A Ratings System for Children's Books - Dumbing Down Literacy

Apparently, national and international publishers in England are preparing an age-based ratings system for books, similar to ratings systems for movies, to let children and parents know if the books is "appropriate" for them.

This is, quite simply, one of the stupidest things I've heard of all year (and that's saying plenty). And while all of the arguments against this system mentioned in the article (death of local bookstores, or establishing a precedent for some kind of moral code that can and will be easily hijacked by overzealous parents) are strong, the dumbest part of this to me is the presumption that there are easily-classifiable "age ranges" for books. Some kids can't even read at 5 years old, while others are pounding through novels intended for children 10 or older. I remember reading Orson Scott Card's Ender's Game in 3rd grade (probably an appropriate age-level for Card's stuff, given how terrible it's gotten), while other kids were struggling with picture books (and I'm certain I'm not, nor ever was, some kind of prodigy). It's hard enough to get kids to read anyways these days; to try to predict if a kid is at the "appropriate" age level is just tilting against windmills.

And if parents and adults don't know how to pick an "age-appropriate" book for a child (one of the major reasons companies are trying to justify this system), let me offer a few suggestions, such as: look at what the kid is reading and go from there; open the book to see if it looks right for the kid who's X-years old (I'm pretty sure the entire Harry Potter collection isn't for a 4 year old, nor is a picture book for a 10 year old; go from there); and, if you're still really not sure, then get a gift-card for a bookstore, and let the kid pick out their own damn book.

I really hope authors' efforts to quash this ridiculous idea are successful, and that parents (and even non-parent adults) and teachers hop on board to end this silliness.