Age levels and word counts for children’s books – Part three
Books for children over the age of eight or nine are classified as middle grade books or as those for young adults.
Middle-grade books
Middle grade books are for children between eight and twelve and can have between 100 and 150 pages. The word counts are between 20,000 and 50,000 at the younger end and between 40,000 and 55,000 at the upper end of the range. The plots and themes are more complicated and stories often have subplots featuring different characters. The children in these books are between nine and twelve with main characters being at the older end of that range.
Some of the more popular middle grade books are series featuring the same characters in different adventures. Middle grade books are written in a variety of styles, including those with historical, fantasy, science fiction, and present-day settings. They have similar themes and styles to young adult books. However, due to the age of middle grade readers, certain elements, such as levels of violence, hints of romance and so on, are different to those appearing in young adult books.
Young adult (YA) novels
These books are for readers ages 12 to 14 or slightly older and the stories are often very detailed and complex YA novels are longer than middle-grade books and are usually between 150 and 220 pages in length. Word count is generally between 55,000 and 70,000, although some may exceed this if they are science fiction or fantasy novels. The main reason for this is that in that particular genre the author needs to spend more time building the environment in which the characters operate. YA novels have more than one important character but the story still usually focuses on one main character.
It’s important to remember that there is some flexibility regarding these classifications. It’s perfectly acceptable for your story to be suitable for readers a year older or younger than your intended audience. The age level will of course also be dependent on the reading level of the reader. My middle grade novels may officially be aimed at readers aged eight or nine to twelve but some children who are very good reader have read than at the age of even. Readers in their early teens have also enjoyed the books.
Which are your middle grade novels?
The Alchemist’s Portrait, The Sorcerer’s Letterbox, The Clone Conspiracy, The Emerald Curse, The Heretic’s Tomb, The Doomsday Mask, The Time Camera, and The Sphere of Septimus are all middle grade novels. Flashback, Future Imperfect, and the soon to be published Twisted Fate are probably better classified as young adult novels.