating systems, be they on content or age appropriateness are in reality just the first stage in censorship, something that I abhor wholeheartedly.
I see the point in not posting an age level. Where it seems helpful to parents in choosing a book, it also limits the readership; and since we all read at varying levels, we should choose a book based on the story or content, not on someone’s interpretation of our reading level.
While it is true that having the age range on a book might be helpful to some parents, I do agree with those who said that some children might be less likely to read, if they pick up a book they like and see that it is rated for children younger than they are. Adults get made fun of for enjoying “The Sound of Music,” etc., and it isn’t right to subject children to that treatment, feeling lesser because of something on the cover of a book.
I strongly agree that giving ages for reading children’s books can put off many a child who is reluctant to be seen reading a book for a younger age group.
Two years ago I collaborated with a well-known
watercolour artist to produce a “picture book”
entitled “Rosie Snowdrop Wants to Go to the Seaside”. (ISBN 9780954 - 387419) As self-publishers, we called it a picture book, but bookshops like waterstones found a problem in placing it on their shelves because it overlapped the category of picture/book and Early Reader. Teachers liked it for this reason, saying less-confident readers liked having so many pictures!. Our agent could attract no English publisher because “it fitted no exact age level”. So, having sold more than 2,500 copies and had encouraging e-mails from parents andchildren, we are again having to self-publish,
So, NO AGES on books, please!.