Jars, I hope that idea dies a quick and ignominious death.

Huh, I kind of thought that many if not most kids books in the US already had some notes about the suggested age/reading level. Not an industry-wide sticker sort of thing, but provided as part of cover copy by the publisher.

And for "early readers" there is a very detailed and very prominently noted staging (pre-reading, then levels 1 2 3 all boldly emblazoned on the wee little baby chapter books.)

As a teacher, it would be nice if there were content warnings, although, practically speaking, that would be more "advertising" than "warning" in practice.

flea, I think those refer to difficulty of text (I can't imagine a level 3 book having things in it that would upset the parents of a level 1 reader), whereas this idea seems to be very content-related (which putting an age on is ridiculously subjective)

Ah, I didn't get the content emphasis. I have very poor reading comprehension this morning. Perhaps I should return to early reader stage 2.

As a teacher, it would be nice if there were content warnings, although, practically speaking, that would be more "advertising" than "warning" in practice.

sure, but lately those seem to be "First two sentences" - a friend of mine's first chapter of a children's book started with her character singing protest songs while locked in an outhouse... that was likely fairly self-selecting.

OT (sort of) - I read the Stephen King short story "In A Tight Spot" last night, after a friend had called it a classic. I'm still kind of stunned. Then I went back to my four pages of Chabon's Maps and Legends - it's lovely writing, but so smooth that I fall asleep. Which is good. and not.

Shir, all I have to offer is more controversy: PDF file [link]

I can't find the quote listed in any of the references that include the source, like Bartlett's, although there are many other places that are attributing it to Balzac.

Does any of you know where it's from?

FYI, I can't find it on any French Balzac quotation sites. I found one version in French, but the French was off so I'm thinking it was a poor translation. Sadly, again, no text source, just attributed to Balzac.

megan, are you around on Saturday?

Could I talk you into sitting with Matilda for an hour some time that day?

I can give you treats!

I am around doing little projects and getting some things done before my family descends on Tuesday. Should be no problem, just let me know when.

I remember being told that the two different numbers on US kids books were one for reading level and one for content appropriateness. So, in Anne of Avonlea (which I just grabbed off my shelf), it says, "RL 6, age 10 and up" which would mean sixth grade reading level, and appropriate for kids ages 10 and up in terms of content. I don't have any sources for that, though -- I just remember hearing it somewhere.