Where is the line between chapter books and middle grade?

erikafabulous

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So if I'm trying to write for lower middle grade, do I need to adjust my protagonists' ages? They are seven and five at the moment. I just don't like the idea of making them too much older, but is that something I need to do?
 

Debbie V

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Make the five year old 8 or 9 and keep the seven year old the same. Of course, to some degree it depends on the story.

Back to book recs - my son enjoyed A Wrinkle In Time (series), Chronicles of Narnia (Series - be aware there i death at the end), The first 3 Harry P books (He can have book four in fifth grade), The Hobbit (read to him), The Wizard of Oz (Read to him in first grade, as much of the series as we coudl find), The Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew Mysteries, including Nancy Drew and the Clue Crew and the HB graphic novels, Encyclopedia Brown, Dragon Slayer's Academy, The Origami Yoda Books. I'm stopping before my fingers get too tired. He's big into fantasy and mystery but will read some contemporary especially if it's funny. His favorite book is Maniac Magee.
 

BookmarkUnicorn

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I can't seem to find it anywhere so I'd thought I'd ask here: What sort of issues make a story middle grade and not a chapter book for sure? Is it more elements of conflict that don't find an easy fix or...?

I was thinking of elements of fantasy in chapter books lately and wondering about how an adventure would play out in a chapter book vs. a low MG.

( My trouble is I do have a talking animal in my story, but she's very realistically shaped beyond being able to talk to the MC, aka not a Max and Ruby sort of character or anything...)
 

Brotherssteinle

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I'd say it's not even so much the complexity if the issue, how easily they resolve it, etc. sure to a degree that matters, especially with word count restrictions in chapter books. It's more about the age appropriateness of t he issues being conveyed. Topics of death, even touching on abuse and other serious issues is pretty widely accepted in MG, and I would personally say is not as appropriate in chapter books, if at all.
 

BookmarkUnicorn

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Some fantasy chapter books have death in them though, that makes me wonder. Although fantasy chapter books are rarer. A lot of chapter books are more limited to everyday real life I've noticed, no matter how crazy that real life is...

Edit: I should say that death in that series was killing dragons so it wasn't humans dying. As it is I would not touch on death unless it was a past element. I remember how upset I was when Ramona's cat died and that was a MG book not a chapter book. I guess it has a lot to do with the child reading a book. Some are still younger at older ages, emotionally.
 
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Debbie V

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You're spot on when you talk about the reader. It's all about what they can handle thematically. Chapter book readers could be as young as 5 and as old as 10. Middle grade is generally age 8-12. Of course, we now have upper and lower subcategories and blurring lines everywhere in children's fiction.

Keep the audience in mind and go from there.
 

BookmarkUnicorn

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*nods* I will try my best. Something I've been thinking about: In a lot of cases it seems like it's not that we're trying to push mature themes on young readers exactly, it's just we're kind of relearning what would be the kid verison of each idea. Like, a love scene would be holding hands for a certain age or a big battle would mean someone gets pushed in the mud by a bully. Things like that (or the fantasy equal to them)? Of course, we don't want to talk down to them either...
 
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sooshi

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This thread is so helpful! I've been having trouble navigating the line between chapter book vs. middle grade with my own story (many chapters, and they're short, for instance. Still lots of work to do!