Sunday, July 10, 2011

The Chapter Book

Children's literature encompasses a large audience with a vast array of reading skills. Books are often categorized by age and reading levels as follows:

  • Picture books - ages 0-5
  • Early readers - ages 4-8
  • Chapter books - ages 6-8
  • Middle grade -  ages 8-12
  • Young Adult - teen to early 20's
Today I am focusing on the chapter book. What is the chapter book? It is the book group targeting readers usually from 6-8 years old. The chapter book bridges the gap between picture books/early readers to middle grade. While early readers might have short chapters, the book length is usually less than 60 pages. With chapter books, the chapters get longer, characters are more developed and the book length is over 60 pages, but less than 160. These books move the child toward independent reading. They often are written as a series with a likable characters that readers will want to follow. The Junie B. Jones series is an example of this.

Mary Kole, of Andrea Brown Literary Agency, wrote and excellent article here on the chapter book. She points out that publishers aren't anxious to publish new chapter books, but will take a look if they can be developed into a promising series.

New chapter books series still make it into the market and offer fresh voices into an established area.

Coming up on my blog. A book review of Zapato Power Freddie Ramos Takes Off by Jacqueline Jules to highlight a chapter book series with a fresh Latino voice that will especially appeal to boys.

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