Where is the line between chapter books and middle grade?

erikafabulous · Mar 14, 2014

I've been scouring the internet for an answer to this question, and I've seen quite a range of answers on the topic. I thought maybe you all could provide me with a definitive answer. What is the intended audience of chapter books, and what is the intended audience of middle grade? What makes a chapter book a chapter book, and what makes it NOT a chapter book?
Thanks in advance for any light you can shed on the issue. I am really looking forward to reading your insights.

Drachen Jager · Mar 14, 2014

Mostly I've seen 8-12 listed as MG, but opinions vary.

Content and length are two of the main factors deciding which category a book fits into.

Morrell · Mar 15, 2014

Just yesterday I stumbled across an accurate blogpost on the subject:

http://chapterbookchat.wordpress.com/2013/10/14/chapter-book-vs-middle-grade/

Also can glean some info and good examples from Jen Laughran's post here:

http://literaticat.blogspot.com/2011/05/wordcount-dracula.html

Mclesh · Mar 15, 2014

I think of chapter books as being early reader books, something that a first of second grade elementary student might read, ages 7 to 9 or even 10.

I have what I've been calling a lower MG series I'm working on, so this is something I've thought about quite a bit. My books are geared towards reluctant readers, but their length at about 25 to 28K is on the short side of MG; however, the sentence structure and vocabulary is a bit more advanced than what you'd find in chapter books.

Some books really blur the lines. But I'd never think of A Wrinkle in Time or Holes as chapter books (referring to the blog post).

RuthD: Those links are very helpful!

Sage · Mar 15, 2014

What a great resource, Ruth. Thanks for the link to the chapter book blog!

BlueCloud · Mar 15, 2014

What age is your protagonist? For middle-grade novels, the MC is usually 12. Its readers are about 8-12. The length can vary, but the vocabulary, voice, theme, and sentence structure are more sophisticated than that aimed at younger children.

Mostly I agree with the blog post about chapter books, but I disagree with the theory that any talking animal book is automatically a chapter book.

SkylarJade · Mar 15, 2014

I read a lot and am writing a middle grade. I'd say middle grade books tend to have more complex stories and themes than chapter books, and are generally longer. I often consider it a weird group between chapter books and YA books. The story and themes are too complex to just be beginning chapter books, but the characters and what not aren't quite mature enough to be in YA. Readers of middle grade tend to be between 8 and 12 (or in upper elementary school and middle school).

Drachen Jager · Mar 15, 2014

BlueCloud said:
Mostly I agree with the blog post about chapter books, but I disagree with the theory that any talking animal book is automatically a chapter book.

Is that why my son acted so strangely after I read him Animal Farm?

Cathy C · Mar 15, 2014

How I've always considered it is that early chapter books are straight-line plots and straight-forward characterizations. Middle Grade books add subplots and more complex, grey personalities.

erikafabulous · Mar 15, 2014

Wow, thank you all for your responses and particularly those blog posts. Am I the only one who feels like a category is missing here? I get the impression that chapter books, at those word counts, are basically for kids that are just getting their feet wet with reading. But I can't help thinking that middle grade books with their older protagonists are not quite appropriate for young readers who may be ready to move beyond the slim chapter books. Is lower middle grade a thing? I know upper middle grade is. Is that a term that is ever used?

Jamesaritchie · Mar 17, 2014

I write a lot of MG. The protagonist is usually from eleven to thirteen, but it's really the way the novel is written that makes it middle grade. I think of it as an adult novel for kids. They're usually, though not always, shorter than adult novels, and the content is MG appropriate, but the structure is much the same, and most of the same elements go into the writing.

Chapter books are usually for somewhat younger children, and are much simpler stories.

Sage · Mar 17, 2014

There is definitely a lower MG category, which are slightly more advanced than chapter books but not as complex as upper MG. There's a lot of age overlap between chapter books and low MG, so it was very hard trying to find good chapter books when I was searching for them a few years ago. I'd either get sent to the Early Readers or to low MG. Note that a lot of CBs say age 7-9, and 2/3 of those ages overlap with the 8-12 MG range.

Debbie V · Mar 17, 2014

I've even seen chapter books for younger readers. Junie B. Jones is a first grade character, if I recall correctly. Amazon labels this series for grades K-3, the same group that used to be thought of as primary picture book readers. Of course, not many kindergarten students can read the chapter books on their own, but some can.

erikafabulous · Mar 17, 2014

So would it be appropriate to say 'lower middle grade' on a query? I'm refining a piece right now that I'm not quite sure how to categorize. I definitely had younger readers in mind when I wrote it, and I kept the word count as low as I could accordingly (not as low as I would have liked though), but it is definitely not what I would consider a chapter book. So would that work?

Drachen Jager · Mar 17, 2014

Yeah, it's common enough for queries to say 'upper' or 'lower' middle-grade. That gives the agent a better read on your target demographic.

