Age levels and word counts for children’s books – Part two

Here are a few more guidelines regarding age ranges and word counts for children’s books.

Nonfiction picture books

Nonfiction books for this age range are slightly different, based on their content, which includes many photographs, maps, and charts. Nonfiction books cover a wide range of topics, including science, nature, history, biographies, or animals. The upper age range for these kinds of educational books is ten years old. The books are also longer, with up to 2,000 words and as many as 48 pages.

Early readers

These are also sometimes known as easy-to read books or leveled readers and are for children aged five to nine that are beginning to read on their own. These types of books are produced at different levels, in which the stories gradually become more sophisticated. Illustrations appear on every page but often the story is separated into short sections or chapters with headings. The books are also smaller in size than picture books, giving them a more grown-up feel. With these kinds of books the length isn’t always standard, depending on the publisher. Some books may have up to 2,000 words or as few as 500. Some publishing houses produce 32-page books for this age range, while others might publish books with as many as 64 pages. For older readers, a page might have one or two paragraphs of text. For younger children there are between two and five sentences on a page.

First chapter books

These are also sometimes referred to as early chapter books or transition books and are for six to nine year-olds. The style is similar to that used in early reader books but the books are slightly smaller once again to give them a more grown-up feel. First chapter books usually have around 30 pages with chapters of around three pages. The books have illustrations but these appear on a limited number of pages and are not in colour.

Chapter books

These books for readers aged seven to ten are longer and the stories are slightly more complex than those in first chapter books. They have between 50 and 60 pages and chapters of up to four pages in length with relatively short paragraphs. Cliffhanger endings to chapters are common, designed to persuade the reader to continue following the story.

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