I don't think it's really necessary, if the query is appropriately written, the agent should be able to figure it out, but I don't think it hurts either.

JustSarah · Mar 17, 2014

Thank you for asking the question, I was wondering the same thing. I'll look at those blog links. Part of my own confusion is between say a chapter book, and what one might call a Middle Grade short story or novelette.

erikafabulous · Mar 17, 2014

JustSarah, I'm so glad I'm not the only one. I feel like there is so much about writing and publishing that I should just know and I just. . . don't.
And thank you for the tip, Drachen Jager. I ask, because I don't want it to look like my story is too thin when I query it. I've been running a potential query letter on another forum, and my low word count was one of the complaints I got. I was thrown off, because I actually tried to keep the word count low. But really, it seemed for a moment that my target audience doesn't exist, since chapter books are what they are, and the next step up is middle grade where the protagonists are practically teenagers and the plot moves accordingly.
But yeah, lower middle grade, that I can do. Thinking about it, I started out specifically to fill that void, since I've had a really hard time finding stuff for my girl to read. She's moved beyond chapter books as a reader, but she's not ready for semi-teenage books as a person.

Debbie V · Mar 24, 2014

If you post at thread asking for recs for your daughter, I'm sure we'll come up with some. I have nine year old who is well into middle grade books, but he isn't ready for upper middle grade themes. Many of the classics have worked well for him.

I have to agree that in the end, the agent and or editor will decide which marketing category to use for your work. It does help for you to call it something so they know you have a sense of what age you're writing for.

erikafabulous · Mar 24, 2014

That would be an interesting discussion. I'd love to see some of those recommendations for my own use, really. This is going to sound terrible, but my girl is kind of over reading at the moment anyway. Kids go through phases, and right now she is just not into reading. She's a bit younger anyway, so the 'classics' might be a bit difficult for her.

Blind Writer · Mar 29, 2014

This question comes up a lot in the writing workshops I teach. Typically, this is how I define it.

Chapter books are much younger - more for 6 - 9 year olds. They are also shorter - between like 60 and 100 pages. The chapters are short and the stories are about younger characters. The content is also lighter.

MG is more for ages 8 - 12. They are longer, the length of full novels, with characters that are usually between 10 and 13 years old. Content can be darker or more complicated.

The biggest difference, really, is the length and content. Even lower MG tends to be more complex than chapter books.

JustSarah · Mar 29, 2014

One of the reasons I wanted to ask, is my content is usually upper MG when it comes to content. Yet the length is more typical of a chapter book.

Quentin Nokov · Mar 29, 2014

So the Magic Tree House series, Amber Brown series, are chapter books, for example and Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone, The False Prince, and The Lightning Thief are middle grade?

Morrell · Mar 29, 2014

Allie Finkle's Rules for Girls series is a great example of lower middle grade by Meg Cabot. Maybe it would interest your daughter, Erica. If she likes fantasy, what about The Tail of Emily Windsnap? Not sure if that has been mentioned. Beverly Cleary's books have stood the test of time and are perfect for the younger middle grade reader.

And yes, Quentin, you are correct.

JustSarah, it isn't only word count you have to consider. The language is simpler and more direct in chapter books--not just vocabulary (though that, too), but also sentence length and complexity.

Blind Writer · Mar 29, 2014

If you're content is reflective of upper MG, then it DEFINITELY isn't a chapter book, regardless of length. Though I might suggest adding length, but I'd worry about it later. My MG was only 35,000 words when my editor got it, and we beefed it up to 50,000.

Sage · Mar 29, 2014

RuthD said:
JustSarah, it isn't only word count you have to consider. The language is simpler and more direct in chapter books--not just vocabulary (though that, too), but also sentence length and complexity.

And this is true between chapter books and low MG. It's a tricky thing to navigate. I remember when I was trying to decide whether my CBs should be low MG or CB.

However, with upper MG, there's no doubt that it's not a chapter book. The difference between the two is a canyon, not a thin line.

JS, is there any chance that your novelette series could just be one book instead of multiple books?

Where is the line between chapter books and middle grade?

erikafabulous

Drachen Jager

Professor of applied misanthropy

Morrell

Mclesh

It's too hot

Sage

Supreme Guessinator

BlueCloud

Word Maven

SkylarJade

Drachen Jager

Professor of applied misanthropy

Cathy C

Ooo! Shiny new cover!

erikafabulous

Jamesaritchie

Sage

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Debbie V

Mentoring Myself and Others

erikafabulous

Drachen Jager

Professor of applied misanthropy

JustSarah

erikafabulous

Debbie V

Mentoring Myself and Others

erikafabulous

Blind Writer

YA/MG Author

JustSarah

Quentin Nokov

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Morrell

Blind Writer

YA/MG Author

Sage

Supreme Guessinator